Calcutta Foundation

Calcutta Foundation is a nonprofit organisation working on women's empowerment and community welfare in rural India. It was founded in 1994 to support an orchestra of orphan children, who went on to form the Calcutta Foundation Orchestra, and its work widened over the following decades into education, healthcare, income opportunities and relief. Its stated purpose is creating socially and financially independent women, for generations to come. The foundation describes its approach as strengthening whole communities rather than running standalone charity programmes, using local community centres as the point of contact. Its work is concentrated in West Bengal, with activity extending to other parts of India. It marks around 30 years of work in rural India.

Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Major Areas of Work

• Women's empowerment: Building financial and social independence for women in rural communities, including support for individual financial identities.

• Education: Learning and mentorship programmes for women and children in the communities it works in.

• Healthcare: Health support for rural communities, including mental health as a subject taught in its community workshops.

• Income opportunities: Entrepreneurship training and livelihood pathways intended to give women their own earnings.

• Relief: Extensive relief work delivered to communities in West Bengal and beyond.

Major Initiatives and Programmes

• Apni Kutir: A network of community centres, running since 2021, offering education, mentorship and workshops on subjects such as mental health and entrepreneurship.

• Calcutta Foundation Orchestra: The organisation's founding initiative, formed to teach music to orphan children.

Apni Kutir is the foundation's flagship. Each Kutir is a physical community centre that gives women a place to access learning and mentorship, explore economic opportunities and build a financial identity of their own. The model is designed for repetition across rural areas, with the foundation describing its ambition as redefining rural India one Kutir at a time.

Impact

Calcutta Foundation states it has worked for around 30 years in rural India and has built its welfare work across West Bengal and other parts of the country. It sets out a goal of establishing 50 Kutirs to benefit 50,000 women, and its site cites the backing of a large group of institutional supporters.

Leadership

Shamlu Dudeja, Founder and Chairperson Saumya Varma, Director Mahima Varma, Director Ausmiita Sarkar, Grants and Partnership Manager

Calcutta Foundation suits people who want close, community level work with women in rural Bengal, within an organisation carrying three decades of philanthropic legacy. It offers exposure to grassroots programme delivery, from running local centres to skill training, under a leadership team that has actively evolved the organisation's focus over time. It appeals to people who want to be part of a long standing, women centred rural development effort with a clear, growing model in Apni Kutir.