Smile foundation

Smile Foundation is a non-governmental organization based in New Delhi, India. It was established in 2002 and has a presence in 25 Indian states. As of 2017, the foundation reaches around 400,000 children and their families.

The organisation works for the welfare of children, their families, and the community through four major programmes.

The Smile Foundation was co-founded by Santanu Mishra who is currently the Executive Trustee of the foundation. COO is Sanjeev Dham.

History
In 2002, a group of young corporate professionals came together to set up Smile Foundation to work with grassroots initiatives for effecting positive changes in the lives of underprivileged children, their families and communities. This group of people were inspired by Senge's philosophy.

Working Models
The organisation has two working models: social venture philanthropy and outreach. Social venture philanthropy is a model based on the business concept of venture capital. Outreach is the model under which the organisation directly implements development projects for underprivileged communities in villages as well as urban slums across the country.

The Smile Foundation launched the Mission Education Programme in 2002. It focuses on early education development, non-formal education, remedial education and bridging courses, and concentrates on education of girls, especially in India’s rural areas.

The Smile Foundation launched a digital literacy project in 2018 as part of its Mission Education Programme. The project aims to increase literacy among underprivileged children.

In August 2018, the Smile Foundation and Triumph Motorcycles partnered to organize Ride for Freedom, a group ride across 16 cities in India tosupport girls' education. Proceed from the ride were donated to the #SheCanFly campaign organized by the foundation.

Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson has developed web-based training modules for the Foundation's Smile Twin E-learning Programme. In 2018, Ericsson announced it would also provide internet connectivity at 34 Smile Foundation education centers across India.

Awards

 * NGO Leadership & Excellence Awards 2015 by ABP News
 * Best NGO 2015 (Skill Development) by ASSOCHAM
 * ICAI CSR Award 2015 for the Best CSR Project in Women Empowerment
 * Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Award 2014 by ABP News
 * Education Excellence Award 2013 by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industries (ASSOCHAM)
 * Corporate Excellence Award for NGO Excellence 2013 by IPE (Institute of Public Enterprise)
 * Quality Initiative Mission Award 2013
 * GE Healthcare - Modern Medicare Excellence Award
 * Asia-pacific Child Rights Awards