The Accelerator | Atma Education NGO Accelerator

On average during partnership, organisations experienced a 4.05x increase in stakeholders, 2.22x in funding and a 2.11x increase in staff.


85% of the partner organisations reported growing by 1 stage at least. While the bulk of partner organisations were reportedly on stage 3 at the time of joining, this shifts to stage 4 at the time of graduation.



APPLY NOW TO BE A PARTNER

Atma is offering Intensive & Short term tracks of support


Intensive Support - 3 - Years Partnership


The 3 - Years Partnership enables organisations to patiently and systematically build capacity. There are two distinguishing parts to a 3-year partnership.

Partnership launch activities


Both of these activities give Atma a very long-term outlook on the organisation's capacities and plans for growth. The products of these activities are the basis for Atma's work over the 3-year period.


Life Stage Survey

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Strategy Plan



Partnership progress


The partnership itself will be set against the long-term trajectories set out in the Life Stage Survey and the strategic plan. These documents will be revisited for each consecutive year and advise the Annual Implementation Plan. Each year a minimum of 10 projects towards the NGOs' long-term goals will be completed.

  • Year 1 - Focus on vision and programme alignment and creating capacity to move forward.

  • Year 2 - Building functional area teams and processes to guide programmes and operations.

  • Year 3 - Focus on pursuing emerging opportunities and assembling resources to fuel growth.

Intensive Support - 1 - Year Partnership


The 1 - Year Partnership enables organisations to get focused sustained support in key problem areas.

Partnership launch activities


Both of these activities give Atma and the partner NGO the focus needed to solve key challenge areas of the organisation on a 12-month timeline.


Problem Analysis

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Project Plan



Partnership progress



  • The partnership will focus on 1 or 2 organisational development areas.

  • Monthly progress meetings against the project plan will be held.

  • There is a focus in the partnership on team participation, training, and capacity building to enable quick uptake and implementation of new tools, policies, and practices.

Short Term Support - Project Partnership


A project partnership works with a partner NGO on a project they have identified as a Challenge Area. Atma will work with the organisation to develop the solutions over a 3-6 month period, depending on the NGO.

Partnership launch activities


Through a few leadership-level conversations Atma will analyze the problem and set out a clear project plan detailing expected deliverables.


Problem Analysis

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Project scoping



Partnership progress


  • The focus of the partnership will be getting the expected deliverables completed.

  • The Atma team will work closely with the NGO and maintain tight timelines.

  • The partnership timeline is flexible depending on the scope of the project.

Short Term Support - Workshops


Atma is very experienced in running workshops for our partner NGOs either individually or as a group. We regularly do both online and offline sessions.

Atma Signature Workshops


Atma has several signature workshops that we conduct with our partners as part of onboarding or through the course of the partnership. Through this service, any NGO or NGO stakeholder can access these workshops or request a custom workshop for their team or a group of NGOs.


Atma Life Stage Survey

Strategy Planning

Impact Workshop

Joint Programme Assessment

Programme Relevance



Custom workshops


Atma regularly delivers customised workshops for individual or groups of NGOs. Topics we have covered recently include:

  • NGO Governance and board membership

  • Volunteer management

  • Annual Planning

BENEFITS


Since 2007, we’ve worked with over 92 partner organisations who impact the lives of over 21,00,000 children. Through the course of the Accelerator, your organisation will receive support with the aim of enhancing your impact.

  • A stronger strategy for fundraising, marketing and recruitment

  • Roadmap for improvement and growth across key areas of your organisation

  • A clear implementation plan to be executed with your Consultant and team

  • Resources and recommendations specific to your organisation’s needs

  • Training programmes for better monitoring and evaluation, governance and administrative assistance

Programme Details


ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN


Our programme begins with creating an Annual Implementation Plan based on the strategy document developed during our workshop. The process involves identifying suitable timelines for projects, and prioritizing tasks based on your organisation’s needs for the year. It takes between 3-5 weeks to finalise the plan.


PROJECT EXECUTION


Once the plan is finalized, our team focuses on assisting your organisation in executing each identified projects as per the scheduled timelines. The type of projects vary depending on the organisation requirements. They range from helping you build fundraising decks, to working on a strategy to onboard volunteers, to restructuring the organisation budget allocations.


TRAINING & DEMO DAYS


Training areas range from computer skills, to time management, to leadership training. On demo days, we bring field experts to meet with your team and share their opinions and perspectives on the work. It is a great opportunity for your team to test out new ideas, concepts and new projects with them for feedback.


QUARTERLY ASSESSMENT


Our Impact Assessment team evaluates the progress made by the organisation every quarter. The evaluation includes measuring satisfaction levels from both teams on time invested, targets met, and outcomes achieved. The assessment is translated into a report that is shared with both teams. This exercise helps us make suitable adjustments to our plan for the next quarter.

Partnership Registration Form

1. APPLICATION


An online partnership application needs to be submitted by you. This will help us understand your organisation's work, its current focus areas, and any management and/or operational challenges it faces. We would also like to know your motivation to partner with Atma and why you would be a strong fit for our programme.


2. INTRO CALL


Our team schedules an introductory call to provide you with a deeper understanding of our organisation, programme offerings, and our approach towards the partnership. We also use this space to gain clarity on certain aspects of your application if needed.


3. SITE VISIT + DUE DILLIGENCE


After the introductory call, we plan for a virtual site visit. We use this opportunity to have a more personalised interaction with your team and stakeholders to understand your programme and services better. This helps us gauge the capacity at which our team can assist you. We also request you to share key documentation related to your organisation for review and to conduct due diligence.


4. ONBOARDING WORKSHOPS


A series of four-day workshops is hosted virtually by us and is completely free. We begin with a research exercise with your team to understand your organization’s goals, strengths, and challenges. Our team then works with you on prioritizing your goals for the next 5 years and build a consolidated Strategy Plan Document.


Partnership Registration Form




    FAQs


    Which cities is Atma based in at the moment?

    Due to the pandemic, Atma has been operating virtually since March 2020. We now plan to work with organisations pan India.


    What are the prerequisites for qualifying to be a part of the Atma Accelerator?

    We look for organisations that have operations running in the education sector in low income communities for at least a year. In addition to this, the organisation must be registered as a legal entity and have 1 year of audited statements.


    What does Atma’s due diligence process look like?

    We go through extensive 2 day workshops with the organisation to understand the long term capacity needs through our LSS and strategy workshop. Even if you don't get through the Atma assessment process is beneficial to go through to get clarity on where your organisation stands.


    How long does the selection process take?

    The selection process involves several in depth interactions spanning over 2 months.