School for Democracy

Name

School for Democracy

Legal name

School for Democracy

Website

https://schoolfordemocracy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic and Democracy Education

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Civic, Citizenship & Community Engagement Education (EDAAAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Civic Literacy (Voting, Rights, Community Participation) (EDAAAAAH), Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ), Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL)

Keywords

• Civic education programs
• Democracy training
• Rights awareness training
• Grassroots fellowship
• Community library programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Badi Ka Badiya, Bhilwara

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The work of School for Democracy-Loktantrashala largely runs on individual donations. Donations are accepted only in Indian rupees or from Indian accounts. PAN and postal address of donors are required for records. By principle, SFD does not accept foreign contributions.
2. Fellowship Funding Partnership: Democracy Fellowship Programme is supported in partnership with Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiative (APPI), Bangalore, supporting 52 fellows in areas of governance, accountability, and participatory democracy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

School for Democracy (Loktantrashala) is a non-formal educational institution that delivers democracy education through on-campus and off-campus activities. It offers courses, trainings, workshops, fellowship programmes, community library initiatives, charchas, and memorial lectures centered on the Indian Constitution, RTI Act, MGNREGA, Social Audit, public policy, and rights-based legislation. It also develops the world's first RTI Museum as a living archive of the Right to Information movement.

Product overview

School for Democracy (SFD) or Loktantrashala is a non-formal educational institution offering a portfolio of democracy education programmes. The core offerings include the Democracy Fellowship Programme supporting 52 grassroots activists, the RTI Museum (a living museum on the Right to Information movement), educational courses on Constitution and democratic themes, rights-based training on RTI/MGNREGA/Social Audit, workshops (theatre/gender/dairy farming), Democracy Dialogues/Vyaakhyaan Mala lecture series, Community Library Initiative, Charchas (dialogues on democracy), Memorial Lectures, and Jan Sansad conventions. On-campus activities include courses, trainings, workshops, and intern orientation, while off-campus outreach includes village film shows, padyatras, and community library networks. The institution operates from a campus in Badi Ka Badiya, Bhilwara, Rajasthan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Democracy Fellowship Programme Fellowship initiative supporting 52 grassroots activists, groups, and organizations working in governance, participatory democracy, accountability, and empowerment of marginalized communities, with modest financial support and peer network.
• RTI Museum Living museum dedicated to documenting the history of the Right to Information movement, serving as a central repository and archive for RTI-related documents, materials, and film footage, located in Beawar, Rajasthan on 1 hectare of land.
• Educational Courses Non-formal educational courses on democratic themes including Understanding the Constitution, Social Activism, Public Policy, Caste and Discrimination, and Law and Poverty, lasting a few days to 30 days with theoretical sessions and field visits.
• Rights-Based Training Programmes Specialized training on Right to Information, MGNREGA, Social Audit, Right to Hearing, Youth Training, and Basic Computer Training designed for grassroots activists and rural communities.
• Workshops Creative and skills-based workshops including Theatre Workshop for campaigns and street plays, Dairy Farmers' Workshop on cooperative marketing and veterinary support, and Gender Workshop on feminist concerns.
• Democracy Dialogues / Vyaakhyaan Mala Public lecture series and dialogue sessions providing space for grassroots voices on democratic issues, including memorial lectures honoring prominent democracy advocates.
• Community Library Initiative Programme providing village communities, particularly children and youth, access to knowledge through developing reading skills and establishing a network of village libraries managed by trained community members.
• People's Land Resource Unit (PLRU) Field laboratory focused on land literacy, conducting research on land-related matters, organizing seminars and symposia, filing public interest litigations, and advocating for farmer-centric land laws and transparent land records.
• Outreach Programme Off-campus engagement including RTI awareness programmes in government schools, village film shows with puppet performances, padyatras, and support for public campaigns such as Pension Parishad, Right to Hearing, and Right to Food.
• Intern and Volunteer Programme One-month minimum internship programme for students involving community library work, course organization, and daily chores, with volunteer opportunities and an internship fee of Rs 100 per day.
