Battle of the Buffet Impact Report

ABOUT THE BATTLE OF THE BUFFET The Battle of the Buffet (BoB) is Tamil Nadu’s for certain corporate entities, BoB has evolved largest fundraiser benefitting social causes at as a clutter-cutter for grassroot NGOs to the grassroots. BoB is Daan Utsav’s navigate the philanthropy ecosystem. largest fundraiser, having raised more than BoB is not just a fundraiser event. It helps Rs. 32.4 crores and benefiting more than 2 lakh grassroots NGOs access funds through several people since 2009. an opportunity for NGOs unique initiatives including, but not limited to, to raise funds at zero cost, while combining pitch fests, workshops on crowdfunding, social good with entertainment and fine dining merchandizing, Seva Melas, and other for donors. avenues to present their work. The causes supported—COVID relief, education, The event itself is a star-studded affair, with health, environment, livelihood, disabilities—are artists like Shankar Mahadevan, TM Krishna, as varied as the lip-smacking dishes prepared by Hariharan, AR Rahman’s Sunshine Orchestra, chefs from Chennai’s finest restaurants. Vijay Yesudas, Srinivas, and Sudha Raghunathan As the giving landscape of the country changed, having performed at the event. especially with the introduction of the Companies Act 2013, mandating CSR activities



BOB IMPACT “The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.” -Vance Havner Over the last thirteen years, the Battle of the find that it also provides a way to rethink Buffet has facilitated hundreds of grassroots their strategy. NGOs climb the stairs towards their vision, by helping them access critical resources. Deepa Jagan, program manager at Started as part of Daan Utsav (then Joy of Vaishnavi Welfare and Charitable Trust says, Giving Week) in 2009, BoB has so far raised “It’s our go-to place for information, a total of around Rs. 32.4 crores, and expertise, and everything else. In fact, we disbursed funds to 264 grassroots NGOs changed how we looked at our work, working in Tamil Nadu. because of the questions asked by donors However, these figures mask the real impact as part of BoB.” these questions raised as that BoB has had: helping grassroot NGOs part of the BoB funding process sparked the evolve along with the giving landscape in pivoting of the organization’s programs: from India, at zero cost to them. providing fortified milk to children in shelter From mobile science labs for school children homes, to addressing larger to training women to drive, from facilities for community-based nutrition. the disabled to creating a forest, the projects supported by BoB span the gamut BoB was started by M. Mahadevan as a way of social causes. Every district in Tamil Nadu of giving back to society, after he learnt of is represented in the impact that BoB has an NGO spending Rs. 9 lakh on event had. The NGOs are varied in their chosen management, to raise funds of Rs. 8 lakh. causes, age, technology adaptation, size, and “That’s when I decided to have an event that annual budget. However, they all find value would underwrite the cost of the musical in what BoB has to offer: be it new donors, event, making sure the NGO would sell new and better ways of doing things, or even tickets and keep all that money,” says just people working on the same issues with M. Mahadevan, a well-known philanthropist. whom they can partner. NGOs can use BoB per their needs and It’s not just the tickets. BoB, as an entity, requirements, much like choosing between raises funds from corporates and other a software’s basic, premium, and advanced well-wishers, disbursing the collective funds versions. And indeed, they have. An NGO like raised to the participating NGOs. It provides Parikshan may find most value in BoB’s a platform for NGOs to hone their skills, fundraising components, and one like project themselves well, and ultimately reach Vaishnavi Welfare and Charitable Trust may corporates who might otherwise not have a chance to interact with the NGOs that Mahadevan calls “the hidden gems.”

