CORO India

CORO India is a Mumbai-based organisation that works with people who face marginalisation because of gender, caste, region or religion. It says its vision is a society rooted in equality and justice, free from discrimination in its various forms. It was founded in 1989 as the Committee of Resource Organisations to promote adult literacy in low-income urban communities. It later became a resource organisation on gender, violence and community development. In its early years it was led by people from outside the communities it worked with, and it has since become community-led, with leadership teams from marginalised communities, particularly women. CORO describes this approach as a shift for the development sector that keeps its work relevant and practical and its impact lasting.

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Major Areas of Work

• Grassroots Leadership: Finding and training leaders from marginalised communities, particularly women, to lead change in their own communities.

• Gender Justice and Safety: Work on women's empowerment, safety and violence, and on gender equity with young men, young women and school students.

• Land, Forest and Livelihood Rights: Campaigns for women's joint property rights, community forest rights and rural employment, and support for a women-led credit cooperative in Osmanabad.

• Local Governance and Civic Participation: Supporting community leaders to stand in Gram Panchayat elections, serve on state government committees and take part in voter engagement.

• Networks and Resource Support: Acting as a resource organisation for government and partner groups, and running a network of NGOs and community-based organisations in Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Major Initiatives and Programmes

• Grassroots Leadership Development Model: CORO's model for finding and training leaders from marginalised communities so they can lead change where they live.

• Gender Equity Movement in Schools (GEMS): A school-based gender equity programme that grew out of CORO's research with young men and women. The Government of Maharashtra adopted it in its Meena Raju Manch programme, with UNICEF support and CORO as resource partner.

• Single Women Campaign (Ekal Mahila): Organising work with single women in Marathwada, supported by EdelGive Foundation, which received the FICCI Award on Women Empowerment.

• Joint Property Rights Campaigns: Campaigns that help women get joint ownership of family property.

• Community Forest Rights and MREGS Campaigns: Campaigns in Vidarbha on community forest rights and the rural employment guarantee scheme. CORO states they helped seven villages get community forest rights titles over 995.1 hectares of forest land.

• Mahila Mandal Federation: A federation of community women's groups that formed through CORO's work on women's empowerment and safety. It is now an independent, women-led local organisation with more than 10,000 members.

Impact

CORO states that its grassroots leadership model has produced over 1,300 leaders, and that 218 of its leaders have won Gram Panchayat elections, including 68 from its Single Women Campaign. It reports that 6,922 women have secured joint property rights through its campaigns, and that it runs a network of more than 300 NGOs and community-based organisations across Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Its school-based gender programme with the Government of Maharashtra and UNICEF covers 25,000 schools. It maintains partnerships with the Government of Maharashtra, UNICEF and EdelGive Foundation, and holds Platinum Certification from GuideStar India for transparency and statutory compliance.

CORO suits people who want to work alongside community leaders rather than run programmes on their behalf. Much of its leadership comes from the communities it serves, particularly women, so lived experience shapes how the work is planned and done. The work ranges from low-income urban communities to rural districts such as Marathwada and Vidarbha. It covers rights campaigns, local governance, school-based gender work with government and network building with grassroots groups. It is a good fit for people committed to gender and caste justice who want hands-on exposure to community organising and advocacy at both the grassroots and state level.