ABF was set up long before the Government of India’s mandate for corporate social responsibility (CSR). The bank’s leadership was motivated by a desire to contribute to the betterment of society.

The foundation approaches grantmaking as an investment for the community and focuses on maximising impact while keeping the community’s needs and aspirations in focus. Typically, the foundation works with nonprofits with strong community connections. It identifies them through referrals or proactive outreach and conducts due diligence to make final selections.

ABF considers itself a collaborator in change. It recognises that its nonprofit partners are the programme experts, and it shares strategic input based on its understanding of macroeconomic and sectoral trends as well as learnings from across its portfolio.

The foundation bases funding decisions on a nonprofit’s ability to demonstrate strong governance systems, convergence with government programmes, community centricity, and alignment with the foundation’s strategic objectives.

Over the past decade, ABF has developed strong nonprofit partnerships that have made it possible to deepen its commitment to creating sustainable livelihoods. Placing the community at the center of its work, the foundation has adopted a long-term outlook, supporting its nonprofit partners to design and deliver their programmes based on the evolving needs and aspirations of the communities they serve. Through this approach, the foundation has also gained a deeper understanding of community needs, allowing it to act as a thought partner for the nonprofits it supports.

ABF’s long-term partnerships coupled with its consistent vision for impact have provided stability to its nonprofit partners. That stability allows them to focus on deep-rooted complex issues, plan ahead and gain efficiencies accordingly, and deliver programmes at scale.

ABF actively encourages its nonprofit partners to create financial leverage and diversify their funding base by drawing in other philanthropic or CSR funders and by harnessing government programmes directed towards community, commercial capital, and community contributions. ABF’s long-term commitments also help nonprofits attract other funders who may have a shorter-term outlook (e.g. CSR funders with annual grants). This allows nonprofits to direct ABF’s funding to newer and evolving needs of the community, while others fund the more stable, proven elements. More generally, ABF’s funding can go towards important budget heads that other sources may not fund (e.g. core costs or OD).

The foundation has found that building greater trust in its relationships with nonprofit partners requires establishing transparency and accountability on both sides and takes continuous attention. Having a common understanding of true costs has been critical to ensure that the nonprofits are able to cover their costs and deliver impact to the communities they serve. ABF’s long-term commitment, a shared purpose with the nonprofit, and deep understanding of on-the-ground challenges along with their nonprofit partners’ willingness to discuss challenges they face and seek necessary support have been critical in building this trust. The foundation has observed that when other funders are actively building a trust-based relationship with a particular nonprofit partner, it’s easier to do the same.

Over the course of its journey, ABF has also focused on strengthening its nonprofit partners beyond their programmes, so they can both sustain their impact and pursue new approaches to delivering greater and lasting results. At times, ABF and the nonprofit may not be fully aligned on OD priorities, given their different context and information availability (e.g. ABF may want to support an OD need based on its understanding of long-term macroeconomic indicators that may not be readily apparent to the nonprofit). To help the foundation and its nonprofit partners align on specific OD needs, the foundation encourages them to define impact goals and set up systems and processes to help achieve them.

ABF believes that its grantmaking practices have enabled it to accelerate impact and better support organisations and community institutions to grow over the long term. It has emerged as a funder of choice for leading nonprofits. ABF’s track record combined with its nonprofit partners’ advocacy of its funding approach has helped to validate its grantmaking model, with indications that more funders are gradually adopting its approach.

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