FROM EVENTS TO A CAPACITY BUILDING MODEL Since its inception in 2009, BoB has evolved with India’s philanthropic landscape. What started off as a way to take the stress of managing a fundraising event out of the hands of NGOs is now a model of capacity building for grassroot NGOs. When the CSR mandate came into effect, BoB partnered with corporates to spotlight grassroot NGOs that are otherwise not on the radar of companies. With its first compiled “Project Proposal Bank” in 2015, now a staple of BoB, corporates were given an opportunity to invest in NGOs working at the grassroots level. Pitch Fests were introduced in 2016, to enable NGOs to showcase their work in the most effective way. Professionals in the CSR space volunteered their time, and with other NGOs present for the pitches, NGOs learnt from each other. Selected pitches went on to present to corporates, and for many NGOs, this was the first time they presented their work in such a setting. Prasanna Gettu, of Chennai-based PCVC, says that it’s a challenging process to approach a CSR professional. “BoB giving you a platform to talk to them directly is huge,” she adds. When crowdfunding was just making its way into the Indian NGO lexicon, BoB got NGOs on to Letzchange (now part of GiveIndia) in 2018. The same year, a social media workshop with Sight Care Media was also held. Even NGOs that had a tough time adapting to this new form of fundraising and communication reaped the benefits when COVID struck. In 2018, SPI held a workshop on merchandizing, which was new to most NGOs. Apart from these, there were other workshops—on creating an elevator pitch, on designing a PPT, and creating proposals, all of which fed into the fundraising. All these initiatives create an ecosystem of giving, where individuals, corporates, and NGOs come together in the spirit of giving.

Funds Raised: Rs. 32.4 Crores NGO’s Participated:264 NGO’s Projects supported:155 2020 Virtual BoB and home delivery of buffet Merchandizing 2018 Workshop for Seva Mela 2017 Guidestar certification Transition to crowd funding for NGOs platform with LetzChange Power pitch training by Paypal Social media Workshop 2015 Project Proposal Bank Largest wish tree in Chennai with 1000 wishes Pitch fest for 2016 NGO Commencement 2009 of BoB

Seva Melas were held as part of BoB, of NGOs who participated in BoB, an with several innovative attractions. overwhelming 90% of respondents said The city’s largest hundi was in display that BoB has enabled them to identify one year, while in another, a mystery new donors to their organizations, with donor would visit the stalls and donate 40% agreeing strongly and 50% an amount of their choice to the NGO agreeing with the statement. whose stall was most engaging. Around 83% of the NGOs said that Celebrities visiting their stalls was LetzChange, the online platform that another highlight of the Seva Mela. was introduced as part of BoB, helped All these initiatives help organizations them reach out to more donors. reach new donors. In fact, in a survey BoB helped your organization identify new donors 60 Disagree Do not know 50 40 30 20 10 0 Strongly Agree Agree Give Fundraisers, The Online Platform Introduced As Part Of BoB, Helped Them Reach Out To More Donors. 60 Disagree Do not know 50 40 30 20 10 0 Strongly Agree Agree

BoB, by its very nature, is extremely flexible. Last 92% year, in spite of the pandemic, BoB carried on, moving the entertainment online and providing of the NGOs surveyed agreed the dining experience through meals delivered to or strongly agreed that BoB donors at home. increased visibility. This extra mile travelled did not escape the notice of NGOs who participated, as one NGO leader said, “Online BoB reduced the excitement of the event, but distribution of food was innovative… The packaging and quality of food was commendable.” With every passing year, BoB provides more and more tools to NGOs to reach out more effectively. An important consequence of participation in BoB has also been the increase in visibility of an organization. BoB provides a platform for NGOs to make their voice heard and their work seen, and NGOs feel it too: 92% of the NGOs surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that their visibility increased because of their participation in BoB. With all but two surveyed NGOs emphatic that they will return to the next edition of BoB, the impact of the event is felt across most NGOs. The Battle of the Buffet, in spite of its name, is truly a Fellowship of NGOs, with the event helping them access resources to create appreciable change where it is needed most: at the grassroot level. One participant encapsulated what BoB is all about: “We stood on BoB’s shoulder’s and were able to reach much higher than we otherwise [would have].” -Vaishnavi Welfare and Charitable Trust  

