Beyond Giving: Supporting Policy Change for Remaking Nepal

George Varughese, Senior Fellow, International Fellows Program ~ 2008

Abstract

Writing at the moment of a critical juncture in Nepal’s modern history, as the bloody Maoist insurgency has ended and a new constitution is being formulated, George Varughese looks at the best practices of community foundations in various countries with the aim at setting up a similarly constituted foundation in Nepal. He argues that community foundations can help promote civil society development in Nepal, especially if such foundations empower local leadership. Varughese proposes the establishment of the Nepal Policy Foundation (NPF), a philanthropic enterprise in Nepal to fund grantmaking and other support activities for policy change through alliances with existing likeminded nonprofits in Nepal. Although such an organization would be composed of Nepalese, Varughese recommends that outside organizations, like the Asia Foundation, be consulted for technical and infrastructure assistance. Also, Varughese hopes that the new community foundation would reach out to share information and resources with Nepalese organizations like the group Social Science Baha.

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