Million Missions Report

Author: Alok Sarin, Amita V. Joseph, Bharati Ramachandran and others·16 Sep 2025

Topics

Creative Careers

Diversity and Inclusion

Financial Management

Reporting and Evaluation

The Million Missions Report, conceived in mid-2022, measures the contributions of civil society in India since 75 years of Independence. While the full report sheds light on various sectors including child rights, micro finance, livelihoods, CSR, animal protection etc., a section of the report is dedicated to the arts and culture sector, focusing on the context, composition, evolution, and challenges of NGOs working in this space. It also highlights how a large number of festivals and festival organisers have been made possible due to the support and involvement of not-for profit organisations.

Authors: Alok Sarin, Amita V. Joseph, Bharati Ramachandran, Kavya Ramalingam Iyer, Rashmi Dhanwani, Nandini Ghosh and others
Collaborators: Art X, Business and Community Foundation, Banyan, Catalyst 2030 and others
Survey and Research: GuideStar India, IIM Ahmedabad Research Team, Society for Social and Economic Research and others

Key Findings

Arts and culture NPOs play a vital role in preserving, and enriching India’s diverse cultural heritage, promoting cultural awareness, bolstering infrastructure, creating a space for artists and cultural enthusiasts, promoting skills development and capacity building, and supporting livelihoods.
Of the total funding of ₹4901 crore in 2012, Culture and Recreation societies’ major source of funding was donations and offerings instead of government grants.
The diverse and diffused nature of the sector is such that many small organisations (such as festivals, theatre or dance companies, crafts persons etc.) carry out functions such as that of NGOs, but do not have the knowledge, time or resources to formalise the work they do.
Major regional and national festivals such as the Khajuraho dance festival, Konark dance festival, Sankatmochan music festival, Shankar Lal music festival, NSD theatre festival, the Mazhgazhi season in Chennai and so on have also been made possible due to the support and involvement of not-for profit organisations.