‘NOT THE CHEQUEBOOK, IT’S THE DOERS WHO DEFINE INDIA’S DESTINY’

GOVIND IYER, philanthropist and all-india chairperson of Social Venture Partners (SVP) India, is building a culture of collaborative philanthropy where people become lifelong givers, giving money and also time. He tells KAVITHA IYER that with 750 partners nationwide, SVP is driving a movement that values trust over transactions

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Philanthropy is a growing sector in India, but SVP's approach to do collaborative philanthropy with people of all classes and all capabilities is a very different model. How did you come up with that idea?

SVP started in 2012. In 2013, the law came in, making CSR a large donor pool. But it's not going to be the ultrahigh net worth individuals who will make a difference—it is the 100 million people who can actually give some money somewhere. I said, "Let's start with the one million or the two million that can give today. And over time, that number will grow." A 100 rupees from a million people is far more than five HNIs giving the same money, because the impact it has on society is very different. When a few people give, I value their giving, but it's not a movement. But when many people give, it becomes a movement. And that's what SVP is about.

We are now about 750 colleagues and all of us are doing our small way of enabling our own communities to really get better. The SVP model is one where you give a little bit of money, but you give a lot more of your wisdom and your time.

There is no structure at SVP to say you have to do A, B or C to become an effective partner. You can choose to be an active, engaged philanthropist by working with a not-for-profit. You can choose to observe and contribute when required. You can choose to engage within the institution in a lot of different ways. It's a very flexible approach to giving your time, wisdom and money.

Do you see that young people now have a culture of giving? Do they have a cause in mind or do they just have a surplus and want to give?

My children are 29, 23 and 19. When in 2018, I walked up to them and I said, "I'm thinking of taking a pledge to give 50% of my income during my lifetime or in my will,” those three boys gave me the courage to say that I don't need to leave anything for them. I might, but I don't need to.