In a landscape where funding for LGBTQI initiatives faces significant challenges in India, Radhika Piramal has launched Pride Fund India, providing vital resources to underfunded grassroots organisations across the country.
“My experience as a trustee at GiveOut served as an inspiration, which led me to launch the Pride Fund,” says Radhika. Through Pride Fund India, Radhika is using her business and personal networks to fundraise for the LGBTQI movement in India, a movement she explains “is closest to me, personally and politically.”
This initiative comes at a particularly urgent moment. Recent cuts to USAID budgets have placed numerous essential LGBTQI groups at risk of closure, programme reductions, and staff layoffs.
To highlight the funding challenges LGBTQI organisations in India face, the launch of Pride Fund India coincided with the release of a report by Dasra UK titled Against All Odds: Advancing Equity for India’s LGBTQIA+ Communities.
The report reveals a dire situation, stating that despite India accounting for 18% of the world’s population, the country receives less than 1% of global LGBTQI funding, underscoring how deeply underfunded the movement in India is.
Furthermore, India’s LGBTQI movement, while showing progress, still grapples with deeply ingrained societal prejudices that create obstacles for LGBTQI individuals.
Therefore, the mission of Pride Fund India is clear: to bridge the funding gap and provide more resources to those organisations working to advance the rights of LGBTQI people in India. Radhika shares that although “Pride Fund India cannot replace these cuts, it offers some support to NGOs in an otherwise very challenging time.”
Pride Fund India aims to achieve this by fundraising and providing grants to exceptional LGBTQI-led grassroots NGOs/Civil Society Organisations serving LGBTQI communities across India in the areas of health, justice, livelihoods, shelter, access to community, and emergency support.
Pride Fund India has identified 50 grassroots organisations across India for support. One of these organisations is Vikalp Women’s Group who advocates for the rights of marginalised women and gender and sexual minorities. For them, the fund is a critical opportunity to expand their reach and impact.
“It’s an opportunity for us to meet the needs of our ever-growing network of community,” said Maya Sharma, co-founder of Vikalp Women’s Group.
This vital work is launched with a strong foundation, as the fund begins with an initial corpus of ₹2 crore (approximately £190,000 GBP), thanks to the collaborative support of Godrej Industries Group, a personal donation from Radhika Piramal, and The Keshav Suri Foundation.
With this initial corpus, Pride Fund India is already mobilising much-needed resources to sustain and expand the work of LGBTQI organisations across India.
Beyond the financial aspects of the fund, Radhika also brings a unique perspective as an openly lesbian woman in philanthropy. When asked about the barriers women face in becoming major donors or funders, she offered insightful reflections on the systemic challenges that persist.
“The barriers facing most women becoming donors or funders are either that they don’t have enough of their own money to give away, or they don’t have control or influence to give away their father’s or husband’s money. We can work to overcome this barrier by dismantling the patriarchy, so that women have more economic agency, and by supporting feminism alongside LGBTQI rights.”
Radhika’s advice to women philanthropists looking to support LGBTQI causes? “Start small! Start with whatever you’re comfortable with, but start giving somewhere, if possible, through or to somebody you know personally and not only digitally. You’ll be surprised by how much new community you’ll make and how good you’ll feel to get involved.”
Despite the challenges, Radhika feels hopeful about the future of the Pride Fund India. “I’m confident that the Pride Fund will raise higher awareness and more resources for LGBTQI communities than what individual NGOs may be able to do on their own.”
Where does she see the Pride Fund India in five or ten years? “Millions of pounds granted to hundreds of exceptional queer-led NGOs, delivering services leading to meaningful improvement in the health, prosperity, dignity and rights of millions of LGBTQI Indians.”
With this vision in mind, Pride Fund India stands poised to make a significant and lasting impact on the lives of LGBTQI individuals across India.
Learn more about the Pride Fund India. You can also listen to Radhika’s podcast interview on No-Cost Extension with Deval Sanghavi here.