Welcome to the Social Impact Files
Why we're starting this Substack newsletter
On a sticky hot day in a small office off a dusty side street in Delhi, I came face to face with the truth of the matter: everything I thought I knew about humanitarianism was completely wrong. It would take six more years to work out the basics and I’m still learning now.
That meeting in February 2019 was with Magsaysay award-winner (Asia’s equivalent of a Nobel prize) and Ashoka fellow Anshu Gupta, social entrepreneur and founder of Goonj, an Indian NGO.
Goonj works in 25 states in India, serving 7,300 villages with 20,900 community development activities touching the lives of over 2.8 million people. The organisation’s focus is on dignity, community resilience, and sustainability.
Goonj serves and collaborates with these communities to help them leverage their own expertise and resources. The original premise was based on collecting urban discard (cloth initially) from Indian cities and using it as a currency in rural villages, awarded to people working on community projects under a “Cloth For Work” scheme. It’s expanded far beyond that now, and Anshu has become a global thought-leader and spokesperson for this new kind of social entrepreneurship.
“I’m here because we want to raise £100,000 for your charity,” I announced, waiting for the warm glow of acceptance and the welcoming arms of a grateful recipient.
Instead he glared at me, clearly pondering whether or not to chuck this impudent little Brit back out into the Delhi streets.
But Anshu is a kind man, and generous with his time and attention. Rather than dismiss me and my arrogant, neocolonial, “White Saviour” attitude, he decided on a course of remedial education.
Rather sternly and with great emphasis he declared: “We don’t do charity.”
The Documentary
That declaration in Delhi would become the title of our 94-minute documentary, which launched with a special screening at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2025.
To watch the film or organise a screening, Click here.
While filming we met with some of the world’s leading movers and shakers in international development and learned some terrible truths.
With Anshu we’d discovered that charity can be humiliating and debilitating and that it was better to work in collaboration with communities in need. But the depth and breadth of the real problems soon became apparent as we delved deeper - at its worst, charity was harmful, corrupt, self-serving, and re-enforced colonial attitudes.
In the course of making the film (and indeed since) we came across a great many very bright people with innovative ideas and the energy and drive to see them through.
Social entrepreneurs, social innovators, change-makers all, these people worked on a different level and I began to realise that this groundswell of of radical change in the development space is a rich source of stories and learning for us all.
The power of stories
Along with any movement for change comes a cacophony of opinions, reports, statistics, academic papers, inches-thick wads of research and information, and vociferous arguments.
This triggered another revelation: You are never going to change anyone’s view of the world with facts and information. You have to inspire people and the only way to do that is with a good story with strong characters with whom you can empathise.
Authentic stories make an emotional connection. Facts are neutral and from the dawn of time humans have used stories to interpret facts and create meaning, and a good story uses characters, drama, and shared values to connect with its audience in a meaningful way.
And that is why we have started The Social Impact Files of which this substack is a core component.
Join us and help change the world
Subscribe to The Social Impact Files and be inspired with stories of innovators, change-makers, and social entrepreneurs from across the world who strive to make the world a better place.
We’ll bring you regular posts, weekly videos, and a monthly podcast highlighting amazing change-makers, innovators, and social entrepreneurs and their ambitions, challenges, and struggles.
And you’ll become part of the social impact community. We want to exchange ideas and opinions so that we all learn together.
And if you can support us though paid subscriptions, so much the better - we can then tell unbiased stories free from commercial influences or advertisers.
We’d love you to become part of our community of people who share your passion for social innovation, so please join us today.