In this episode of 7 Figure Fundraising, host Trevor Bragdon is joined by Dr. Sarika Kulkarni. Sarika has spent her career being a professor, author, entrepreneur, and most recently, founder of the non-profit Raah Foundation. The podcast begins with Sarika sharing about this foundation, which is aimed at changing and providing better lives for those in the tribal communities of India. She shares her story of how she went from a professor to an entrepreneur to a nonprofit founder.

Trevor asks Sarika to share about the beginning goals of the Raah Foundation and how these goals have evolved over the years. She shares how the beginning goal was to provide the communities with basic necessities, such as water. Once this was established, they then moved to working with the locals and training them in farming, commercial skills, and using their talents to create businesses. These goals evolved and changed based on the feedback received and the different needs that arose. However, the main goal of bringing employment opportunities into the local community remained the same. It was this vision along with building trust that brought donors to the Raah Foundation. 

Trevor then asks Sarika about her focus on the tribal areas in India and how this passion was born. She explains how this passion simply came from her seeing a need and wanting to do something about it. She first invested time in getting to know the people personally, understanding the challenges they faced, and then inviting them to play a part in reaching solutions. Once basic needs such as water were met, the local people had more time to be trained and taught in entrepreneur skills and basic business practices. Sarika emphasizes the importance of the Raah Foundation’s work of not handing out free things, but giving locals the training and tools needed to earn their own living. 

The podcast concludes with Sarika offering advice to other leaders of non-profit foundations. Her biggest piece of advice is to realize that solutions must come from the field where the problem lies. For her, this was focusing on providing jobs to the local community to combat poverty. She also encourages leaders to spend time with the people in the field they are trying to impact. Build trust with them, show them that you care, and work together with them in reaching solutions to impact the community. 

Learn More:

• To learn more about the Rhaa Foundation, visit raahfoundation.org.

• Connect with Dr. Sarika Kulkarni on LinkedIn.