Building a Stronger Civil Society in India

em4 is a social enterprise whose vision for India is a social impact sector that is thriving and sustainable

Building a Stronger Civil Society in India

em4 is a social enterprise whose vision for India is a social impact sector that is thriving and sustainable

Leave No One Behind

The principle of “Leave No One Behind” that underpins the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implicitly points to the need for participation of everyone, including the most vulnerable, marginalised and excluded in society.

In this context, India is at a crossroads. The landscape of Indian civil society is rapidly changing. There is massive expansion, increased desire for better quality and accountability is starting to gather traction. Funders are being required by the existing regulatory and policy framework to take on social responsibilities as a way of adding value and contributing to the realisation of the SDGs. To accomplish this, they must collaborate with reputable and effective civil society organisations who can demonstrate enhanced credibility, improved organisational practices, programmatic impact and visibility among donors.

The country has also been one of the fastest growing economies in the world and is currently the fifth-largest economy. However, it is also accepted that it is no longer sufficient just to focus on economic growth, but on fairer, more inclusive and equal societies.

The gap between the haves and have nots has continued to widen, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic and extended lockdown. This has pushed more than 200 million Indians into poverty. As the pandemic overwhelmed India’s public systems and cut off the livelihoods of millions, civil society organisations offered a lifeline to its cities’ poorest and most vulnerable residents.

Yet it is the civil society sector that has been under pressure to be innovative and resilient to withstand the immense pressures over the recent years. Many organisations that were critical to tackle poverty and inequality collapsed. Those that survived were left to question whether they were going to be sustainable and relevant in the new philanthropic and socio-political environment.

em4 works with civil society organisations in India and globally to help secure their sustainability and increase their social impact.

Strengthening Civil Society Organisations

If you are from a non-profit organisation (NGO) looking to strengthen your fundraising strategy and secure longer-term sustainability, then we would welcome a discussion on how we might be able to help. Please contact us.

Supporting Funders

If you are a Funder or philanthropist seeking a solution to support your due diligence process or secure the finance sustainability of your grantee partners, then our fully digitised and comprehensive organisational assessment may be the answer. You can reach us to find out more and discuss further.

Strengthening Civil Society Organisations

If you are from a non-profit organisation (NGO) looking to strengthen your fundraising strategy and secure longer-term sustainability, then we would welcome a discussion on how we might be able to help. Please contact our regional partner, Anto Bharat, based in India.

Supporting Funders

If you are a Funder or philanthropist seeking a solution to support your due diligence process or secure the finance sustainability of your grantee partners, then our fully digitised and comprehensive organisational assessment may be the answer. You can reach us to find out more and discuss further.

em4 works globally with local capacity building experts and organisational development specialists, who share their skills and business acumen with organisations enabling them to achieve their missions sustainably and deliver greater social impact in the communities they serve. Currently operating in India, South Africa, Kenya, France and Switzerland, numerous organisations have benefited from developing a roadmap to sustainability.

Our aims are to work with organisations to build stronger, more sustainable structures, enabling them to develop and implement long-term planning and strategies. em4 does this by focusing on key capacity areas that are critical to enabling the organisation’s wellbeing and which ultimately lead to better outcomes for its service users and donors.

More than ever, organisations need the assistance, guidance and inspiration to plan for financial sustainability and accelerate their impact. This in turn should help funders to develop stronger relationships with their grantees and bring about collective change.

Testimonial

em4 has helped us to focus our fundraising strategy on the essential – what funders need to know about our mission and services to reduce the impact of CO2 on the environment. em4’s assessment of our strengths, weaknesses and requirements, is guiding us in developing our fundraising strategy, communications and case for support. They have helped us to tell our story from our beginning nearly 10 years ago with our first pilot program in 8 Indian cities to our 5th initiative that is now scaling into other countries.
Understanding our challenges and addressing them with accessible solutions has strengthened our ability to secure sustainable funding.

Vivek Gilani, Ashoka Fellow, cBalance Solutions Hub