Smile Foundation
Smile Foundation was started in 2002 by a group of friends who wanted to do something good for society. They were inspired by Peter Senge, the founder of the Society for Organizational Learning. He believed that problems like inequality and damage to the environment are also business problems — and that companies can't just leave it to governments to fix them.
What got them thinking this way was the opening up of India's economy in the 1990s. This brought many new opportunities. Businesses grew, and India started attracting investors from around the world. More people had money to spare, and many middle-class professionals could afford to settle down early. For the first time, many Indians were in a position to think beyond just earning a living — and actually give back to society.
Smile Foundation is to empower underprivileged children, youth and women through relevant education, innovative healthcare and market-focused livelihood programmes. Smile Foundation is to deploy best possible methodology and technology for achieving ideal SROI (social return on investment), to practice and promote good governance. To link business competitiveness of the corporate with social development initiatives; also to sensitize privileged children, youth and citizens in general to promote Civic Driven Change.
Credibility and accountability have always been the bench mark for Smile Foundation and are achieved through the promotion of principles of good governance in the processes and practices. We have a four- tier audit and evaluation mechanism to ensure impact of investment and complete transparency and accountability in utilisation of funds
