WIMWIANS Give Back: A Legacy
Studded with an illustrious list of graduates guided by the best world class faculty, IIMA takes great pride in its alumni community whose impact extends beyond boardrooms and bottom lines. Driven by a deep sense of responsibility and ownership, WIMWIANS have created a legacy of actively giving back to society, catalyzing positive change for decades.
To structure this vision, the IIMA Endowment Fund (IIMAEF) was set up as the unified fundraising arm of IIMA and was founded on the bedrock of “Giving Back” by like-minded alumni. Prior to IIMAEF, the Institute was also raising funds through the organised efforts of the development office which are currently managed through IIMAEF. IIMAEF envisions to help solidify IIMA’s prominence in thought leadership, research and academic excellence globally and achieve the next horizon of global eminence.
Fig: Inauguration of IIMAEF Office by Prof. Bharat Bhaskar, Director, IIMA
By raising unrestricted funds that contribute to the general corpus of IIMA, IIMAEF provides flexibility to the institute to achieve its future objectives. IIMA has been unique in this respect, it has been uniquely pioneering raising unrestricted funding while most academic institutes receive largely purposed donations. Individuals—alumni and non-alumni—may donate a specified amount to IIMA general corpus and be recognized as the Founder or Co-founder of IIMAEF. Currently there are 13 Founders, 5 Co-founders and 1 Co-founding batch (PGP 1997).
IIMAEF also furthers IIMA’s vision of encouraging high-quality research, distinctive and effective teaching, and meaningful contribution to knowledge-creation by facilitating donors in setting up Centres of Excellence and Research Chairs. While these create a multiplier effect in terms of knowledge building and dissemination, Centres such as Arun Duggal Centre for ESG Research also contribute to the development of the nascent ESG ecosystem in India and help Indian enterprises and organizations integrate ESG into their core business and investment decisions. The Misra Centre for Financial Markets and Economy provides the impetus for focused research, teaching, and knowledge dissemination on contemporary issues related to financial markets within the overall economic framework.
Fig: Founders & significant donors of IIMAEF sharing their pearls of wisdom on Endowment Day
Spanning across sectors and causes, the impact of our alumni network, catalyzed by IIMAEF, is visible across myriad domains. From supporting the underprivileged in education through the SMILE initiative (PGP 1991), to education and leadership development of over 1 lakh government school teachers with Marico, IIMAEF is working closely with WIMWIANS to help shape the demography of the country for its push towards a being a “Vishwa-guru”.
A number of our alumni are involved in social entrepreneurial ventures that are helping address the pressing challenges that society currently faces, including healthcare and environmental sustainability. Ideated by the PGP Batch of 1980 and facilitated by IIMAEF, Saint Gobain commissioned a study for creating a biodiversity habitat at the IIMA Campus.
Our esteemed alumni have also spearheaded winds of change leading various individual initiatives that have inspired generations. One such alumnus and a founder of IIMAEF, Ms. Meenakshi Ramesh (PGP 1993), through her various foundations, including United Way Chennai and the Antara Foundation, has worked actively towards creating a positive social impact and driving civic change. Prof. Sunil Handa, the founder of Eklavya Education Foundation is on a mission to revolutionize school education in India. While Prof. Anil Gupta, a Padma Shri awardee, and a founder of the Honey Bee Network, has been an ardent activist for the cause of creative communities and grassroot innovations. Mr. Ved Arya (PGP 1981), as the founder of SRIJAN works towards sustainable rural livelihood management and empowering rural women. Mr. Ravi Gulati (PGP 1991), through his NGO Manzil, is empowering underserved students and is encouraging creativity and a new world perspective. Mr. Rajnish Dhall (PGP 1991), the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Micro Housing Finance Corporation Limited, is bridging the gap between the urban poor in the country and ‘housing for all’.
The spirit of paying it forward and giving back to help discover and groom such illustrious individuals has motivated WIMWIANS over the years to instate scholarships and fund research at IIMA. IIMAEF helps actualize this noble vision. Donors, including alumni and corporates, find it equally important to give back through endowments because their donations help create a positive impact on society as well as ensure a sense of legacy building. Furthermore, these donations are also tax-exempt.
The testimonials received from students who benefited from the financial aid provided by scholarships raised by IIMAEF and their desire to pay it forward give hope for the future. Supporting IIMA in its future endeavors, IIMAEF has ensured that alumni have a structured mechanism to give back to their alma mater. Having signed over 62 MoUs, servicing over 285 new donors and having raised fresh commitments of over INR 234 crores, IIMAEF has helped facilitate multiple scholarships, faculty case awards, research chairs, and centres of excellence being instituted for the furtherance of academic excellence and inclusive education at IIMA. IIMAEF was bestowed with the prestigious FiNext 2024 Award for ‘Excellence in Market Development’, at the FiNext Conference in Dubai. This award serves as a testament to IIMAEF’s innovative strides in cultivating a vibrant ecosystem for endowments in India’s academic landscape. Since its inception, IIMAEF has been setting a precedent for endowment funds within the nation’s business schools.
Fig: CEO-Endowment Fund receiving FiNext Award, 2024
On a quest to raise funds for the furtherance of IIMA’s vision, IIMAEF thanks the administration and faculty at IIMA, especially Prof. Bharat Bhaskar, Director, Prof. Sunil Maheshwari, Dean-AER and the Alumni Office team for their zealous support and implores a sense of giving back in all WIMWAINS and to carry forward the legacy of excellence in all aspects of institution building, knowledge building and nation building.
