Give annual off-site 2019

Bags packed, spirits high and plates full of piping hot idlis for breakfast, we started our bus journey to Kanakpura for Give Annual off-site 2019. 

Our home for the next two days, Sky Blue Orchids resort was a sprawling area with open spaces. It was the appropriate breathing space that all of us needed to rejuvenate ourselves. The annual off-site has Givevesters from all locations, coming together to reflect upon the year gone by and planning the upcoming year full of new opportunities. 

This year’s off-site was an eclectic mix of panel discussions with non-profit leaders as well as Give functional leads, heartwarming performances by beneficiaries of our non-profits and also a workshop through which we discussed our core values of integrity, passion, scale and empathy. 

Values Workshop

Give has four core values:

1. integrity in everything we do

we strive to be honest and fair to all our stakeholders, and do the right thing, even when no one’s watching.

2. serve with passion

we are fiercely committed to our purpose and work with a burning desire to deliver our impact.

3. focused on scale

we stay laser-focused on large-scale impact. if we can’t scale it, we park it.

4. empathy for all

empathy is why we’re together. we provide unconditional respect, freedom & support to each other.

A workshop was conducted for all of us to discuss and understand the various facets of these values which shape all of our personal journeys at Give. All of us were divided into four groups and each group had to deliberate upon the positives, negatives and the policy-based impact that particular value can have on the organisation. 

With my team, I discussed Integrity as a value. The first and foremost point that was unanimously agreed upon was financial integrity and how stealing money and submitting false reimbursement claims was a big violation of this value and should be treated with the utmost strictness. Stealing intellectual property was given equal weight. We also stressed on ensuring integrity at the workplace, where colleagues help each other grow and empower open conversations.

Integrity also plays an important part in our existing leaves policy. Employees should have the integrity to not take advantage of the unlimited leaves policy. On part of the employer, integrity lies in conducting a transparent and fair increment process. 

Panel discussions

Working in teams focused on specific sections and goals many of us don’t really get to know what is happening in other teas and how there is a fair bit of impact that our work can have on other teams. The panel discussion with the functional leads gave us clarity into what each team has been doing and is aiming to do in the coming year. 

The panel discussion with the non-profit leaders like the founder of Aarti for Girls, Mitrajyothi and Team Everest was a great source of motivation for most of us. Their stories, the journey that they have had so far and the beneficiaries who shared such positive empowering stories had us speechless. The performances by the students of Christel House and the young ladies of Aarti for Girls had us cheering for them and feeling humbled by their stories. 

A session with the CEO

Atul Satija, our CEO too gave us a quick drive down memory lane, where he told us about the journey that Give has seen right from when our founder Venkat Krishnan N started the organisation. Be it the initiation of the Mumbai Marathon or the Daan Utsav to the launch of the subscription platform-the first of its kind in the world, Give has been a pioneer in the true sense of the term. Hearing from Atul about all these experiences had us captivated and also motivated to add to this legacy of Giving.

Fun Sessions

An early morning trek, rope activities, kayaking, a fun quiz on Give and a warm bonfire created a general feeling of bonhomie among all Givevesters. Be it the quick lightning talks fro fellow Givevesters sharing with us what keeps them going or general banter getting to know each other and enjoying all the fun activities, each Givevester came back from the off-site with a bag full of memories to cherish.

Back from the off-site, we are all set to scale new heights and continue with our mission to Alleviate Poverty by Enabling the World to Give.

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Established in 2000, Give is the largest and most trusted giving platform in India. Our community of 2.6M+ donors have supported 2,800+ nonprofits, impacting 15M+ lives across India.