India has always had a strong culture of givingWhat is changing is how people give and how easily they can support the causes they care aboutDigital payments have made giving simpler and faster, while greater access to information is helping people discover social causes and organisations working on them.
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Magic Bus India Foundation celebrated Daan Utsav, highlighting how sustained individual giving supports young people through education, skilling and livelihoods
The How India Gives 2025–26 study estimates that 68% of Indians give in some form, amounting to around Rs54,000 crore annually in household givingThe opportunity now is to build on this generosity and encourage more people to engage with the causes they support over the long term.
For Magic Bus India Foundation, individual giving plays an important roleIt creates another way for people to connect with the organisation’s mission of helping young people move from school to work.
Small contributions can add up
In education and skilling, change does not happen overnightA young person’s journey can include life skills, education, career guidance, employability training and, eventually, access to livelihood opportunitiesSupporting that journey requires time and continuity.
This is where regular individual giving can make a differenceA contribution of Rs. 500 a month is Rs. 6,000 a yearIf 10,000 people contribute the same amount, together they can create Rs. 6 crore in annual support.
Preity Karandikar, CMO & Individual Giving Head, Magic Bus India Foundation, said, “The future of giving is not just about making a donationIt is about creating a sense of participationWhen people understand the journey their contribution supports and can see how their support makes a difference, giving becomes more meaningfulThat connection can turn a one-time act of generosity into a sustained commitment to social change.”
“It is not always about how much one person gives,” Karandikar added“When many people contribute consistently, even smaller amounts can come together to create meaningful impactA first donation can also be the beginning of a longer relationship with a cause.”
An opportunity for the wider social sector
People want to know who they are supporting, how their contribution is being used and whether it is making a differenceThis makes trust, transparency and regular communication increasingly important.
For Magic Bus, the opportunity goes beyond acquiring more donorsIt is about building a community of people who believe in the potential of young people and want to support their journey.
For the wider NGO sector, this could mean moving beyond one-time transactions towards deeper, longer-term engagement with individual supportersThe focus needs to be on building lasting relationships that keep them connected to the causes they choose to support.
About Magic Bus India Foundation
Magic Bus India Foundation is one of India’s leading NGOs in education and skillingSince 1999, the organisation has impacted over 5 million young people across India through scalable and inclusive development programmes.
Magic Bus works with underserved communities to enable young people to complete education, build critical life skills, employability skills, and access sustainable livelihood opportunitiesIts programmes focus on creating long-term pathways towards individual agency, economic empowerment, and enabling communities to move out of cycles of poverty.
The Adolescent Programme supports adolescents aged 12–18 through life skills education, Foundational Literacy & Numeracy (FLN), STEAM learning, and future-ready skillsImplemented across 22 states and Union Territories, it is strengthened through partnership with 10 state governments and NITI Aayog, and has reached over 40 lakh adolescents, with girls accounting for 52% of participantsIts Livelihood Programme equips youth aged 18–25 with transferable life and employability skills reaching over 3.5 lakh youth annually and enabling more than 84% to access sustainable jobsYoung women represent 60% of participantsThe Rural Livelihood Programme strengthens entrepreneurship among peri-urban and rural communities by strengthening life skills, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills, and has supported the creation of over 2,500 entrepreneurs, 96% of whom are women.
For more information, visit: www.magicbus.org