MUMBAI: Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment bank and active investor in India, today announced the winners of its 2018 India Impact Fund. The fund is a local initiative tailored for young employees of the firm to make an impact in communities across the country by competing to identify and secure a total grant of US$100,000 (approximately INR 64 Lakhs) for three non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”).
The winners this year are: Multiple Initiatives Towards Upliftment (MITU); SayTrees and SELCO Foundation, who won grants of US$50,000 (INR 32,06,000); US$30,000 (INR 19,23,600); and US$20,000 (INR 12,82,400).
Launched in October 2016, the India Impact Fund is an initiative that provides an opportunity for junior Goldman Sachs employees to collaborate, leverage their creativity and analytic skills to identify innovative solutions to pressing social challenges, and support local NGOs and causes of their choice.
“The India Impact Fund is an opportunity for our young professionals to learn first-hand about the firm’s long-standing philanthropic culture and collaborative spirit during their formative years,” said Bunty Bohra, chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Services in India.
This year, the India Impact Fund saw applications from more than 20 teams comprising of 85 analysts and associates. The top six teams were selected to advance to the final round and invited to present to a panel of judges from Goldman Sachs’ India leadership.
The focus of the judging criteria included the NGO’s leadership, reach and potential for impact, the uniqueness of the proposed project or work of the NGO, the team’s analysis of the project goals and the scalability of the organization’s work.
“Goldman Sachs has a long history of engaging with and investing in our communities. Through our India Impact Fund, we have seen the positive effects that sponsoring local, meaningful NGO causes can have, and we are committed to helping extend opportunities to more people throughout the country,” said Bunty Bohra.
This year’s grant winners come from a highly-qualified pool of NGOs based in Bengaluru and active across India. MITU is focused on creating awareness and providing education on the fundamental importance of female hygiene and the access to sanitary products; SayTrees promotes the importance of environmental preservation and tree plantation; and the SELCO Foundation, exclusively through the use of solar power, provides digital education content and tools to improve the quality of classroom education in rural schools.
“We are delighted to be named the winners of the 2018 India Impact Fund,” said Dilip Kumar Pattubala, Trustee of the MITU Foundation. “Having organizations like Goldman Sachs come forward in support of educating the local population on the basic importance of female hygiene and sanitary products will have a direct and fundamental impact on communities,” he added.
Last year, the winners were Children’s LoveCastles Trust (CLT), Spastics Society of Karnataka, and Digital Empowerment Foundation, who won grants of US$50,000; US$30,000 and US$20,000.
From the Goldman Sachs India Impact Fund grants received last year:
- CLT expanded their flagship “e-Patashale” program, which is a focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, to provide more than 300 hours of curriculum a month to 6,000 students in 20 schools in the Solapur district of Maharashtra.
- The Spastics Society of Karnataka, which helps children with learning disabilities through education, life-skills training and rehabilitation services, procured technology and infrastructure needed for its computer learning centers across Karnataka to benefit 300 disabled children.
- The Digital Empowerment Foundation, which works to provide make information accessible for far-flung rural communities, created an initiative titled “Internet in a Box” to enhance digital literacy and has run a pilot programme in Tekulodu Village, Ananthpur, Andhra Pradesh positively effecting the lives of 125 families and 500 villagers.
“This innovative grant process involving young employees is truly special. In addition to granting us essential funds to empower teachers and inspire students through the expansion of our program in 2017, the personal ideas and dedication brought forth by the Goldman Sachs professionals served to deliver new educational resources and curriculum to thousands of children in underserved communities,” said Bhagya Rangachar, founder and CEO of the Children’s LoveCastles Trust.
