The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Allied Trusts disbursed a total of Rs 2014.30 million in 2007-2008, an increase of 23.5 percent over the disbursements of Rs 1630.47 million in the previous year.

This amount was disbursed to the three broad areas which define the grant making pattern of the Trust. They comprise grants to Institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Individuals.

The grants disbursed to Institutions in 2007-2008 amounted to Rs 606.19 million as compared to Rs 499.70 million in the previous year, an increase of 21.3 percent. Institutions include both Tata Trust Promoted Institutions (those that have been given seed support by the Trusts and on which the Trusts have a representative on the Institution’s board/governing council) and those that have been established with multiple donor support. The major grantees in the Institutions category included the Indian Institute for Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine of the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions, Karnataka; JRD Tata Ecotechnology Centre of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Tamil Nadu; and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

The Trusts support a large number of NGOs working in the six thematic areas in which the Trusts extend financial assistance namely Natural Resource Management and Rural Livelihoods; Urban Poverty and Livelihoods; Education; Health; Civil Society, Governance and Human Rights; and Media, Art and Culture. The distribution of the total grants to the NGO sector across these themes is shown below:

Support in 2007-2008 to NGOs working in the Natural Resource Management and Rural Livelihoods theme stood at Rs 407.11 million, amounting to 32 percent of the total NGO spend. This showed a rise of about 24 percent over Rs 327.20 million (33 percent of the total NGO spend) in 2006-2007. This has resulted due to increased attention to the unreached regions of the country in Northern, Eastern and North-Eastern parts.

Support to NGOs working on the Urban Poverty and Livelihoods theme showed an increase from Rs 14.75 million (one percent of the total NGO spend) in the previous year to Rs 39.74 million (three percent of the total NGO spend) in the current year as focused and concerted work in establishing new partnerships in this theme gathered steam. Support to the Education sector in the year 2007-2008 stood at Rs 384.74 million amounting to 30 percent of the total NGO spend, as compared to the previous year with Rs 210.26 million and 21 percent of the total NGO spend. The increase was caused mainly by a grant to the JN Tata Endowment made in the year.

Support to the Health sector stood at Rs 253.56 million amounting to 20 percent of the total NGO spend in 2007-2008. This showed a decline from the previous year of Rs 310.30 million (31 percent of the total NGO spend). Considering that two large Institutional grants to the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions, Karnataka and the Tata Medical Centre Trust, Kolkata both pertained to the Health sector, this decline in no way represents a decline in the importance of the sector to the Trusts. Support to NGOs in the Civil Society, Governance and Human Rights theme stood at Rs 78.28 million at six percent of the total NGO spend, a marginal drop from Rs 80.02 million (eight percent of the total NGO spend) in the previous year. Support to NGOs in Media, Art and Culture stood at Rs 102.62 million at eight percent of the total NGO spend in 2007-2008 as compared to Rs 36.09 million (four percent of the total NGO spend) in 2006-2007, a rise caused by two significant grants made to the Aga Khan Foundation, New Delhi for restoration of Humayun’s Tomb in New Delhi and to the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad for establishing a Chair in Universal Design.

Individual grants given to deserving individuals for the purposes of travel and education and medical treatment totalled Rs 132.06 million in 2007-2008, a slight decrease over the previous year’s figure of Rs 135.45 million.

Over the last five years, the overall disbursements have increased by around 30 percent as is shown in the bar graph below. This enhanced expenditure has required the Trusts to evolve a more focused and strategic approach to grant making, as shown in the many grants — covering Institutions, NGO programs and Individuals.