Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Development and Relations Foundation (IITB DRF)

What Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Development and Relations Foundation (IITB DRF) does

The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Development and Relations Foundation (IITB DRF) operates the alumni engagement, corporate partnership, and philanthropic fundraising arm of IIT Bombay, one of India's premier public technical universities established in 1958 under the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961. The foundation (incorporated in 2015) is functionally the Dean ACR (Alumni and Corporate Relations) Office, serving a community of more than 65,000 alumni, 14,000+ current students, and 750+ faculty, and maintaining programs such as the Alumni Corner (reunions, newsletters, awards, community stories, continuous education), Donor Wall recognition across tiered giving circles, the Distinguished Alumnus Awards (annual since 1996, instituted in 1983), and the GO-IITB fundraising campaign.

IITB DRF's core operational portfolio spans philanthropy infrastructure (Faculty Development Fund, Young Faculty Fellowship, Chair Professorships, Retired Faculty Wellness Fund, Student Hostel Development with naming rights), entrepreneurship and research translation through wholly-owned internal entities — Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship (DSSE), and IIT Bombay Research Park — and a Corporate Connect program that formalizes MoUs with companies and government bodies including Infosys (AI research), Kerala State Electricity Board (Vehicle-to-Grid), Indian Register of Shipping (maritime safety), MITRA (Maharashtra state development), DST (Medtech Mission), and CSIR-CRRI (transportation research). The underlying technology base is IIT Bombay's research engine, which has produced 1,242+ patents, a global alumni community, and a continuous pipeline of engineering and science talent.

The business model is donation- and philanthropy-driven rather than transactional. IITB DRF does not sell products or services at scale; instead it secures philanthropic contributions from alumni, corporates (including CSR-channeled funds), and supporters through one-time donations, recurring giving, endowed funds, named infrastructure opportunities (such as INR 7 Lakh / USD 10,000 for 15-year hostel room naming), and corporate partnerships. Revenue is supplemented by government funding flowing directly to IIT Bombay as a public institution under the Ministry of Education. The foundation serves three primary stakeholder groups: alumni (engagement, recognition, legacy giving), corporate partners (CSR, research collaboration, talent access), and internal academic beneficiaries (students needing financial aid and infrastructure, faculty requiring recruitment and retention support, and the institute's broader research and entrepreneurship mission).

Name

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Development and Relations Foundation (IITB DRF)

Legal name

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Website

https://acr.iitbombay.org

Company type

Public

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

IITB DRF is the alumni relations and philanthropic fundraising arm of IIT Bombay, engaging a 65,000+ alumni network and corporate partners to channel donations toward student aid, faculty support, infrastructure, and research across India's premier public technical university.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Fundraising and Alumni Relations

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Advancement Services & Donor Operations (CRM, Gift Processing, Stewardship) (EDALAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate & Foundation Relations (Sponsorships, Grants, Partnerships) (EDALAOAE), Major Gifts, Planned Giving & Endowment Development (EDALAOAC), Scholarships, Grants & Donor-Funded Awards Management (EDALAJAB)

Keywords

• Alumni engagement services
• Philanthropic fundraising
• Corporate partnerships
• Educational institute development
• Alumni relations management

Headquarters

HQ city

Mumbai

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropic Contributions: The foundation receives donations from alumni, corporates, and supporters through various giving programs including one-time donations, recurring contributions, and endowed funds for chairs, scholarships, and infrastructure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IITB DRF (Dean ACR Office) operates the alumni and corporate relations function for the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. It runs an online donation portal, alumni engagement programs, donor recognition circles, corporate partnership facilitation, and giving campaigns (including naming opportunities, endowed chairs, faculty fellowships, and infrastructure funds) to secure philanthropic support for the institute. It also coordinates recognition programs such as the Distinguished Alumnus Awards and supports the institute's entrepreneurship and translational research ecosystem.

Product overview

IITB DRF operates a comprehensive alumni engagement and fundraising platform for the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. The platform encompasses multiple interconnected services: Alumni Corner for community connection and engagement, Donor Wall for recognition of philanthropy, Distinguished Alumnus Awards for recognizing exemplary achievements, and various fundraising campaigns (GO-IITB, GROWTH-India Telescope). Supporting infrastructure includes SINE incubator and DSSE entrepreneurship school for startup ecosystem development, Faculty Development Fund and Young Faculty Fellowship for academic talent attraction, Student Hostel Development and naming opportunities for infrastructure support, and Corporate Connect for industry partnerships. The platform serves alumni, donors, corporations, and students through donations, events, and collaborative programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alumni Corner
• Donor Wall
• Corporate Connect
• GO-IITB Campaign
• Distinguished Alumnus Awards Annual awards instituted in 1983 to recognize exemplary achievements by IIT Bombay alumni, presented on Foundation Day with citation, trophy, and uttaria.
• Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE)
• Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship (DSSE)
• Faculty Development Fund Fund established in 2001 through alumni support to strengthen faculty research, global visibility, and collaborations with industry and corporates.
• Young Faculty Fellowship (YFF) Fellowship providing joining bonus and annual financial support to attract competitive young faculty members to IIT Bombay, originally instituted as Young Faculty Award in 2007.
• Chair Professorship
• Student Hostel Development
• Name Your Hostel Room
• GROWTH-India Telescope Campaign

