The Golden Decade Begins
Why India’s premier institutions of technology and management are about to see their finest years of fundraising.
9 min read
Universities and Higher Education
Fundraising and DAR set-up for universities and institutes
Alumni wealth is growing. Institutions that organise to receive it will lead the next decade.
Why a professional DAR office, and why now
India's leading institutes have raised record sums in the last decade. A record year is not yet a system.
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Alumni are ready
Alumni wealth is growing and giving habits are maturing. Many are waiting to be asked well.
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Gifts need a home
Without an office, a gift is a moment. With one, it becomes a relationship.
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Endowments need rules
Spending rules and stewardship decide whether a gift lasts a generation.
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Fundraisers are scarce
India has thousands of institutions and very few trained fundraisers. People take years to build.
Is this the right fit?
Who this is for
- Private universities and institutes of higher learning
- Founders, trustees and vice-chancellors building a DAR office
- Institutions preparing a first campaign or an endowment
Who this is not for
- Student recruitment or admissions marketing
- Accreditation and ranking consultancy
- One-off event fundraising
What we build
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Development and Alumni Relations office
Structure, reporting lines, policies and the systems to run them.
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Alumni giving
Programmes that turn alumni goodwill into regular, growing support.
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Major gifts
Identifying, cultivating and asking the donors who can transform a campus.
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CSR partnerships
Company partnerships aligned to CSR rules and to your priorities.
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Endowment design
Spending rules and stewardship so that gifts last for generations.
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Team
Hiring and training the fundraisers your office will need.
How we work
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Audit
Where your institution stands on people, data, alumni and governance.
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Blueprint
The office, the team and the first three years, on paper.
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Hire and train
The right people, recruited and trained for the work.
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First campaign
A first campaign run together, so the system is tested in practice.
Our method
Pancha Daan Chakra: the five movements of giving
Our university work draws on the five movements of giving from The Dharma of Giving: Daan, Bhiksha, Dakshina, Sankalp and Seva.
See the frameworkResults, without the names
Recent engagements. Clients, towns and doctors are never named.
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A private university, North India
- Problem
- The university had no history of structured fundraising.
- What we did
- Designed its first five-year fundraising and go-to-market plan. Built the case for support and mapped donors into segments. Trained leaders to make the ask and grow the founding team.
- Result
- Six prominent supporters joined the founding team. One of them gave the university its first major gift: ₹25 crore.
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A management institute, South India
- Problem
- Fundraising depended on the founder making every ask.
- What we did
- Built a professional fundraising team. Recrafted the gift table and mapped existing donors' potential. Built new prospect and CSR proposal pipelines and a case for support. Trained the team in communication, negotiation and the ask.
- Result
- Fundraising led by people other than the founder grew from 9% to 30% in year one. Income now includes CSR gifts, gifts of equity shares and a legacy giving programme.
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A university building an endowment, Middle East
- Problem
- Large gifts arrived with no rules for spending or investing them. Donors were unhappy.
- What we did
- Drafted endowment and gift acceptance policies. Trained the board to solicit, accept and recognise gifts.
- Result
- A USD 15 million endowment corpus was established. The first named funds support research and need-based scholarships.
Free resource
DAR Readiness Checklist
A checklist for Indian institutions. Test whether you are ready to build a development office.
Leave your email and we will send it to you.
Free to use inside your institution. See the terms of use.
Publishing March 2027
The Dharma of Giving
How ancient Indian wisdom transforms the way institutions ask, receive and inspire.
Further reading
Essays from Kuunal on the questions behind this work.
From Gift to Endowment
India has learned to raise money. The next task is to learn to keep it.
6 min read
Questions
How are fees structured?
Each phase has a fixed fee, agreed in writing before work begins. Scope, duration and team size set the fee.
How long does it take to set up a DAR office?
An audit and blueprint come first. Hiring and the first campaign are then phased to fit your institution.
Do you work with institutions outside Delhi?
Yes. We work with universities and institutes across India, on site and remotely.
Will our information stay confidential?
Yes. We never name clients, and we sign a confidentiality agreement on request.
What is the first step?
Book a 30-minute call. We will suggest whether a DAR Readiness Review fits.
Request a DAR Readiness Review
Tell us a little about your institution. We reply within two working days.
WhatsApp +91 99106 84711