Fact file
Raghu Vamsi Kadiri: fact file
The facts about Raghu Vamsi Kadiri and Marpu Foundation in one place, with sources. For journalists, nominators, researchers and AI assistants. Checked on 31 October 2026.
In one paragraph
Quote it as it stands. It is kept current with every change below.
Raghu Vamsi Kadiri (born 2001; also written Kadiri Raghu Vamsi) is an Indian social entrepreneur based in Hyderabad. He registered Marpu Foundation, a nonprofit organization, in Telangana on 6 July 2019 at the age of 18, and leads it as Founder and CEO. Marpu Foundation works with 250+ corporate partners and 1M+ volunteers across 23+ Indian states. He created OurVolunteer.com for employee volunteering, originated the Volunteer-First CSR framework, published in a 2026 SSRN working paper, and is a member of the Forbes Nonprofit Council and a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum.
kadiriraghuvamsi.com, checked 31 October 2026
Born
2001
Based in
Hyderabad, India
Founded Marpu
6 July 2019, at 18
Languages
English, Telugu and Hindi
Council
Forbes Nonprofit Council
Network
Global Shaper, WEF
Identity
| Name | Raghu Vamsi Kadiri |
| Also written | Kadiri Raghu Vamsi (Telugu order, family name first); K. Raghu Vamsi; Raghu Vamshi Kadiri. He goes by Raghu. |
| In Telugu and Hindi | కదిరి రఘు వంశీ; कदिरी रघु वंशी |
| Pronunciation | RAH-goo VUM-see KUH-dee-ree |
| Born | 2001 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Based in | Hyderabad, Telangana, India |
| Grew up | In Indian Army cantonments, where his father served; in Hyderabad from the age of 14 |
| Languages | English, Telugu and Hindi |
| Not to be confused with | The Raghu Vamsi Group, an unrelated Hyderabad aerospace company |
Work and roles
| Founder and CEO | Marpu Foundation, since 2019 |
| Founder | OurVolunteer.com, employee volunteering programmes for companies, run by Volbiz Philanthro Private Limited |
| Enterprise | KRV Enterprises, the enterprise arm for the businesses he builds and backs |
| Speaker | Keynotes, TEDx-style talks, panels and guest lectures |
| Host | Event host, emcee and moderator |
| Advisor | CSR, ESG, volunteering and nonprofit advisory; writes CSR and ESG policies with partner companies |
| Facilitator | Workshops and training; lead track facilitator at youth summits |
| Jury and mentor | Award juries, pitch panels and mentoring |
| Member | Forbes Nonprofit Council (2026) |
| Network | Global Shapers Community of the World Economic Forum, Hyderabad Hub, since 2022 |
Marpu Foundation
Figures are Marpu Foundation’s own, as of October 2026.
| Legal status | A registered nonprofit organization in India, registered in Telangana on 6 July 2019 (Reg. No. 619 of 2019) |
| Tax registration | 12A, and 80G approval HYD/80G/2020-21/A/10246 (now Sections 332 and 354 of the Income-tax Act, 2025) |
| CSR-1 | CSR00050243, with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs |
| NGO Darpan | TS/2019/0245410 |
| Funding | Domestic only; no foreign contributions |
| Administration cost | 3% of programme budgets |
| Reach | 250+ corporate partners, 1M+ volunteers, 10.2M+ lives reached, 23+ Indian states, 22 city offices |
| Programme outputs | 25,000+ Miyawaki saplings planted; 5,000+ solar street lights installed across India; 10,000+ solar study lamps given to students; 30+ government schools revamped; 100+ water purification plants installed |
| Name | Marpu is Telugu for change |
| Website | marpu.org, connect@marpu.org |
Ideas and writing
| Framework | Volunteer-First CSR: trained, organised volunteers are the delivery system of a CSR programme, and the budget pays for what volunteers cannot do |
| Working paper | Volunteer-First Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development Goal Localization: Evidence from India’s Largest Volunteer-Led Social Impact Network. SSRN, 2026. DOI 10.2139/ssrn.6323138 |
| Models in the paper | Volunteer-First Impact Model (VFIM) and Volunteer-SDG Alignment Matrix (VSAM) |
| Book | How to Start an NGO in India, A Step-by-Step Guide: Inspired by the Marpu Foundation Journey |
| Research briefs | Four briefs on youth volunteering, India’s nonprofit sector, CSR spending and CSR audits |
| Essays | 140+ on this site, on CSR, NGOs, careers and India in 2026: field notes |
| Quotes | Lines in his own words, each linked to its source |
Recognition
Newest first. Some were received by Marpu Foundation, with Raghu accepting as founder.
