The work of NFI is driven by the vision of a plural, equitable, and democratic society

In 1990, Bharat Ratna recipient, C. Subramaniam, Dr. Kamla Chowdhry, and Dr. M. S. Swaminathan along with other leaders from the world of the media, arts, business, academia and the government came together to seed National Foundation for India (NFI).
 
Headed by Dr. Gordon Conway, the office of Ford Foundation, Delhi commissioned an in-depth study on the state of philanthropy in India. Pushpa Sundar presented this study in June 1990, which led to the birth of NFI at Raj Bhawan, New Delhi in January 1992. The launch was inaugurated by former Prime Minister and then Finance Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and a permanent office was established at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi in 1995.
 
Other founding trustees - Ratan Tata, S.P Godrej, Dr. Devaki Jain, Dr. Verghese Kurien, Begum Bilkees Latif, and Dr. David Arnold played a key role in shaping NFI’s management structures and program strategy in the initial years.
 
P. B. Krishnaswamy, our first Executive Director , a former civil servant, laid a robust foundation of systems and practices. Shankar Ghose with his experience in the corporate sector succeeded him and invigorated the organisation financially. Ajay Mehta spent a decade helming the institution and helped root NFI’s presence within civil society across the country. Amitabh Behar expanded on NFI’s work on governance, especially on the Sustainable Development Goals and enhanced the programmatic resources of the institution. Jashodhara Dasgupta, redefined NFI as an institution responsible for shaping Indian philanthropy and strengthening civil society through the core areas of governance and inclusion
 
Well-known rights activist Biraj Patnaik, the current Executive Director, is leading the change process in the institution to make it more responsive to the challenges currently faced by civil society in India.

Thirty years into our journey we remain a tightly-knit team working to develop and evolve civil society in India.