Global Reach: India

EMpower in India

India has the largest population of young people in the world. Many young people have limited access to quality education and face high unemployment. Girls and young women, in particular, face significant challenges due to gender norms and inequities that limit their access to opportunities. And the persistence of the digital divide further exacerbates these disparities.

EMpower supports programmes that:

  • Expand young people’s access to inclusive education and equip them with essential life and employment skills.
  • Our grantee partners provide marginalised young people—especially young women and girls—with employment pathways that were previously out of their reach. Through strategic partnerships, they enable young women to take on nontraditional livelihoods, so that they can become electricians and drivers and take on other traditionally male-dominated professions.
  • Additionally, some of our partners focus on building young women’s financial literacy, empowering them to build secure and better futures.
  • Finally, we work on engaging men and boys towards a more gender equitable future.

Our work extends beyond education and employment. At EMpower, we facilitate a highly participatory approach, supporting initiatives that enable young women and girls in India to become the protagonists of their own lives.

Our partners in India:

Antarang Foundation

Mumbai | Funded Since: 2018

Antarang assists underserved youth in pursuing formal education and bridges the gap between education and employability.

https://antarangfoundation.org/

Azad Foundation

Delhi | Funded Since: 2013

Azad Foundation equips marginalised women with knowledge and skills so that they can gain dignified employment, enter employment markets that were previously closed to women, and excel as professionals and entrepreneurs.

https://azadfoundation.com

Ballygunj Society for Children in Pain (CHIP)

Mumbai | Funded Since: 2019

CHIP implements a transformative model of ‘Total Child Care:” improving the infrastructure of schools, developing a more child-centric curriculum, and improving student health.

https://chipngo.org/

Centre For Community Economics and Development Consultants Society

Jaipur |

CECOEDECON empowers marginalised communities to secure their rights for sustainable well-being through capacity building and inclusive development.

https://www.cecoedecon.org.in/

Chehak Trust (Sahyog)

Mumbai | Funded Since: 2020

Sahyog works towards creating sustainable change in under-resourced communities by providing women and children with education, life skills, and access to vocational opportunities.

https://sahyogchehak.org.in/

Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group

Delhi | Funded Since: 2013

Chintan aims to ensure consumption is more responsible and less burdensome on the planet and the poor, creating green livelihoods for young people in waste-picking communities.

https://www.chintan-india.org/

Committee of Resource Organisation for Mass Programme of Functional Literacy (CORO)

Mumbai | Funded Since: 2013

CORO works towards an equal and just society by supporting future leaders in the most underserved communities, building collective action for social change.

https://coroindia.org/

CYDA - Centre for Youth Development and Activities

Pune | Funded Since: 2020

CYDA empowers young people to become agents of change and contributes towards improving the lives of those marginalised in society.

https://cydaindia.org

Equal Community Foundation

Pune | Funded Since: 2016

Equal Community Foundation leads community-based programmes to equip boys with the knowledge, peer support, skills, and leadership abilities necessary to support gender equality.

https://ecf.org.in/

Feminist Approach to Technology Society (FAT)

Delhi | Funded Since: 2015

Feminist Approach to Technology (FAT) supports the collective leadership of girls by increasing their access to and interest and participation in technology.

https://fat-net.org/

Foundation for Education and Development-Doosra Dashak

Jaipur | Funded Since: 2022

Foundation for Education and Development runs residential training camps, which provide holistic education to young people on gender, caste, class, religious equity, and human rights, and which instil habits of healthy living.

https://www.girlsnotbrides.org

Gramin Shiksha Kendra

Sawai Madhopur | Funded Since: 2020

Gramin Shiksha Kendra strives to eliminate discrimination on the basis of caste and gender by providing young people with access to quality education and other fundamental rights.

https://www.graminshiksha.org.in/

Ibtada

Alwar | Funded Since: 2013

Ibtada strengthens communities and enables women to play an influential role in reducing social and economic poverty.

https://www.ibtada.in/

Ideosync Media Combine

Delhi | Funded Since: 2023

Ideosync Media works to create an inclusive digital environment that supports participation, knowledge equity, and freedom of speech in communities that are geographically, socially, and culturally marginalised.

Indian Law Society

Pune | Funded Since: 2023

ILS uses a rights-based approach to strengthen and transform the mental health of local communities in a holistic and responsive way, addressing individual and collective well-being.

https://ilslaw.edu/strategic-plan/

Jan Sahas Social Development Society

Dewas | Funded Since: 2015

Jan Sahas works toward ending violence against women and children, and ensuring safe migration and worker protection for the most excluded social groups.

https://jansahas.org/

JOSH (Joint Operation for Social Help)

Delhi | Funded Since: 2016

JOSH works with low-resource urban communities and underserved young people, focusing on education, capacity and skill building, and addressing violence against women.

https://josh4india.org/

Karm Marg Charitable Society

Delhi | Funded Since: 2020

Karm Marg provides a safe refuge, a family-like atmosphere, and opportunities for education, skills development, and employment for young people in need.

