The Joy of Giving: Gratitude to Venkat Krishnan

Venkat Krishnan
Founder, Give India

"A leader is best when people barely know he exists. Of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say, "We did this ourselves."

― Lao Tzu

We are fortunate to have met and personally know some of the finest people of our times, who have committed their lives for larger good or you can say, they have enhanced their self so much that the entire world lies in it.

We're sharing about one person who is changing the way giving or philanthropy is seen in our country. Venkat , who started Give India in 2000 which has helped non-profit organisations raise more than 100 crore. He initiated Joy of Giving Week now known as Daan Utsav in 2008. The idea of Daan Utsav is to make a culture of giving as a festival and celebrate it just like Diwali, Eid or Christmas. It is not an organisation, doesn't have a bank account, it is an idea, spreading at a pace no one in impact industry could evaluate. Last year,around 5 million people participated in it and no one knows how many more people would have got inspired by it to do several acts of kindness.

Venkat for us is a modern day saint who has kept himself aloof from everything. All his possessions together include a bed, small TV, set top box, a mat, a small fridge, a mobile phone and few utensils. He uses public transport to commute and is one of the most responsive leader I have come across. Over past few months as we have been introspecting on how do we imagine the future,Venkat has been a deep inspiration. Many across the nation celebrating Daan Utsav or benefiting from Give India wouldn't even know about him and he has purposefully kept himself aloof of all this and prefers to call himself a volunteer of Daan Utsav. He says,"I see myself as a tool for social good."

Few people are lucky enough to see a shift in paradigm in their lifetime and we have no doubts that in the decades to come each household of our nation will witness Daan Utsav bridging caste, creed and religion.