Nalandaway Foundation
Empowers children to express themselves creatively through arts, enhancing confidence, critical thinking, and communication skills.
- Gold Certified 2023
- FCRA
- 80G
- 12A
- CSR-1
About
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Headquarters
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
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Since
2002
NalandaWay Foundation is a non-profit that works for children from the poorest districts in India, helping them raise their voices and issues through Read moretheatre, visual arts, music, dance, radio and films. NalandaWay takes arts inside classrooms to make learning fun, interesting and creative. This is achieved by making teachers partners in the endeavor by empowering them through arts workshops. Over 70,000 children in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, and Jammu & Kashmir have benefited from our programs. Our interventions have helped them become creative, learn life-skills and build self-confidence to create the lives that they truly want to lead.
Action
NalandaWay uses art and play-enabled pedagogies to remove fear and bring joy to the learning process for disadvantaged children.
Demographies Served
Cause Area
Sub Sector
Impact
Since 2005, NalandaWay has impacted the lives of over 5 million children through their arts-based education and wellbeing programs.
Vision & Mission
NalandaWay’s vision is to use the arts to empower children and adolescents from disadvantaged communities by strengthening their resilience, agency, and emotional well-being.
NalandaWay’s mission to integrate arts and well-being initiatives for children into government-run schools, Child Care Institutions (CCI’s), urban slums, and Anganwadi Centres, leveraging partnerships with funders, governments and local communities.
Donor History
Fidelity Business Services
HCL Foundation
Hermes India Retail & Distribution Private Limited
Merkle Inspire Private Limited & Paragon Digital Services Private Limited (Denstu)
GlobalLogic India Private Limited & GlobalLogic Technologies Private Limited
Michelin India Tyres Private Limited
Cholamandalam Investments and Finance Co. Ltd.
Programs
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Early Childhood
DistrictThe approach is rooted in NalandaWay’s ethos, which emphasizes the use of arts for education and empowerment. By introducing children to the arts from a young age, our aim is to foster curiosity and cultivate their interests in the world. Our program empowers children to authentically express themselves while also assisting them in navigating their surroundings.
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Children in transition
Students in Standard 5 (ages 10-11) attending government schools and other under-resourced private schools experience significant learning setbacks in language, mathematics, and social-emotional skills. As they approach the transition to middle school, any deficiencies in foundational skills can have far-reaching consequences. The lack of proficiency in these fundamental areas not only hampers the acquisition of more advanced skills but also results in disengagement from learning, peers, and schooling. Consequently, it often leads to children dropping out of school entirely.
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Gutar Goo
An early literacy and arts initiative for the 0-6 year olds to achieve foundational literacy, numeracy and SEL skills while building capacities of the Anganwadi workers and caregivers to support in the children's holistic growth.
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Vanam Vasapadum
StateThe programme aims to create joyful art experiences for children in government-run homes that build their sense of self and well-being by means of a trauma-informed expressive arts intervention.
Impact Metrics
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No. of Ccis
Program Name
Vanam Vasapadum
Year-wise Metrics- 2021-22 10
- 2022-23 18
- 2023-24 34
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No. of Districts
Program Name
Vanam Vasapadum
Year-wise Metrics- 2021-22 6
- 2022-23 14
- 2023-24 24
- 2024-25 30
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No. of Children
Program Name
Vanam Vasapadum
Year-wise Metrics- 2021-22 230
- 2022-23 655
- 2023-24 1300
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No. of Children
Program Name
Gutar Goo
Year-wise Metrics- 2021-22 66
- 2022-23 300
- 2023-24 750
- 2024-25 1000
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No. of Anganwadis
Program Name
Gutar Goo
Year-wise Metrics- 2021-22 2
- 2022-23 8
- 2023-24 15
Theory of Change
NalandaWay Foundation uses the arts to empower children from disadvantaged communities by strengthening their resilience, agency, and emotional well-being. We do this by, creating safe spaces and experiences that cultivate curiosity, creativity and compassion. We integrate wellbeing initiatives through partnerships with government and local communities, reaching both bustling cities and remote villages.
Milestones & Track Record
Since 2003, NalandaWay Foundation has been dedicated to strengthening the resilience, agency, and emotional well-being of children and adolescents through innovative, arts-based interventions.
Over the past two decades, our programs have positively impacted over 10 million children across 12 states in India.
Central to our work is a commitment to creating evidence-based, scalable, and high-impact interventions, anchored in strategic partnerships. We have collaborated with 40+ partners, including government bodies, philanthropic institutions, and key stakeholders, to co-create and implement these initiatives.
In recent years, we have also leveraged digital tools to expand our reach and embed the arts more deeply within the education system, ensuring sustainability and systemic change.
Leadership Team
Demographics & Structure
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No. of Employees
100+
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Strength of Governing Body
134
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Diversity Metrics
74% women
M&E
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Internal, External Assessors
Yes
Policies
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Ethics and Transparency Policies
Yes
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Formal CEO Oversight & Compensation Policy
Yes
Political & Religious Declarations
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On Affiliation if any
No
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On Deployment Bias if any
No
Awards & Recognitions
Great Place to Work Certified (2023-24),
GUIDESTAR INDIA - The Platinum Certification (Transparency & Public Accountability) 2017-2022
Millenium Alliance - Award for Art in Education,
MILLENNIUM ALLIANCE - FICCI - USAID DEVELOPMENT MARKETPLACE 2011 Development Marketplace Award WORLD BANK
Registration Details
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PAN Card
AABTN9221H
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Registration ID
425 of 2003/Book IV
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VO ID / Darpan ID
TN/2018/0184817
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12A
AABTN9221HE20214
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80G
AABTN9221HF20214
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FCRA
075901157
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CSR Registration Number
CSR00001780
Location
Other Details
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Type & Sub Type
Non-profit
Trust
Website
Financial Details
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2021-22
IncomeRs.52,852,177ExpensesRs.59,235,695Admin ExpensesRs.3,556,304Tip: Click on any value above to exclude it. -
2022-23
IncomeRs.66,624,572ExpensesRs.67,645,406Admin ExpensesRs.6,791,382Tip: Click on any value above to exclude it. -
2023-24
IncomeRs.85,761,895ExpensesRs.79,298,421Admin ExpensesRs.4,110,371Tip: Click on any value above to exclude it.