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Annual Report 2025-26

A Year of Action

The ILSS Institution at Work

Last year, ILSS reimagined its role as a leadership and management education institution to strengthen the capacity of India’s social sector and to build resilient, high-impact organisations.

The four ILSS Centres of Excellence are turning this ambition into action.
Watch Founder-CEO Anu Prasad and Team ILSS share their experiences from a transformative year of action.

Our Ambition

Impact 5,000 leaders across 1,000 social purpose organisations by 2030.

Our Progress so Far…

leaders impacted
1 +
organisations reached
1 +

Our Vision

Transformed Leaders. Transformed Society. Transformed World.

Our Mission

Catalysing Leadership for Deeper Social Impact at Scale.

The Year in Numbers

Program Performance

6

Programs

13

Cohorts conducted

184

Program days

300+

Participants

Organisational Footprint & Impact

10

Webinars & Masterclasses

7

ILSS Publications

2

Digital Learning Platforms

1300+

Alumni Community

1300+

Alumni Community

90

Alumni as ILSS Faculty

68

Alumni
Events

45

Alumni
Placed

2 National Convenings

2 days | 1000 attendees | 51 sessions |
100 speakers

India Fundraising Conference

1 day | 200 attendees | 8 sessions | 30 speakers

India Women's Leadership Conference

Centres of Excellence: Leading the Change

Social purpose organisations are central to India’s development journey towards Viksit Bharat. They address some of the most complex developmental challenges the country faces. At the same time, as the social sector is evolving, so are the capabilities needed to lead it: ranging from stronger leadership and governance to sustainable fundraising and the effective use of AI and technology.

The four ILSS Centres of Excellence are building these capabilities for the social sector, equipping leaders and organisations to create deeper and more sustainable impact.

Harish & Bina Shah Centre for Talent & Leadership

Building a strong community of social sector leaders by enabling transition of senior corporate leaders into the sector, strengthening sector-grown talent, and advancing women’s leadership.

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ILSS Centre of Excellence for Fundraising

Strengthening fundraising capability and helping organisations build long-term financial resilience amid changing philanthropy and funding landscapes.

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ILSS Centre of Excellence for Board & Governance

Advancing board governance as a critical driver of sustainable impact by bringing together senior professionals across sectors seeking a social impact role, and social purpose organisations looking to strengthen their governance.

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Koita Centre for AI & Digital Transformation at ILSS

Building digital & AI capacity for social purpose organisations (SPOs) and fostering sector-wide ecosystems to accelerate digital and AI adoption for social impact.

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Leadership for Impact: Learning in Action

This year, we offered the following programs:

The ILSS Leadership Program

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The ILSS Board Leadership Program

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The ILSS Emerging Women’s Leadership Program

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The ILSS Fundraising Program

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The ILSS Board Governance Program

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The ILSS Digital Transformation for Social Impact Program

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Webinars and Masterclasses

Our webinars and masterclasses create opportunities for continuous learning, knowledge exchange, and dialogue on issues shaping the social sector. Bringing together practitioners, experts, and thought leaders, these sessions offer practical insights, diverse perspectives, and real-world experiences for the ILSS community and the wider social sector.

Some of our sessions this year included:

Ravishankar Iyer

Founder and Story Coach, StoryRules

Story Rules — Communication & Storytelling Skills for Leaders to Win at Work

Dhir Jhingran

Founder, Language and Learning Foundation

The Social Sector Then & Now

Deepa GopalaKrishnan Sundar

Head - Sandbox Grants, EdelGive Foundation

Reimagining Digital Adoption: The Board's Strategic Role

Ramesh Srinivasan

Senior Partner, New York Office, McKinsey & Company

The Journey of Leadership: Insights on Leading from the Inside Out

Digital Learning Platforms

At ILSS, learning is an ongoing journey beyond programs. Through its digital platforms, ILSS provides leaders and social purpose organisations with continuous access to curated resources, practical tools, expert insights, and peer networks. Designed as living knowledge hubs, these platforms support continuous capability building, foster collaboration, and enable organisations to adapt, innovate, and deepen their impact.