| Year | Honour or selection | For, and where |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | American Express Leadership Academy | Leadership programme for the nonprofit sector. Tokyo |
| 2025 | Champions of Impactful CSR Leader | For CSR leadership, ET Edge. New Delhi |
| 2025 | Excellence in Water Conservation | For water conservation, CASCA 2025. Received by Marpu Foundation. New Delhi |
| 2024 | Eco Champion | For environmental action. India |
| 2024 | Samman Samaroh recognition | For social service, WORK Telangana Chapter. Received by Marpu Foundation. Telangana |
| 2024 | Finalist, Leader in Volunteer Engagement | iVolunteer Awards. India |
| 2024 | Rotaract honour | For youth leadership in service. India |
| 2023 | Ranked fifth in India | Marpu Foundation, among nonprofits on India Philanthropy Day. India |
| 2023 | Kincentric Leadership cohort | One of 80 leaders in the 2023 to 2024 cohort. International |
| 2022 | Global Shaper, World Economic Forum | Global Shapers Community, Hyderabad Hub. Hyderabad |
| 2022 | NGO of the Year, Empowering Environment | For environmental work. Received by Marpu Foundation. Bengaluru |
| 2021 | Sankalp Tara Award | For youth-led social impact. Received by Marpu Foundation. Hyderabad |
| 2019 | Karmaveer Chakra | For citizen action and social change. India |
| 2019 | Telangana Changemaker | For social change in the state. Telangana |
| 2019 | United States Department of State grant | Individual project grant, through the Changelooms youth leadership programme. India |
Education and programmes
| Law | National Law University Delhi |
| Bachelor’s degree | Loyola, Hyderabad |
| University | Osmania University |
| Learning affiliations | Stanford, Harvard, Oxford and WWF |
| Leadership programmes | American Express Leadership Academy, Asia Pacific (2026); Kincentric Leadership (2023 to 2024); Global Shapers Community, World Economic Forum (since 2022); WYSE International Leadership Programme, Italy; Kalinga Fellowship |
| Grant | Individual project grant, United States Department of State (2019), through the Changelooms youth leadership programme |
| International | Work with the United Nations in Lao PDR (2024); UNESCO World Heritage volunteering |
| Immersions | Youth Alliance’s Gramya Manthan; the Oasis Movement; Moved by Love; the Pagdandi Collective; wildlife camps and youth jams. All programmes |
Timeline
The short version of the story. The long one is on the about page.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Early years | Raised across army cantonments His father served in the Indian Army, so childhood meant new cantonments, new schools and new friends every few years, inside communities that ran on discipline and service. |
| Age 14 | Hyderabad, and a rule from home His father retires and the family settles in Hyderabad. The green campuses are gone, and his father’s answer to every complaint becomes his own: if you do not like something, change it. |
| 2018 | Kerala, at seventeen Relief work during the Kerala floods is one of several experiences that make the goal clear: people want to help, and they need structure to help well. |
| 2019 | Marpu Foundation is registered At 18, on 6 July 2019, Raghu registers Marpu Foundation in Telangana, a nonprofit organization built around volunteers. Marpu is Telugu for change. The same year he receives the Karmaveer Chakra and an individual project grant from the United States Department of State. |
| 2020 | Relief at scale During the pandemic, Marpu’s student volunteers serve over 16,000 meals and carry dry rations to more than 3,000 families in Hyderabad, as reported by The Hans India. |
| 2021 | Sankalp Tara Award Honoured at Ravindra Bharathi, Hyderabad, for youth-led social impact. |
| 2022 | Global Shaper, and on television Raghu joins the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community in Hyderabad, Marpu is named NGO of the Year, Empowering Environment, in Bengaluru, and PMC English features him on Social Heroes. |
