Globally, philanthropy continues to marginalise disability. Less than 2% of all aid goes toward disability focused initiatives, and only just over 8% of that reaches the Global South.
The Funder Roundtable on Inclusive and Intersectional Philanthropy, by Rising Flame and Mariwala Health Initiative was organised on October 11, 2025 at Taj Vivanta from 10am to 1pm.
The roundtable focussed on building collective understanding of inclusive philanthropy that centres lived experiences and enables leadership of persons with disabilities, and reimagine funding as an intersectional act by looking at how disability intersects with gender, caste, mental health, class, and geography. It aimed to emphasise the need for flexible, core, and long-term funding to strengthen the disability rights movement.
Inaugurated by Shri Subhash Phal Dessai, Honourable Minister of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Govt. of Goa, the roundtable was facilitated jointly by our founder and executive director Nidhi Goyal and Raj Mariwala, Director Mariwala Health Initiative. With 8 funders, 5 disabled founders of organisations of persons with disabilities and 4 disabled entrepreneurs, the conversations were constructive, forward looking and action oriented.
Our Founder-ED Nidhi Goyal set the expectations and agenda for the morning, followed by Raj Mariwala, Director, MHI, who shed light on the global landscape of exclusion for persons with disabilities.
Many representatives came together to help create a long-term interest in supporting the disability rights movement with core funding. Funders included Tata Steel Foundation, The/Nudge Institute, Tech Mahindra Foundation, Forbes Foundation, Godrej DEi Lab, Women’s Fund Asia and South Asia Women Foundation India. They discussed a range of topics – sharing how their organisations have innovated to advance disability-inclusive funding, the challenges they face in mainstreaming this type of funding across their work, and how they want to approach and deepen disability intersections across funding areas.
We invited disabled leaders to speak at the roundtable: Swarnalatha J, Swarga Foundation, Coimbatore; Kiran Nayak, Karnataka Vikalachetanara Sanghatane (KVS); Prasad Joshi, Goa Association for the Deaf; Prem Roop Alva Hemophilia Federation of India; and our very own Nidhi Goyal.
They shared their journeys to help funders understand the daily realities of the community. We learned that organisations led by persons with disabilities face major barriers: inaccessible, complex grant processes, and the focus on fluency in English. Web inaccessibility in applications and reporting further excludes many. They highlighted reasonable accommodation costs and the urgent need for long-term flexible funding for capacity building. These challenges deepen with gender, caste, class, and religion. Funders shared plans to strengthen disability inclusion by collaborating more closely with community leaders & committing to sustained support.
Ten Principles for Inclusive and Intersectional Philanthropy
10 Principles for Inclusive and Intersectional Philanthropy, serves as a framework for redefining how power, resources, and trust are distributed within the funding ecosystem. Built upon the insights and lived experiences of leaders with disabilities, funders and philanthropists funding disability, the document was produced after a Funder Roundtable organised by Rising Flame and Mariwala Health Initiative at the International Purple Fest, 2025. The framework advocates for a radical shift towards centering disability as an essential element of justice, equity, and human dignity. By moving toward long-term movement-building and embedded accessibility, these ten principles provide funders and practitioners with a definitive guide to fostering a more equitable and disability-affirming future.
Read in pdf.