The Digital Toolbook for Social Impact

The Digital Toolbook for Social Impact (DT4SI), created by the Koita Centre for AI & Digital Transformation, supports SPOs in their digital transformation journey. With significant additions this year, it brings together 30+ real-world case studies, 200+ digital tools, 20+ solution providers and 100+ learning resources to democratise digital & AI best practices and enable informed technology decisions.
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The Fundraisers’ Network

Launched this year by the ILSS Centre of Excellence for Fundraising, The Fundraisers’ Network (TFN) is India’s first-of-its-kind digital platform for fundraising professionals to learn, collaborate, and access practical tools. It offers curated resources, peer-learning forums, a professional directory, and opportunity listings to build fundraising capacity and raise standards of practice across the sector.
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Knowledge for Impact: Research & Thought Leadership

As the social sector evolves, so does the need for credible, context-specific knowledge. Through research, publications, and thought leadership, ILSS examines emerging challenges, captures sector insights, and shares practical frameworks that strengthen leadership, inform organisational practice, and contribute to a more capable and resilient social sector.

ILSS Reports

This year, ILSS published four key reports designed to inform practice and strengthen sector capabilities: two state-of-the-sector research studies and two reports compiling insights and learnings from our national convenings.

Leadership and Management in the Social Sector - An ILSS Report

Drawing on insights from nonprofit leaders, funders, and ecosystem stakeholders, this research examined the leadership and management challenges confronting India’s social sector, particularly founder-led and small- to mid-sized organisations. The report identifies critical gaps in areas such as strategy, institution building, succession planning, people management, and organisational sustainability, while highlighting the growing need for context-specific leadership and management development. Its findings informed the design of the new ILSS Advanced Nonprofit Leadership and Management Program, starting next year.

The State of Advisory Boards in India's Social Sector

Recognising the growing importance of advisory boards in India’s nonprofit ecosystem, ILSS conducted this study to better understand their evolving role in organisational growth and governance. The report offers a comprehensive view of the advisory board ecosystem, explores global trends and governance practices, examines how advisory and governing boards can complement each other, and identifies the factors that influence advisory board engagement in the Indian context. Through actionable frameworks and insights, it aims to support nonprofits in building more effective, strategic, and mission-aligned governance structures.

India Fundraising Conference 2026 Report

The report captures key insights, discussions, and learnings from the India Fundraising Conference 2025. Featuring highlights from addresses, panel discussions, masterclasses, and diverse conference sessions, the report reflects the importance of collaborative learning, innovation, and strategic networking in strengthening India’s fundraising ecosystem.

The India Women’s Leadership Conference 2025 Report

The India Women’s Leadership Conference (IWLC) 2025 Report captures key insights, conversations, and reflections from leaders across the social sector on advancing gender-equitable leadership. It highlights emerging trends, collective learnings, and actionable pathways to build more inclusive, resilient, and impactful organisations.

Read the ILSS reports here

Leadership Inspired – Social Impactors for India

The quarterly ILSS magazine is a knowledge and thought-leadership platform that captures emerging ideas, sector insights, and conversations relevant to India’s social sector. Through articles, interviews, guest columns, and practitioner experiences, the magazine aims to foster reflection, learning, and exchange among nonprofit leaders and ecosystem stakeholders.

This year, Leadership Inspired featured three thematic editions focused on fundraising, board governance, and digital transformation, three critical areas shaping the future of the social sector. Developed in collaboration with the respective Centres of Excellence, these editions brought together diverse perspectives, practical insights, and sector experiences to deepen understanding and encourage stronger institutional practices across nonprofit organisations.

Edition 05

Edition 04

Edition 03

Read Leadership Inspired here:

ILSS Blogs

The ILSS blog serves as a platform to share ILSS’s insights, knowledge, and perspectives on critical issues shaping India’s social sector. The blogs aim to contribute to sector-wide learning and dialogue. This year, ILSS published 20 blogs, including a few authored by alumni, bringing in practitioner experiences and diverse perspectives from the field.
Read the ILSS Blogs here

Building Community: Learning Together

Through our flagship convenings, ILSS brings together leaders, practitioners and organisations to exchange knowledge, explore emerging ideas and build connections across the social sector. In 2025–26, our conferences and awards brought together over 1,200 participants, creating opportunities for collective learning, collaboration and the sharing of innovations that can strengthen social impact.

Here’s a glimpse of IFRC 2026.

