Santanu Mishra

Santanu Mishra
Born Sambalpur, Odisha, India
Residence New Delhi
Nationality Indian
Education Commerce Honours, Law, Company Secretary, Management Education
Alma mater GM College, Sambalpur University, Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Known for Co-Founder and Executive Trustee of Smile Foundation

Santanu Mishra is an Indian Social Entrepreneur[1] and an Independent Management Consultant. He is the Co-Founder and the Executive Trustee[2] of Smile Foundation[3] – a national-level development organisation that works for the welfare of children,[4] their families[5][6] and the community through interventions in the realms of Education, Livelihood, Healthcare and Women Empowerment.[7]

Early life

Santanu Mishra was born in Sambalpur, Odisha.

Formation of Smile Foundation

Smile Foundation came into existence because of the realization of a group of young corporate professionals, that it was their Social Responsibility to give back to the society.[8]

While settling in their respective careers, economic liberalization happened in the country and, fortunately for professionals like them, they were the most sought after. As a result, they began to settle down much earlier in life than they had expected. They used to meet and discuss regularly and exchanged their professional experiences to remain viable and competitive on a fast changing market environment, during the initial phase of liberalization. While major discussions happened around professional exchange of ideas, a small part of it always used to be about “giving back”. They formed a small voluntary group that started to carry out trivial development activities in select localities.

The informal way of doing some charity paved the way to giving back to the society in a formal and structured manner. Thus, Smile Foundation took birth in 2002.[9]

Unanimously, it was decided that all the friends would support the organization from outside through a CEO and a professional team. Smile Foundation went on like this for around three years without a well-figured plan. The organization was asking for more commitment.

In 2005, Santanu took a calculated risk[10] and quit his full-time corporate job to take the responsibility of conceptualising, structuring, steering and scaling up the organisation,[11][12] so that the larger vision is achieved.[13] Simultaneously, he set up an independent management and legal consulting firm for his livelihood.

Smile Foundation now operates in more than 730 villages in India and directly benefits an estimated 300,000 children and their families every year through its development interventions that range from education to essential healthcare, livelihood and women empowerment. Today, its range of development interventions has expanded to 26 states across the country, successfully adapting its unique integrated development models – Outreach and Social Venture Philanthropy.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Leader in spreading awareness".
  2. ↑ "Interview with Santanu Mishra".
  3. ↑ "Serving society smile".
  4. ↑ "Nutrition for Children".
  5. ↑ "E-learning centre a stepping stone to success for poor youth in Ahmedabad".
  6. ↑ "Training Underprivileged Youth".
  7. ↑ "Washington Post on Women Empowerment Programme by Smile Foundation".
  8. ↑ "Smile Foundation’s work in education, healthcare and women empowerment".
  9. ↑ "About Smile Foundation".
  10. ↑ "Empowering 500 NGOs".
  11. ↑ "Connectivity makes us smile".
  12. ↑ "Serving Smile".
  13. ↑ "Careers in the Third Sector".
  14. ↑ "The Guardian on Venture Philanthropy Model".

External links