Our Philosophy

Creative Philanthropy

By creating educational institutions of excellence that seek to prosper as an established culture, foster and catalze change, and continue to transform lives perpetually, the concept of creative philanthropy is rooted deeply in the guiding philosophies of the Shiv Nadar Foundation.

Looking beyond the conventional ‘corrective philanthropy’ approach, where gaps are identified and addressed through time-bound, project-based, large-scale initiatives, Shiv Nadar envisages ‘creative philanthropy’ as a means towards sustainable high-impact socio-economic transformation. This model affords sustained institutionalized philanthropy as a lasting force multiplier that impacts associated individuals and society en masse.

Transformational Education

The initiatives of the Shiv Nadar Foundation are grounded in the realm of transformational education. With the belief that holistic learning is one of the most potent transformation tools, the Foundation works towards mass outreach of high-impact education with the potential to change lives forever. Shiv Nadar chose education as a field to channel his philanthropic endeavors because he believes himself to be a product of education, which played a pivotal role in his life. It is his personal conviction in this belief that drives the Foundation towards transformational education, for proactively reaping a large demographic dividend. By providing state-of-the-art environments to students irrespective of their socio-economic background, the Foundation forges inclusive learning as the single largest tool for mass transformation. Creative

Transparency and Governance

As an organisation, the Shiv Nadar Foundation focuses on transparency and governance as an embedded work flow paradigm. Together, the board of trustees and the management work towards ensuring that the Foundation functions with optimal responsibility and with the highest standards of functional transparency and governance.

The working practices align with a set of stringent policies, including committee charters, standards of independence, and a code of ethics that ensure the philanthropic objectives are met unwaveringly. The board works autonomously as an authority that oversees, develops, and approves the core strategies, objectives, funding policies, budget allocation, and monitoring and reviewing of regulatory standards, with a keen focus on statutory and operational transparency.