STORIES OF CHANGE

ANBAGAM LIFTING PEOPLE OUT OF DESPAIR Flooring and bathroom fittings for old age home (2017)* Lift facilities for senior citizen home for the mentally ill (2018)* Auto for transportation of patients (2020)* Chennai-based Anbagam rehabilitates The attempt is always to rehabilitate the men destitute people with intellectual disabilities and women, and there are cases where people and reunites them with their families. They have even been reunited after 35 years! “I have also run a senior citizen’s home. seen it all, from jubilation to disappointment on seeing their missed ones,” says Rafi. Mohammed Rafi was on the way to his An old age home followed in 2015, in a two-storeyed building, with Rafi living on the office, when he noticed a dishevelled man under second floor with seniors who are ill and need Gemini Flyover in Chennai. “Something about the assistance for daily living. man urged me to talk to him,” says Rafi, who later realized the man was intellectually disabled. After a A practical, accidental social worker, Rafi says, few days of helping him, he gave the man a home. matter-of-factly, “I don’t have any big ambition. This incident would change not just Rafi’s life, but I am happy with what I am doing; what more that of more than a thousand destitute mentally ill does one need!” people, for whom he started Anbagam in 1999. * indicates year in which project was supported

ARVI TRUST BEYOND LIVELIHOODS Mobile therapy van for special children in Dindigul District (2016)* Mini Dairy Farm (Self-Sustaining and Eco-Friendly Farm for the People with Mentally Ill) (2020)* ARVI Trust helps children with disabilities overcome their physical and mental limitations so that they can become independent and self-reliant members of the community. Boopathi’s laughter is mesmerising, full, and infectious. He has severe intellectual disability, while his cousins, Pandi and Leela, have muscular dystrophy. They all live in a small hut, sharing space with 13 other family members. Dindigul-based ARVI Trust works for families like Boopathi’s, who will otherwise be off the map: their mobile therapy van visits their home and helps the three of them become independent. BoB helped ARVI Trust run a mobile therapy van for special children, create entrepreneurs of the intellectually disabled, providing them with much more than a mere livelihood. Through BoB, Udayam Chariatable Trust – a wing of ARVI trust was funded by Sundaram Finance in 2018

CANDLE TRUST LIGHTING UP DARK Evening Tuition Centres for Nomadic Children (2017)* It’s difficult to find Candle Trust online. Atleast, one can’t find it easily. However, once you enter one of their 5 tuition centres, you realize the impact that their work has on communities that were denied education: children of nomadic tribes engaged in traditional vocations, such as soothsayers, scavengers, shoemakers, etc. BoB has funded Candle Trust directly 1 year and through CSR funds for 2 years, which has helped the organization expand their services to more villages, reaching 250 kids. “support for BoB helped us ensure that the children can access the education they always dreamed of,” says M.P. Palanisami, managing trustee. Usually funded only by trustees, for Candle, BoB has been a path breaking attempt to garner support through retail and CSR funding. Through BoB, CANDLE Trust was funded by Sundaram Finance in 2018 and 2019

PARIKSHAN CHARITABLE TRUST FUELLING THE DREAMS OF RURAL TN Taking science to rural children of TN (2018, 2019, 2020)* Parikshan Charitable Trust helps kindle “This is the way we teach them about the native intelligence of rural children specific gravity,” says Arivarasan, who has by teaching hands-on practical science travelled to 3400 schools in Tamil experiments through Vigyan Rath, a Nadu—taking the magic of science in science lab on wheels. sessions for as many as 20000 students, and as low as 3. V.Arivarasan, program director, Parikshan, Arivarasan’s passion comes through in his conversation, as he speaks about the enters a classroom. He shows the group of sessions, and how they are on the road with eager 11- to 13-year-olds two eggs. “How can the van 80% of the year. you find out which one is boiled and which BoB has literally fuelled Parikshan since one is not?” he asks above the excited din. 2011, covering recurring costs such as the As a group, they try several ideas: dropping teacher’s salaries, fuel, and other incidental it in water, dropping it in salt water, and expenses, helping the organization focus children even shout, ‘Break it and see’, on what they do best: kindling interest in before they zone in on the answer. science.