• Jashn-e-Samvidhan Annual festival celebrating democracy and the Right to Information, featuring the RTI Museum foundation stone ceremony and various democratic engagement activities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 52 fellows supported through Democracy Fellowship Programme in partnership with Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiative
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Digital India Foundation (DEF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBasic computer literacy programme conducted at SFD campus in Badi Ka Badiya for village children, students and youth. Later extended to nearby government schools benefiting children from poor rural households.
• Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister organization and founding context of SFD. MKSS transferred its land at Badi Ka Badia to SFD. Founding members of SFD were also MKSS activists. Organizations share staff, resources, and conduct joint programs including internships, padyatras, and campaigns.
• Various Educational InstitutionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborations with colleges for lecture series and with National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore for month-long Public Policy course for 43 students.
• Government of RajasthancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment granted 1 hectare of land to SFD for building RTI Museum in Beawar. Municipality of Beawar passed unanimous resolution requesting land allocation. Chapter on RTI movement included in Rajasthan high school textbooks.
• National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCPRI spearheaded the RTI movement along with MKSS in 1990s-2000s leading to national RTI Act. SFD founders were integral parts of this campaign. RTI Museum will document institutional history of NCPRI alongside MKSS.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Navsarjan Trust: Founded by Martin Macwan (SFD Governing Body member), Navsarjan works on Dalit rights and anti-caste mobilisation in Gujarat. Comparable as a civil-rights organisation led by figures inside SFD's governance circle.
• PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Development Action): India-based non-profit that promotes rural livelihoods through community institutions and field-based training of grassroots workers. Comparable to SFD in operating philosophy — training rural change-agents through experiential, residential programmes.
• National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI): Coalition that, alongside MKSS, spearheaded India's RTI movement in the 1990s-2000s. SFD founders were integral to NCPRI; the planned RTI Museum will document its institutional history. Closely comparable as a civic-education and transparency-advocacy organisation.
• Ekta Parishad: Grassroots movement for land rights and social justice among marginalised communities in central and western India. Comparable to SFD in movement-style civil-society mobilisation and rights-based training of community activists.
• Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS): Sister organisation and founding context of SFD. MKSS is the grassroots movement that birthed SFD; both organisations share staff, land, and run joint programmes. MKSS is directly comparable as a rural Rajasthan civil-society organisation working on RTI, NREGA, and democratic accountability.
• Barefoot College (Social Work Research Centre, Tilonia): A non-formal rural education institution in Rajasthan that delivers practical skills training (solar engineering, education, health) to marginalised communities. Comparable to SFD in operating model — campus-based experiential learning rooted in rural Rajasthan, donor-funded, and serving grassroots learners.

Broad incumbents

• ActionAid India: Large India-wide federation working on women's rights, governance, and accountability. Comparable to SFD in democracy-and-rights programming but operates at national scale with significantly larger budget and headcount.
• National Foundation for India: Intermediary philanthropy that supports Indian civil society organisations including civic-education and governance programmes. Comparable to SFD through funder alignment and a shared ecosystem of grassroots civic education in India.
• Centre for Policy Research (CPR): Established public-policy think tank with India-wide research and convening capacity. Comparable to SFD as an organisation working at the intersection of democracy, governance, and rights — but CPR is a much larger, research-led institution rather than a rural grassroots educator.

Regional players

• SPREAD (Society for Participatory Research in Asia): Non-formal education and participatory research organisation based in rural Uttar Pradesh. Comparable to SFD in non-formal adult-education methodology and rural grassroots focus, though geographically focused on eastern UP rather than Rajasthan.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/loktantrashala
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC8xIDbhh-PhNSPNq_ygV6EA/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/loktantrashala
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/school-for-democracy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about School for Democracy