How does it all begin? Was there a singular experience or encounter that sparked a desire to work on social change? How do you go from being affected by an issue, to contributing a few times, to the realisation that there is more to this? - that working in social change could be the calling, or the profession, and how do you go from that to wanting to build an organisation and so much more? In this No-Cost Extension special, we combed through our two seasons to bring you inspiring origin stories.  Anu Aga, and her daughter Mehr Padumjee talk about how they found their way into philanthropy.  Gagan Sethi, talks about the start of Janvikas, an organisation dedicated to fighting for human dignity and equality. And finally, Mathew Spacie on how Magic Bus, a foundation that uses a livelihood program to support disadvantaged youth and help them out of poverty, took shape.  For more information on No-Cost Extension go to dasra.org/nce and follow Deval on Twitter at @Deval_Sanghavi and @Dasra  

Over the past two seasons, host Deval Sanghavi has talked about the idea of impact with his guests: what does it mean and what should it mean? How can we further our understanding of social impact?  From the archives we bring you Donald Lobo of the Chintu Gudiya Foundation, Karen Doff of Sharanam Centre for Girls, Safeena Hussain of Educate Girls and Ravi Chopra and Jo McGowan Chopra from the Latika Royal foundation talking about impact and scale and how they look at these as individuals and organisation.  For more information on No-Cost Extension go to dasra.org/nce and follow Deval on Twitter at @Deval_Sanghavi and @Dasra

Gagan Sethi is the founder of Janvikas, an NGO that has worked in the space of holistic human development for over three decades. Gagan has helped set up several strategic organizations in the country, like Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, Sahjeevan, Drishti, Centre for Social justice and the HID forum. In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval and Gagan talk about disaster relief work, what happens when there’s discrimination in relief work and the toll working in the development sector takes on family relationships and mental health.     Gagan speaks of the impact of partition on his family, the social compact initiative and how his quarterly workshops with rural communities leave him energised.    You can follow Gagan and keep abreast of the work of Janvikas at www.janvikas.in If you haven't listened to Deval's conversation with Aakash Sethi, go check out the first season of No-Cost Extension! For more information on No-Cost Extension go to dasra.org/nce and follow Deval on Twitter at @Deval_Sanghavi and @Dasra

Loren Cardeli is the Executive Director at A Growing Culture, a non profit that believes in food sovereignty for everyone everywhere and works with farmers to ensure they decide what to grow, where to grow it and who to sell it to. Deval and Loren met at a Synergos retreat and found they had much to talk about and bond over, prompting Deval to invite Loren on to No-Cost Extension as a guest.  Listen to Loren talk about his growing years in New York City in a family that loved to argue, what made him buy a one way ticket to Belize and the experiences he had there that made him think more deeply about food, agriculture and the people who feed us.  Loren speaks passionately about the framing of language, providing farmers support to tell their own stories and working with them to reclaim their ownership across the lands they preserve. You can follow Loren on Twitter @LorenCardeli and A Growing Culture @agcconnect. For more information on No-Cost Extension go to dasra.org/nce and follow Deval on Twitter at @Deval_Sanghavi and @Dasra

We're pausing our regular programming on No-Cost Extension with Deval Sanghavi to bring you this panel discussion from Dasra Philanthropy Week 2023. Deval will be back next week with a new guest! The Going Platinum: Past, Present and Future of Civil Society in India @ 75 report is a collective effort by India’s leading non-profits to showcase and celebrate civil society's contribution to India's development. The conversation at DPW 2023 was based on the report and spanned policy, service delivery and research/ advocacy – reminiscing the past with an eye to the future.  The panel was moderated by Sneha Menon of Dasra and the panellists were Sanjoy Roy, founder-trustee of Salaam Baalak Trust, Farida Lambe, co-founder Pratham and head of Pratham’s Council for Vulnerable Children, Aditya Natraj, CEO of Piramal Foundation, Priti Patkar, co-founder and director of Prerana and Pushpa Aman Singh co-founder Guidestar India.  To know more about Dasra Philanthropy Week visit http://dasraphilanthropyweek.org For more information on No-Cost Extension go to dasra.org/nce and follow Deval on Twitter at @Deval_Sanghavi and @Dasra  

