An Overview
Empower Foundation was incepted in 2013 and started its operations from Delhi NCR in 2014. Foundation is the not-for-profit arm of Empower Pragati and is registered under Section 25 of Indian Companies Act, 1956 (12A and 80G certified).We are an FCRA certified organization. Empower Foundation works with the vulnerable sections of the society through well-strategized impactful interventions in the areas of education, livelihood generation, dissemination of public information and advocacy. These projects focus on capacity building of the participants in order to make them self- dependent.
Empower Foundation also executes Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of various corporates which aim to impact on the lives of the masses. We are driven to transform the communities by empowering them to stand against various forms of exploitation by combating their daily life battles with the help of knowledge and awareness. Our main target beneficiaries are women, adolescents, youth, domestic workers, and various other marginalized communities & groups.
2013
Registered in 2013, Empower Foundation was initially created to support the work of Empower Pragati(www.empowerpragati.in), our for-profit social enterprise for skill training and employment for vulnerable youth across the country.
(A class for Home Managers, Ahmedabad, 2014)
2014
From 2014 the Foundation was a partner for Empower Pragati in implementing the ‘Home Manager’ Program. This Program conceptualized by Empower Pragati was a unique intervention to provide professional skill training, capacity building and empowerment for Domestic Workers. Started initially in Ahmedabad, the Home Manager Program was replicated across 4-5 cities in India.
In Delhi we launched a project to skill and rehabilitate homeless women in partnership and financial support from The Centre of Equity. For this project about 200 women from shelter homes across Delhi were met, counselled and explained before selecting the first batch of 25 women. The Program was residential and after an intensive 6-month training, guidance and handholding about 8 women got employment as full time domestic workers.
2015
In 2015, Empower Foundation was awarded a contract by NSDA (National Skill Development Agency) as part of a consortium to undertake an RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) study on 1000 Domestic Workers in Delhi. This study was the first structured RPL study for unorganized sector workers and it helped validate the hypothesis that skill certification is a necessary determinant of wage mobility and facilitates workers bargaining rights. This project was carried out in Rangpur Pahadi (Vasant Kunj), Rangpuri and Tughlakabad area for the live-out workers.
In 2015 we had also launched our first Program, KIRAN. We also empanelled a batch of 20 Volunteers who helped take sessions on health, hygiene, legal and social rights for women and men across Delhi NCR. In 2016 Pernod Ricard funded the Foundation to conduct Kiran Program in locations in Rajasthan, Haryana and Maharashtra
(A session in progress with homeless women, Centre for Equity Project)
(KIRAN Session at Kadarpur Village 2016, Gurgaon).
2017
By 2017, the Foundation had trained/upskilled about 2000 Home Managers and provided new /second employment to about 500.In 2017 the Domestic Workers Sector Skill Council was set up under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. Empower Foundation is one of the founding members and Rajiv Sharma , Chairman and MD, Empower Pragati serves on the Board. We are proud of the role played by the Foundation in formalizing this sector and continues to play an active role in policy reform and in providing empowering and secure careers to Domestic Workers.
In 2017, the Foundation launched a unique functional literacy program, Badlaav for adult illiterates and neoliterates. Started in Prayagraj district(UP), and then replicated in Alwar District (Rajasthan) Badlaav had provided literacy to about 250 women by 2019.
A fundamental level of literacy is the basic requirement for skill training programs. Education and awareness also leads to greater financial, social and economic independence. Vocational Skill Programs funded through CSR /Grant funding and implemented by Empower Pragati became our key flagship interventions ever since the CSR Policy of the Companies Act was implemented. Empower Foundation is a proud partner of the Castrol Eklavya Program for skill training and empowerment of road side mechanics since 2016.
Our Covid-19 Response
Our Area Of Work
Empower Foundation works with the vulnerable sections of the society especially with women through well-strategized impactful interventions in the areas of literacy, livelihood generation, dissemination of public information and advocacy. These programs focus on the overall capacity building of the participants in order to make them self-reliant and self-sustainable.
The Foundation works in the following 4 thematic areas:
Adult Literacy
Community Education &
Awareness
Entrepreneurship
Development
Vocational Skill &
Employment
It believes that none of these areas can work in isolation only and a holistic design that combines these as well as other aspects that may require partnering with other experts, agencies is the way forward for enabling our Mission.
Empower Foundation also executes Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of various corporates and other organizations, which aim to impact the lives of the masses, especially reaching out to the most vulnerable sections of the society. We have expertise in designing solutions, ground-level implementation and in building powerful collaborations with other partners to scale up impact.
Empower Foundation’s Mission
Powering People’s Progress is our Mission and Purpose. Woven in these 3 words is the essence of our approach to work. This is best explained as below:
We believe that progress does not promise that all aspects of life will improve at the same time or at the same rate and that there could be many ways to help people tackle and solve challenges
We believe that enabling people with skills, resources , knowledge , information ,support and belief will help them become more self-reliant, empowered and financially independent
We believe that we have the passion, the dedication and the drive to touch and impact hundreds of lives
Visionary Goals of the Organization
Educating a million women
Increasing earning capacity for Low-Income Families
We are registered under Section 25 of Indian Companies Act, 1956 (12A and 80G certified) and have FCRA registration.