https://www.karmmarg.com

Kolkata Sanved

Kolkata | Funded Since: 2021

Kolkata Sanved promotes gender equality and supports mental health well-being through dance movement therapy.

https://kolkatasanved.org

Medha Learning Foundation

Lucknow | Funded Since: 2015

Medha supports students as they plan for their futures and professional journeys by connecting them to opportunities and a powerful alumni network.

https://medha.org.in/

New Resolution India (Bright Future)

Mumbai | Funded Since: 2016

Bright Future assists the next generation in reconstructing their life goals and becoming changemakers in their communities, enhancing their vocational skills and providing mentorship opportunities.

https://brightfutureindia.org/

Nirantar

Delhi | Funded Since: 2019

Nirantar is a resource centre committed to promoting education and feminist leadership to challenge gender norms.

https://www.nirantar.net

OSCAR Foundation

Mumbai | Funded Since: 2019

The OSCAR Foundation uses the power of football to encourage children to stay in school and equips them with skills to make them more resilient and ready to take on the future.

https://www.oscar-foundation.org/

Plustrust

Udaipur | Funded Since: 2022

Plustrust facilitates grassroots innovation to support young people at risk of becoming child labourers, enabling them to become micro-entrepreneurs and problem solvers.

https://plustrust.org/

Pragatee Foundation (Enabling Leadership)

Mumbai | Funded Since: 2019

Enabling Leadership helps children to become tomorrow's leaders—through music, football, and Lego.

https://enablingleadership.org/just-for-kicks-india-enabling-leadership/

Prayatn Sansthan

Jaipur | Funded Since: 2022

Prayatn works to enable people facing inequality and injustice to help themselves, strengthening ties in local communities so that people can work together to bring about positive changes in their lives.

https://prayatn.org

PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action and Research)

Mumbai | Funded Since: 2019

PUKAR supports young people so they can gain access to knowledge and information on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

https://pukar.org.in/

Rajsamand Jan Vikas Sansthan

Rajsamand | Funded Since: 2022

Rajsamand Jan Vikas Sansthan educates women, young people, and adolescents on gender-based violence and promotes girls' education through active community participation.

https://rjvs.in/

Ritinjali

Delhi |

Ritinjali's mission is to provide holistic education that nurtures empowered, responsible citizens capable of self-sufficiency and active contribution to their local communities.

https://ritinjali.org/

Shiv Shiksha Samiti Ranoli (SSSR)

Tonk | Funded Since: 2022

Shiv Shiksha Samiti Ranoli (SSSR) strives to prevent child, early, and forced marriage, helps women and girls complete their education, and provides them with the necessary skills and platform for leadership.

https://sssr.ngo/

Society for Development Activities (Project KHEL)

Lucknow | Funded Since: 2019

Society for Development Activities (Project KHEL) uses “play” as a universal language to connect and communicate with children, creating an environment of free expression.

https://projectkhel.org/

Sol’s Assessment and Remedial Center (Sol’s ARC)

Mumbai | Funded Since: 2022

Sol's ARC’s inclusive education solutions address the inequities faced by vulnerable populations to improve their learning and employment outcomes, ensuring that no one gets left behind.

https://solsarc.ngo

The YP Foundation

Delhi | Funded Since: 2016

The YP Foundation is a youth-led organisation that seeks to build and influence young people’s leadership, collectives, and ecosystems to achieve social equity, justice, and rights through their meaningful participation in decision-making.

https://theypfoundation.org/

Unnati ISEC

Mumbai | Funded Since: 2022

Unnati Institute for Social and Educational Change works to realise the fundamental right of all children to receive a quality education, by improving access to formal schools and education.

https://unnati-isec.org/

Urmul Setu Sansthan

Bikaner | Funded Since: 2022

Urmul Setu Sansthan seeks to lead women and children in under-resourced villages towards self-reliance by strengthening their collective power, educating them on their rights, and building their capacity to improve their quality of life.

Vigyan Foundation

Lucknow |

Vigyan Foundation promotes social justice and equality, empowering communities to assert their dignity and combat discrimination.

https://www.vigyanfoundation.org/

Vikalp Sansthan

Udaipur | Funded Since: 2022

Vikalp Sansthan works with young people to end gender-based violence and discrimination by providing them with alternative and creative ways to voice their opinions, integrating them in social development, and creating a future which is just and equal for all.

https://vikalpindia.org/

Vishakha

Udaipur | Funded Since: 2022

Vishakha assists women, young people, and marginalised communities to challenge gender norms and work creatively to enhance opportunities for learning and education, countering violence, and accessing health and well-being.

https://vishakhawe.org/

Yash Charitable Trust

Mumbai | Funded Since: 2021

YCT seeks to enhance the quality of life of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities by providing opportunities for them to learn life skills, earn a livelihood, develop social relationships, and meaningfully participate in the community.

https://www.yashcharitabletrust.org/

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