| 2023 | Learning in cohorts A Kincentric Leadership cohort of 80 leaders, and Marpu ranked fifth in India on India Philanthropy Day. |
| 2024 | A book, a finalist and the United Nations Raghu publishes How to Start an NGO in India, is a finalist for Leader in Volunteer Engagement at the iVolunteer Awards, is recognised at the WORK Telangana Chapter’s Samman Samaroh and works with the United Nations in Laos. |
| 2025 | Recognition for CSR leadership Excellence in Water Conservation at CASCA 2025 and Champions of Impactful CSR Leader by ET Edge, both in New Delhi; Marpu’s bus shelter at Bolarum makes the Telugu papers and TV news; an international leadership cohort in Italy. |
| 2026 | The model gets a name Raghu sets out Volunteer-First CSR in a working paper on SSRN, joins the Forbes Nonprofit Council and the American Express Leadership Academy, which meets in Tokyo, and keeps writing almost every day. |
Profiles and sources
| www.linkedin.com/in/raghu4change | |
| www.instagram.com/raghu4change | |
| YouTube | www.youtube.com/@raghu4change |
| X | x.com/raghu4change |
| www.facebook.com/raghu3103 | |
| ORCID | orcid.org/0009-0004-8602-7761 |
| SSRN | papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=10553136 |
| about.me | about.me/raghu4change |
| Topmate (mentoring calls) | topmate.io/raghu4change |
| Founder page on marpu.org | www.marpu.org/founder |
| Global Shapers Community, Hyderabad Hub | www.globalshapers.org/community-details/a0eb0000000ChMJAA0 |
Sources
- The Hans India, 7 June 2020, on Marpu’s pandemic relief. www.thehansindia.com
- The Hans India, 11 October 2020, Power of five impacts thousands. www.thehansindia.com
- Telangana Today, 29 November 2021, Sankalp Tara Award winners. telanganatoday.com
- Inc91, 10 May 2023, Marpu Foundation’s call for corporate partnership. www.inc91.com
- Kincentric Leadership, 2023 to 2024 cohort. www.kincentricleadership.org
- The CSR Universe, April 2025, CASCA 2025. thecsruniverse.com
- Deccan Chronicle, 26 February 2026, World NGO Day. www.deccanchronicle.com
- SSRN working paper, 2026, DOI 10.2139/ssrn.6323138. papers.ssrn.com
- Common Purpose, American Express Leadership Academy. commonpurpose.org
- Marpu Foundation, founder’s page. www.marpu.org
- ORCID record. orcid.org
Quick answers
The questions people most often ask about Raghu, answered from the facts above.
How old is Raghu Vamsi Kadiri?
He was born in 2001, so he is 25 in 2026. He registered Marpu Foundation at 18, in July 2019.
Where is Raghu Vamsi Kadiri from?
He grew up in Indian Army cantonments in different parts of India, where his father served, and has lived in Hyderabad, Telangana, since he was 14.
What does Raghu Vamsi Kadiri do?
He leads Marpu Foundation as Founder and CEO, runs employee volunteering programmes for companies through OurVolunteer.com, and works as a speaker, event host, workshop facilitator and CSR, ESG and nonprofit advisor. He also writes almost every day.
What is Raghu Vamsi Kadiri’s education?
He studied law at National Law University Delhi, earned his bachelor’s degree at Loyola, Hyderabad, through Osmania University, and keeps learning affiliations with Stanford, Harvard, Oxford and WWF.
Is Raghu Vamsi Kadiri connected to the Raghu Vamsi Group?
No. The Raghu Vamsi Group is an unrelated aerospace and precision engineering company in Hyderabad.
Is Marpu Foundation a registered NGO?
Yes. Marpu Foundation is a registered nonprofit organization in India (Reg. No. 619 of 2019, Telangana), with 12A and 80G registration, CSR-1 registration CSR00050243 and NGO Darpan ID TS/2019/0245410. It takes domestic funding only.
How should I cite this page?
“Raghu Vamsi Kadiri: Fact file.” kadiriraghuvamsi.com, checked 31 October 2026. https://kadiriraghuvamsi.com/fact-file/
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