AMBATTUR ROTARY CHARITABLE TRUST VARIOUS PROJECTS, VARIED IMPACT Construction of Ayappakam After School Learning Centre (2017)* Digital X ray machine for Ambattur Rotary Hospital (2019)* Fulfilling the Learning Needs of Children (2020)* AMBATTUR ROTARY CHARITABLE TRUST (ARCT) serves the need of the Ambattur Industrial Estate - one of the largest & oldest industrial estates of Asia. Typical of Rotary clubs, ARCT works for the welfare of estate workers, their health needs and children’s education, and for the wellbeing of migrant laborers. The main projects of the Rotary Club of Ambattur are Ambattur Rotary Hospital, Ayappakam After School Learning Centre, TV Nagar School and Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW). The hospital has expanded over the years: from an outpatient clinic to a full-fledged hospital including surgery and specialized departments for cerebral palsy, dialysis, and ophthalmology. The Ayapakkam after-school centre was started with just two students and one staff in June 2015, and now grown to include 125 students from Classes 1 to 10, and employs five teachers and three volunteers. The centre is moving towards e-learning to help students explore the world around them. BoB supported the construction of the Ayapakkam After School Learning Centre spanning 2500 sq ft., purchase of a digital X-ray machine for the hospital, and purchase of computers and digital learning aids for students of the learning centre.

SRISTI FOUNDATION LENDING A FARM HAND Mobile therapy for special children in Villupuram District (2019)* Enabling sustainable livelihood development for persons with disabilities through dairy farm (2017 and 2020)* Sristi Foundation works on a sustainable residential community for youth with disabilities with a focus on livelihood opportunities. Everyone at Sristi knows that pesters us to get the doctor. Pets and animals are known to have therapeutic whenever Arun gets angry, he stands in effects on humans.” says Karthik the middle of the road. They also know that he won’t eat until all the cows under Karthik envisions Sristi, a unique home his care at Sristi’s goshala finish eating. with vast farmland near Puducherry, as a sustainable ecosystem that provides Arun’s temper was worse when he holistic care and livelihood skills for youth entered Sristi Village, and working in the with intellectual and goshala along with another resident, Kali, developmental disabilities. has helped him immensely, says G. Karthikeyan, founder of Sristi Village. “We hope with the skills they learn, some The duo milk, clean, and feed the cows, of them when they go back to normal life and are with them when sick. “Arun can earn a living,” says Karthik. doesn’t sleep if the cows are sick; he Through BoB, Sristi was funded by Star Health Insurance in the year 2018.

SURABI TRUST THE MOTHER OF ALL HEALTH ISSUES Healthy Mother (2017, 2019)* Surabi Trust works toward quality education, and better health for children and women. The first 1000 days after and started distributing it through several channels. Poor pregnant conception are important to build women are offered 14-pulse powder healthy societies. Recognizing this, mix which provides the necessary the Tamil Nadu government provides protein, vitamins, carbohydrates nutritious powder to expectant needed to supplement the health of mothers. Yet, the problem persists. pregnant mothers. The powder is d Chennai-based Surabi Trust found the istributed free of cost on a weekly root cause of the problem: the basis from the second month of mothers didn’t like the taste, or the pregnancy through childbirth, until powders were not provided on time. the baby is six months old.. Now, ev- They tested and created several ery year, 1000 women receive powders before developing their own nutrition during pregnancy and health mix exclusively for mothers, beyond.

TURNING POINT A RESETTLEMENT OASIS Learning centre for resettlement slum chil- dren (2018, 2019 2020)* Chennai-based Turning Point promotes the cause of education amongst underprivileged children, especially in resettlement colonies. When schools shut their doors during who attend, expanding to online classes when needed. Parents of these children COVID, the doorway to a brighter future work far away, and are practically absent for also seemed to shut for many high school the entire day. Sometimes, they opt to take students. COVID has forced several students their children with them to work. to drop out of school completely. In this scenario, tuition centres played an “Many students have started working and important role in keeping children in school. they don’t attend any after-school One such NGO, Chennai-based Turning program. We are not sure if they will even Point, is an oasis of hope. Turning Point has get back to schools once it opens. I should been working with large resettlement thank BoB, because of which we were able colonies in Chennai’s outskirts: to run tuition centres, and continue the Perumbakkam and Kannagi Nagar. During learning,” says Morarji Desai, founder of COVID lockdown Turning Point kept the four Turning Point. tuition centres going for the 120 children