India Fundraising Conference (IFRC) 2026

The 5th edition of IFRC brought together over 1,000 participants and 100+ speakers around the theme ‘Capacity & Capital: Powering Impact’. Across 51 sessions and networking spaces, the conference strengthened knowledge exchange and connections to advance resource mobilisation for social impact.
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India Women's Leadership Conference (IWLC) 2025

The 2nd edition of IWLC brought together over 200 women leaders under the theme ‘Inspire, Empower, Catalyse’. Through eight sessions featuring 30 speakers, the conference explored gender equity and pathways to more inclusive leadership.
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AI for Impact Awards 2025

The inaugural AI for Impact Awards received over 60 applications and recognised seven organisations using AI and digital technologies to address social challenges. The initiative also shared these innovations through the DT4SI platform, enabling wider sector learning and collaboration.

ILSS Alumni: Growing Together

Our alumni community crossed 1,300 leaders this year. We created opportunities for people to reconnect, continue learning, and build relationships across programs and cities.
  • 68 learning and networking events engaged 925 alumni.
  • 40 learning sessions recorded a 64% participation rate.
  • 28 community-building events, the city chapter meets and field visits.
  • 90 of our alumni returned as faculty for ILSS programs.
  • 65% of alumni are registered and active on Alma Connect, a dedicated digital platform for connection, collaboration, and continuous learning.
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Alumni Chronicles - From Passion to Purpose

This year we published the second edition of Alumni Chronicles, featuring 22 inspiring stories that celebrate the journeys of ILSS alumni who are leading change across organisations, communities, and causes. The stories reflect the power of purpose-driven leadership and the collective impact of the ILSS community.
Read the Alumni Chronicles 2

Careers for Impact: Alumni Leadership Pathways

The Career Advancement team at ILSS partners with the alumni and organisations to enable successful leadership transitions and strengthen the social sector’s talent ecosystem.

This year, alongside managing a growing number of senior leadership mandates, the team strengthened employer partnerships and continued building an ecosystem that connects mission-driven leaders with organisations where they can thrive.

90+

Alumni Explored Transitions

45+

Successfully Placed or Engaged

24

Senior Leadership Roles Filled

10

CXO Level Positions Closed

188

Opportunities Shared across the Year

ILSS in the News

Making Headlines, Shaping Conversations

ILSS continued to shape public discourse on leadership and capacity building across India’s developmental landscape. Leading publications such as Hindustan Times, Business Standard, The Tribune, YourStory, and others featured our strategic partnerships, institutional milestones, and perspectives on leadership development, fundraising, governance, digital transformation, and strategic philanthropy.
ILSS in the News

The Year at ILSS: Milestones & Moments

This year marked several important milestones in the institutional journey of ILSS. From strengthening the organisation to expanding partnerships to investing in our people and celebrating our journey, these moments reflect our continued commitment to building a stronger institution for greater social impact.

ILSS Foundation Day: Celebrating Our Journey

This year, the ILSS team and the alumni city chapters in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bangalore came together to celebrate the ILSS Foundation Day.

Silver Jubilee Celebration: The ILSS Leadership Program

25 editions and 503 leaders! We celebrated the Silver Jubilee of The ILSS Leadership Program, the journey that started it all.

Welcoming New Partners: Strengthening Our Mission

This year, we were delighted to welcome the Harish & Bina Shah Foundation, Tata Trusts, HSBC, NATCO, and Jaideep Khanna as supporters of the ILSS mission.

FCRA Registration: An Institutional Milestone

ILSS successfully obtained its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration, enabling it to receive foreign contributions directly. This will help strengthen ILSS’ long-term mission and growth.

Learning Begins at Home: Investing in Our People

Reflecting our commitment to continuous learning, ILSS invested in its own people by enabling team members to participate in ILSS programs and providing leadership coaching for the senior leadership team.

New Advisory Board Member: Diversifying Our Expertise

We welcomed Bikkrama Daulet Singh to the ILSS Advisory Board, further strengthening the experience and expertise guiding the organisation’s growth.

ILSS Board and Team: An Evening Together

The ILSS Advisory Board, alumni, partners, and Team ILSS came together to celebrate a year of shared progress, leadership, and the community that continues to strengthen ILSS.

ILSS Annual Offsite: Reflection and Realignment

In March, the ILSS team gathered in Dholpur, Rajasthan, for the annual offsite to reflect on the year gone by, strengthen organisational alignment, and prepare for the next phase of ILSS’ journey.

Our Partners

ILSS FOUNDERS

ILSS CSR PARTNERS

ILSS CHAMPIONS

Annual Returns

Annual Return - FY 25-26