Donor adviser organization New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) is launching a joint research partnership with Copal Partners in India. The partnership will carry out research into charities in India in the same way as NPC already does in the UK. The aim is to meet growing interest among philanthropists in donating money internationally.

A new NPC report, Philanthropists without borders, concludes that there is a lack of advice for donors on giving in developing countries and that this gap is a barrier to giving. Over 70 per cent of the 122 donors NPC surveyed claimed to be interested in research and advice on charities in developing countries, while a scan of other service providers indicated that the need is not yet being met.

In order to change this, NPC decided to pilot a project overseas. Kenya, South Africa and India were all considered as venues, but in the end India was selected because of client demand, existing networks and the quality of potential partner organizations. ‘It is a huge country with vast disparities, and a vibrant NGO sector addressing issues ranging from education and health to governance,’ says Sue Wixley of NPC. ‘It also has a growing internal market for philanthropy – with over 70 per cent of charitable funds coming from internal sources,’ she adds.

A number of Indian organizations were considered as partners, but Copal, a private sector organization which provides outsourced research for investment banks and consultancies, was a natural choice in some ways since it has recently set up a small group to focus on charities. It will provide a team of analysts and research skills to the project while NPC will bring its understanding of advising donors and its experience of assessing charities, with a NPC analyst being based in India full time. ‘There are big and important social issues to be tackled in India,’ says Copal CEO Rishi Khosla, ‘and this venture should help ensure money is directed to where it will be used to best effect.’

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Or to download Philanthropists without borders, go to http://www.philanthropycapital.org