VAISHNAVI WELFARE AND CHARITABLE TRUST EXPANDING HORIZONS Jeevani Milk Scheme, Tirukkoviloor (2018, 2019)* Advocacy and Research (2020)* Vaishnavi Trust helps alleviate malnourishment through Ayurveda principles with the support of doctors, thereby helping the common man rediscover the ancient wisdom. “It’s because of BoB that we pivoted our entire program,” says Deepa Jagan, program manager, Vaishnavi Welfare and Charitable Trust. “It brought us there by having us ask the question, ‘Why are we doing this?’” The organization entered the BoB does exceedingly well. platform in 2017, and since then, has What’s more, as part of the funding benefited from the offerings of BoB in process, a question from a corporate various ways. Then fledgling organization, entity about why they were doing what Vaishnavi Trust was able to understand they were doing helped them reevaluate the basics of crowdfunding, and how the their program focus. ask must be positioned. They also found the Pitch Fest and the “Each organization uses BoB in mentoring useful. Now, BoB is the only different ways. For us, it brought about fundraising event of the organization, and an attitudinal change,” says Deepa.

VANAVIL TRUST STRENGTHENING THE BACKBONE VASAL (2018)* Teachers Support to Vanavil School for Irulars (2019, 2020)* Vanavil Nursery and Primary School helps children from Nomadic communities learn through a unique curriculum. When COVID-19 struck, Vanavil Trust, like many NGOs, were caught off-guard. Within a month, they gathered their resources and decided to help the children under their care with nutrition, while helping them continue their education. Founder-director of Vanavil R. Revathi says that the main catalysts for the change were the “foot soldiers of the great transformation happening in the nomadic communities”: the teachers of Vanavil. It is these teachers whose salaries BoB funded. Corporate funds rarely extend to critical expenditure like teacher salaries, and remote geographies such as Nagapattinam. It is this ability of BoB: to be whatever the NGO wants it to be, that makes it such a unique initiative.

YOGA AMIRTHAM CHARITABLE TRUST AN ALTERNATIVE IDEA Reproductive health Founder Amirtham likes to be called as awareness camps (2018)* a healer, and believes that most illness- Mental health awareness es are psychological. The organization, campaign (2020)* through its various awareness, education, and health initiatives, emphasizes the Yoga Amirtham Charitable Trust merits of alternative health systems that (YACT) empowers women and integrate the body, mind, and spirit. children by providing vocational A little-known cause, and a training with a focus on livelihood non-allopathic method of healing are not skills, and promoting alternative usual candidates for formal sources of systems of health and healing, funding, and BoB helped change that. especially for reproductive health BoB initiatives have funded YACT for two of women. years, helping the organization increase their reach to 20,000 women, also raising An alarming number of doctors awareness among communities in the process. suggest hysterectomy for women above 40, in case of any problems with the uterus. Madurai-based YACT has been working to help women heal without the need for surgery. Through BoB, YACT was funded by Star Health Insurance in the year 2018.

The projects funded by BoB provide a glimpse into how the event has been a springboard to more enhanced development of NGOs. BoB aims to be the most sought-after fundraising opportunity for NGOs of all stripes, and continuing the services provided to NGOs to reach further for funds and other resources. BoB has also evolved into a credible platform for individuals and corporate entities to donate, multiplying the effect of the event. We hope to increase the donors who support these wonderful organizations. BoB has prided itself on helping NGOs that are typically under the radar of formal philanthropy, and bringing their work to the spotlight. BoB plans to expand our roster of NGOs, and ensure that all credible grassroot NGOs are able to access the offerings of BoB, no matter what their size or reach. For us at BoB, it is an honour and privilege to be able to help NGOs working on social causes. We hope to be able to keep up the good work and live up to the faith reposed in us by these amazing on-the-ground changemakers.