Quantifiable outcome

• 65K+ alumni engaged through alumni portal and programs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Indian Register of Shipping (IRS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024IIT Bombay and IRS signed an MOU for developing a ship trajectory prediction tool to enhance maritime safety. Mr. P.K. Mishra, Joint Managing Director of IRS, and representatives from IIT Bombay formalized the agreement.
• MITRA (Maharashtra Institution for Transformation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIIT Bombay signed an MoU with MITRA, Government of Maharashtra, to serve as a key knowledge partner for state and national development initiatives.
• InfosyscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepresented by IITB Distinguished Alumnus Mr. Nandan Nilekani and Mr. Brijesh Balakrishnan, Infosys signed an MoU to advance AI-powered methodologies and publish related research, focusing on demonstrable solutions for proof-of-concept implementations.
• CSIR-CRRIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIIT Bombay partnered with CSIR-CRRI to elevate research in transportation engineering.
• SKUAST-KminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIIT Bombay signed MoU with SKUAST-K for agricultural research collaboration.
• Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIIT Bombay and KSEB signed an MoU to launch India's largest Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) field pilot.
• IEEE CAS Circuits & Systems SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting WiSE (Women in Science and Engineering) initiative promoting gender equality in STEM for rural girls.
• Department of Science and Technology (DST)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIIT Bombay hosted inaugural Stakeholders Consultation Workshop for DST's upcoming Medtech Mission, shaping medical device development in India.
• SINE (Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship)coreOthersIIT Bombay's incubator supporting startup ecosystem and entrepreneurship
• Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship (DSSE)coreOthersSchool of entrepreneurship at IIT Bombay nurturing entrepreneurs and thought leaders
• IIT Bombay Research ParkcoreOthersFacility supporting translational research and industry collaboration

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• IIT Bombay Research Park: Wholly-owned subsidiary of IIT Bombay supporting translational research and industry collaboration; adjacent infrastructure that channels corporate sponsorship funding similar to DRF.
• SINE (Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship): IIT Bombay's wholly-owned startup incubator; ecosystem partner that feeds successful alumni entrepreneurs back into DRF's donor pipeline and corporate CSR storytelling.

Direct peers

• IIT Madras Alumni Association / Office of Alumni Affairs: Alumni relations and fundraising entity for IIT Madras, a peer Indian Institute of Technology; directly comparable business model of alumni engagement, named-giving, and corporate partnerships.
• BITS Pilani Alumni Relations and Corporate Partnerships: Alumni and corporate engagement arm of another premier Indian technical university, with similar large alumni network and fundraising campaigns targeting the same corporate CSR pool.
• ISB Hyderabad Alumni and Development Office: Indian School of Business development function engaging alumni and corporate donors through structured giving and named facilities, directly comparable in mission and execution.
• IIM Ahmedabad Foundation (Vikram Sarabhai Alumni Center): Comparable Indian premier-institution foundation focused on alumni engagement and fundraising, with similar named-giving circles and CSR-driven corporate partnership model.
• IIT Kharagpur Alumni Foundation: Fundraising and alumni relations foundation for IIT Kharagpur, the oldest IIT; comparable single-institution donor development structure competing for shared alumni donor mindshare.
• IIT Delhi Alumni Association / Foundation: Alumni and fundraising arm of peer Indian Institute of Technology Delhi; competes with IITB DRF for the same Indian tech alumni donor pool and CSR rupee allocations from corporates.

Broad incumbents

• MIT Office of Resource Development / MIT Alumni Association: Global benchmark for tech-university alumni and fundraising operations; operates at much larger scale but illustrates the gold-standard infrastructure (giving circles, named funds, chair programs) that IITB DRF is emulating.
• Stanford Office of Development / Stanford Alumni Association: Large-scale alumni engagement and development office for a leading global research university; reference model for major gifts, planned giving, and corporate partnership programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DeanACRIITB
• Facebookfacebook.com/deanacriitbombay
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/indianinstituteoftechnologybombaydevelopmentandrelationsfoundationiitbdrf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Development and Relations Foundation (IITB DRF)