From being an observer who would visit NGOs to understand their work and manage Edelweiss’ social investments into their programmes to evolving as an advisor to her peers in philanthropy, Vidya started, and steers the EdelGive Foundation as its Executive Chairman. EdelGive seeks to contribute to building sustainable institutions and organizations that promote societal growth and innovation, advances the common good by bringing the skills, resources and talents of the for-profit world to the not-for-profit world.

Having witnessed the potential of the NGO sector to address India’s development concerns more ably if its operational capacities were built, Vidya through EdelGive strategised a model whereby a combination of funding, fund-raising and capacity building support is facilitated for NGOs to assist them do better what they do best.

The force behind EdelGive’s brand of collaborative philanthropy, she is committed to nurture the philanthropic ecosystem by facilitating linkages between the users and providers of philanthropic capital and the flow of resources and knowledge between both sectors. Under her leadership, EdelGive in the first decade of its existence has been instrumental in building a tight network of non-profits, philanthropists, Foundations, and Corporations whose support has helped scale programmes, that benefit close to 4.5 lakh people in need.

“We believe that collaborative philanthropy is the only way forward; we need to help all the actors in the philanthropic ecosystem, funders, NGOs, corporations and resource providers, overcome risk-aversion and trust deficit to aid the rapid development of a stronger Indian social sector.”, she emphasises

As an Influencer, Vidya lends her conviction and capabilities in designing coalitions and weaving disparate perspectives into a common narrative.