6th Annual Public Interaction Day "Emerging Challenges in the Non-profit Sector"

To celebrate the establishment of the Madhyam Foundation, the staff organized a public interaction day where influential and leaders of the non-profit sector were invited to discuss the some of the emerging challenges of the non-profit sector.  Typically when a place celebrates its founding, it is a time where people sit around, eat and drink, and congratulate themselves on all they have accomplished throughout the year, but not at the Madhyam Foundation.  They found a way to include people from different walks of life to still  do something productive and meaningful.  Although we were served an excellent lunch and the traditional onslaught of chai and biscuits, it really showed that Madhyam (which incidentally means medium) is more than a typical non-profit.

Subrat speaking at the event

There was a panel of speakers, that ranged from a former Indian Ambassador to a reporter for the Times of India, invited to give their insight on what some of the key issues facing the non-profit sector today.  The general tone of the day was that of skepticism.  So many times when you hear the word non-profit, altruism comes to mind but that is not always the case.  The facts of life are that money corrupts, profiteering and greed are ever-present and the goal is to be socially responsible, whether you are a non-profit or a multi-million dollar corporation.

Another problem that came up was the fact that non-profits are also taken for granted as well as having a great deal of autonomy because of the nature of their work.  The Ambassador said it best, the non-profit sector is not a social good, it is a necessity.  The attitude of the population needs to change for what is socially needed and there should be no distinction made between the profit and the non-profit sector.  Everyone should be help accountable for their actions, and there seems to be a lack of regulation in the non-profit sector.  Micro-finance institutions (MFIs) and non-profits are making gross amounts of money and in the meantime farmers are committing suicide because they are being hounded day and night by collectors to repay their loans.  Too often institutions lose sight of their original mandates and do much more harm than good.

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Audience at the 6th Annual Public Interaction Day

All in all it was an excellent day for the Madhyam Foundation.  There were about 50 attendees (although only 4 of whom were female including Mrs. Singhdeo, Katrina and me) and many great ideas were thrown around and discussed.  Madhyam is the archetype of how a non-profit should operate.  It involves the community and shares what needs to be accomplished in a manner that is informative as well as entertaining.