In October 2026, I joined the Forbes Nonprofit Council, a vetted community of founders and senior executives who lead nonprofit organisations. I am the founder and CEO of Marpu Foundation in Hyderabad, and I will use the council to put India’s volunteer-first approach to CSR in front of nonprofit leaders around the world.
| Who | Raghu Vamsi Kadiri, Founder and CEO, Marpu Foundation |
| What | Member, Forbes Nonprofit Council |
| Since | October 2026 |
| The council | A vetted membership community for nonprofit founders and senior executives, part of Forbes Councils |
| Based in | Hyderabad, Telangana, India |
| Marpu Foundation | A registered nonprofit organization in India: 250+ corporate partners, 1M+ volunteers, 23+ states |
What is the Forbes Nonprofit Council?
The Forbes Nonprofit Council is one of the Forbes Councils, professional communities that Forbes runs for senior leaders in different fields. This one is for people who lead nonprofit organisations. Members share what they have learned with each other, take part in expert panels, and contribute articles and commentary that are published on Forbes.com.
Leaders of established nonprofits apply, and a selection committee vets each one before membership is offered. For me, the value is simple: a room of people who have solved the problems Marpu is solving now, in other countries and under other laws.
Why I joined the Forbes Nonprofit Council
I registered Marpu Foundation in Telangana on 6 July 2019, when I was 18. Today Marpu works with 250+ corporate partners and a community of more than a million volunteers across 23+ Indian states, from 22 city offices, on domestic funding alone. Its programmes have planted 25,000+ Miyawaki saplings, installed 5,000+ solar street lights and 100+ water purification plants, given 10,000+ solar study lamps to students and revamped 30+ government schools.
I call the way we work Volunteer-First CSR: trained, organised volunteers are the delivery system of a CSR programme, and the budget pays for what volunteers cannot do. I set it out in a 2026 working paper on SSRN, which introduces the Volunteer-First Impact Model (VFIM).
India is one of the few countries where CSR spending is required by law, under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. That makes it a large, real-world test of how companies and nonprofits can work together. Most nonprofit leaders abroad have only read about it. I joined to show them how it works on the ground, and to bring back what the best nonprofits elsewhere have learned about governance, fundraising and scale.
What I will write about for the council
- Volunteer-First CSR. Why volunteers are infrastructure, not audience, and what that changes in a CSR budget.
- India’s CSR law in practice. What Section 135 and Schedule VII look like from the implementing side, and what other countries can borrow.
- Building without foreign funding. How a nonprofit can reach 23+ states on domestic CSR, donations and volunteer time.
- Employee volunteering that lasts. Moving companies from a yearly volunteering day to a programme people return to.
- Starting young. What I wish I had known when I registered a nonprofit at 18.
What it means for Marpu Foundation’s partners
Nothing changes in how Marpu Foundation runs programmes. It remains a registered nonprofit organization in India with 12A, 80G and CSR-1 registration, it takes domestic funding only, and administration stays at 3% of programme budgets. What changes is reach: the companies and volunteers who make Marpu’s work possible will see it explained to a global audience of nonprofit leaders, with India’s volunteers at the centre of the story.
Questions people ask
Is Raghu Vamsi Kadiri a member of the Forbes Nonprofit Council?
Yes. Raghu Vamsi Kadiri, founder and CEO of Marpu Foundation, joined the Forbes Nonprofit Council in October 2026.
What is the Forbes Nonprofit Council?
A vetted, membership-based community for founders and senior executives of nonprofit organisations, run as part of Forbes Councils. Members share expertise and contribute articles published on Forbes.com.
What is Marpu Foundation?
A registered nonprofit organization in India, founded in Hyderabad on 6 July 2019 by Raghu Vamsi Kadiri. It runs volunteer-first CSR and community programmes across 23+ states with 250+ corporate partners and a community of 1M+ volunteers. See marpu.org.
How can I reach Raghu Vamsi Kadiri?
Write to hi@kadiriraghuvamsi.com or message him on WhatsApp. Every route is on the Connect page.
About Raghu Vamsi Kadiri and Marpu Foundation
Raghu Vamsi Kadiri (Kadiri Raghu Vamsi) is a Hyderabad-based Indian social entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Marpu Foundation, creator of OurVolunteer.com and the originator of the Volunteer-First CSR framework. Marpu Foundation is a registered nonprofit organization in India (Reg. No. 619 of 2019, Telangana), CSR-1 registered with 12A and 80G. Companies planning CSR for this financial year can write to connect@marpu.org. More: the fact file, recognition and speaking.
Source: Forbes Nonprofit Council, Forbes Councils.
