Narrative building at a water-resilience NGO

The brief

WOTR runs over thirty donor-funded CSR programmes across India — restoring watersheds, building agro-climatic resilience, and supporting communities through cyclical drought and ecological transition. The communications challenge was scale: how do you tell that story consistently, across thirty very different programmes, to donors who span global foundations and Indian corporations, and to publics who may have never thought about watershed restoration?

What I did

Architected and implemented an integrated communications and PR strategy across multiple affiliated entities — WOTR, W-CReS (the research arm), WOTR Consult, and retail initiatives — ensuring brand alignment and message consistency. Led a cross-functional team of five direct reports while coordinating with external SEO, PR, and digital partners (an extended ecosystem of seven). Cultivated business development opportunities through national and international conferences including TEDx, leveraging thought leadership platforms to enhance brand authority.

Produced multimedia outputs across the portfolio — films, impact reports, case studies, white papers, brochures, reels, scripts, blogs — and built the editorial direction for the 2024–25 annual report, Roots & Resilience.

Outcome

Accelerated the fundraising pipeline by expanding digital footprint and orchestrating high-visibility events — generating qualified donor leads and securing at least one new funding conversion within a three-month period. The annual report became a flagship publication carrying the organisation's mission to a new generation of donors.