Sonal Shah has spent her career both in the private and public sector, including stints with Goldman Sachs, Google.org and The White House. She is currently the CEO of The Texas Tribune, a politics and public policy-specific news organization. But before embarking on her illustrious career, many years ago, Sonal and Deval were just two teenagers forced to wake up early and help clean up the Gandhi Centre in Houston, Texas after community events. In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Sonal and Deval not only look back and reminisce, but they also talk about the Houston community they grew up in that nurtured so many philanthropic ventures, the pioneering giving philosophies within the Indian diaspora, how to follow stay true to one's work, the need for flexible funding and how it helps build trust and why we need to find the right funding mechanisms for communities.  You can follow Sonal on Twitter @SonalRShah. To know more about The Texas Tribune visit https://www.texastribune.org/.  For more information on NCE go to dasra.org/nce and follow Deval on Twitter at @Deval_Sanghavi and @Dasra  

Jo McGowan and Ravi Chopra met in the 70s and fell in love through the post. They got married and moved to India in the early 80s and have since dedicated their lives to serving the communities they live in, albeit in very different ways. From helping set up The Front for Rapid Economic Advancement of India (FREA) to working with the Centre for Science and Environment to setting up the People’s Science Institute in Uttarakhand, Ravi Chopra has spent his life using science and technology to better the lives of others. The People’s Science Institute is known for its pioneering work in the fields livelihoods development, environmental quality monitoring and disaster-safe housing. Jo Chopra McGowan is the founder and director of the Latika Roy Foundation, an organisation that provides specialized, localized services to children with disabilities and their families, and helps others do the same with the aim of creating a better world for children with disabilities. Their work has grown and expanded in different ways reflecting their approach to life and personal philosophies. But what is common to both of them is their innate desire to do good.  You can follow Latika Roy Foundation on social media @LatikaRoyFound1. To know more about the People’s Science Institute visit http://peoplesscienceinstitute.org. For more information on NCE go to dasra.org/nce and follow Deval on Twitter at @Deval_Sanghavi and @Dasra  

How do you begin to break intergenerational cycles of poor health and violence in a megapolis? What evidence based models of urban health interventions can we look to?   Content Warning: This episode contains mentions of violence that some listeners may find disturbing and listener discretion is advised.  In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval sits down with Dr. Armida Fernandez, founder-trustee of SNEHA Mumbai (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action) and the organisation’s CEO Vanessa D’Souza.  Listen in as Dr. Armida Fernandez talks about her start as a paediatrician and neonatologist at a Government Hospital in Mumbai where she and her colleagues treated vulnerable mothers and children from low-income households every day, and the series of events that lead her to begin SNEHA and work in the space of health equity. With over more than twenty years of dedicated work, SNEHA is one of the most respected public health NGOs in India.  Vanessa d'Souza joins Dr Fernandez in this conversation, and shares her thoughts on the importance of building the ‘next line’ in organisations, the need for creating safe spaces and the intersectionality of problems in health and nutrition.  You can follow SNEHA on social media @SNEHAMumbai. For more information on NCE go to dasra.org/nce and follow Deval on Twitter at @Deval_Sanghavi and @Dasra  

Dasra Philanthropy Week is an annual gathering of diverse stakeholders and voices from the development ecosystem to convene, converse and continue sustained action towards the quest for a billion Indians to thrive with dignity and equity.  As the 14th edition of Dasra Philanthropy Week 2023 gets underway, No-Cost Extension presents DPW specials: conversations that we believe will be of interest to our listeners.   This episode is a conversation between Suparna Gupta, founder of Aangan Trust, and Deval Sanghavi and Neera Nundy at DPW 2022. How do we imagine a future of collaboration? How do we recognize privilege? How do you work to bridge the gap between philanthropy and small organizations and communities?  Listen as the co-founders of Dasra look back at their own journey over the last 23 years.  For more information about Dasra Philanthropy Week visit https://www.dasraphilanthropyweek.org/ or https://www.dasra.org/. We'll be back next week with more episodes!

How can we engage with policymakers in a timely and effective way? What can we do to address the power imbalance between the Global North and the Global South? Why does global philanthropy set aside only 2% of funding for the climate?  In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval Sanghavi has a freewheeling conversation with Alberto Lidji, Founder of the Do One Better Knowledge Hub and Podcast. Alberto talks about his shift from working with private corporations to the world of philanthropy, why he thinks there needs to be a change in the way we work with policy makers, and some of his most memorable guests on the Do One Better Podcast.  You can find out more about the Do One Better Knowledge Hub here https://www.lidji.org/ and follow Alberto on Twitter here https://twitter.com/alberto_lidji To follow No-Cost Extension go to dasra.org/nce and follow Deval on Twitter at @Deval Sanghavi and @Dasra.