A groundbreaking report by Change Engine, a nonprofit accelerator, has revealed a crucial insight into the scaling success of India's most impactful non-profit organizations: a remarkable 80% of these "nonprofit unicorns" have achieved their widespread reach and meaningful impact through strategic collaborations with government entities. The study, titled "The Playbook for Nonprofit Unicorns," challenges the long-held notion that engaging with government is a bureaucratic hurdle, instead positioning it as the most powerful lever for population-level change.

Nonprofit unicorns, as defined by the report, are organizations that have created meaningful impact for over a million people or at least 5% of their target population. The Change Engine study analyzed 33 such organizations, selected from a broader list of 100 based on the scale and depth of their influence.

Varun Aggarwal, Co-founder of Change Engine, emphasized the transformative potential of these collaborations. "The government holds unparalleled power to scale interventions; a single policy reform, a new institution, or a significant budget allocation can move the needle non-incrementally on societal challenges," he stated. "To become unicorns, nonprofits must proactively partner with the government to create population-level impact."

The report highlights that these partnerships are often more accessible than commonly perceived. A surprising 41% of the featured nonprofits secured their first government collaboration within a year of initial outreach. Even more remarkably, 42% achieved this through "cold outreach," directly approaching officials with well-prepared proposals and materials, demonstrating that persistence and clear value propositions can break through bureaucratic barriers.

The geographical reach of these government-backed nonprofits is also significant, with 55% operating across five or more states. This extensive footprint is achieved either by strengthening existing government programs or by leveraging public infrastructure for the delivery of their own services, showcasing the government's role as a vital enabler for systemic change.

Several powerful examples are highlighted in the report:

• The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy supported the Ministry of Finance in drafting reforms to improve India's bankruptcy code and continues to assist the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in implementing new laws.
• The SaveLife Foundation successfully cut road crash fatalities by 58% on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and is now scaling its "zero-fatality" model to 100 highways with support from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• Rocket Learning, an early childhood education initiative, has reached 150 districts across nine states, equipping over 150,000 Anganwadi workers with digital tools, leading to students performing in the top 30% of average classrooms.

Shubham Bansal, Co-founder of Change Engine, offered clear guidance to nonprofit founders: "To build scale, they need to think EPIC: build on Evidence, create Public goods, and scale high impact Interventions for Change. And to scale direct intervention, nonprofits need to partner with the government, engage with communities, or unlock the power of markets."

The "Playbook for Nonprofit Unicorns" provides actionable insights for founders, funders, and policymakers, reinforcing that when nonprofits view the government not as an obstacle but as an essential partner, they unlock an unparalleled capacity to drive deep, systemic change at a population scale across India.