Strengthening digital infrastructure, outreach, and fundraising through technology grants, analytics, and capacity building.
Summary
Impact Created
50+
SEWA Shakti Kendras optimised on Google My Business
2X
growth across nine digital channels
12M+
impressions through Google Ad Grants
About the organisation
SEWA Bharat is a national federation supporting women workers in India’s informal economy. It empowers grassroots women through financial inclusion, skill development, enterprise support, social security access, and leadership building.
Problem Statement
Despite its reach and legacy, SEWA Bharat’s digital maturity remained low. The organisation lacked unified systems, outreach strategy, and donor-friendly digital infrastructure. The website loaded slowly, there was no online donation gateway, and grant-eligible digital tools were unused - limiting engagement and scalability.
Solution
SEWA Bharat partnered with Digital For Nonprofits (D4NP) to implement a phased digital transformation roadmap. The intervention included website and SEO enhancement, grant activation, analytics enablement, Google Ads campaigns, and extensive capacity building for teams for Generative AI adoption.
Learnings
- Digital adoption succeeds when paired with capacity building - not just tools.
- Hyperlocal digital discoverability can unlock grassroots engagement at scale.
- Phasing the transition ensures cultural alignment and sustainable adoption.
Key Technologies
- Google Workspace + Google for Nonprofits (used for productivity, collaboration & accessing nonprofit grants)
- Google Ads + Google Ad Grants (used for digital outreach and increasing discoverability)
- Google My Business (used for hyperlocal visibility of community centres)
- GA4, Google Tag Manager, Hotjar (used for analytics, user tracking & measurement)
- Razorpay (used for enabling online donations and payment workflows)
- Mailchimp (used for email newsletters & donor communication automation)
- Tidio Chatbot (used for lead capture & beneficiary interaction)
- ChatGPT Assistant (used for generative AI support such as translation, content drafting & templates)
- Canva, Microsoft, Adobe, Grammarly (used for content creation & improving communication quality)
Quick Facts
Organisation Name
SEWA Bharat
Organisation Website
Visit Site
Founding Year
1984
Number of Beneficiaries served
Millions of grassroots women workers
Geography Served
Pan-India, with SEWA Shakti Kendras (SSKs) as community outreach hubs
Focus Area
Programmatic Impact , Operational Efficiency
Functions Impacted
Program Delivery; Training & Capacity Building; Communications & Outreach; Fundraising & Donor Reporting; Stakeholder Engagement; Technology & Data Management
SDG Addressed
Full Case Study
Challenges
A Large Movement Without a Digital Backbone
Despite decades of impact, SEWA Bharat’s digital systems were fragmented and underutilised. The organisation faced:
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Low digital readiness across teams and field-level units
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Minimal online visibility despite national presence
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Limited donor engagement with no integrated digital fundraising system
Manual processes and data fragmentation hindering strategic outreach
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Lack of real-time analytics affecting program monitoring and decision-making
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Language and digital literacy constraints among grassroots staff
These gaps made it difficult for SEWA Bharat to amplify its mission digitally - especially during a time when donors, beneficiaries, and partners increasingly expect seamless online access and engagement.
Solution
A Phased Digital Transformation Approach
SEWA Bharat and D4NP co-designed a transformation programme built on three pillars: infrastructure, activation, and adoption.
- Enabled Google Workspace for Nonprofits, Google Ad Grants, Microsoft nonprofit licenses, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
- Activated and optimised Google My Business listings for 40+ SSKs, enabling hyperlocal footprint visibility.
- Revamped website for speed, accessibility, and donor-friendly user flow.
- Integrated Razorpay for seamless donation processing.
- Deployed tracking tools including GA4, Hotjar, and Google Tag Manager.
- Launched Google Ads campaigns to strengthen brand awareness and stakeholder engagement.
- Introduced a SEWA-contextualised ChatGPT-powered writing assistant.
- Conducted 25+ bilingual workshops covering SEO, analytics, GMB, online communication, and donor engagement.
- Upskilled 500+ staff, including grassroots women leaders with varying levels of digital literacy.
- Built decentralised digital ownership across teams.
- Institutionalised processes for analytics, content creation, and donor reporting.
Outcomes & Impact
Rapid Digital Growth and Internal Adoption
Website traffic tripled and engagement across nine digital channels doubled.
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Over 50 SEWA Shakti Kendras became discoverable on Google My Business, significantly improving hyperlocal visibility.
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Integration of Razorpay enabled seamless and consistent online donations.
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Real-time analytics dashboards now guide decision-making across outreach and programme leadership.
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More than 100 frontline teams actively use Generative AI for content creation, translation, and community communication.
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500+ staff members were trained in English and Hindi on digital tools, enabling internal ownership and long-term sustainability.
Adaptability in the Sector
This model of combining grant activation, digital marketing, AI, and capacity building is highly replicable for other nonprofits. It is particularly useful for federated structures like SEWA Bharat or grassroots organizations seeking to scale their impact through digital tools, especially in regions with digital literacy challenges.
Additional Details
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