Social Marketing - Lessons from Child Relief & You (CRY)

From being an organization working for underprivileged children, CRY had become an organization acting as support/catalyst to the activities started by individuals who wanted to bring change in the lives of the needy.

By 2001, CRY took several corporate initiatives such as outsourcing and rightsizing to cut costs and utilize its resources effectively.

Analysts pointed out that in the volatile business conditions of the late 1990s, CRY's approach towards resource mobilization and its focus on marketing contributed greatly to its success. They also added that NPOs across the world should learn about Social Marketing from CRY.

In 1979, Rippan Kapur (Rippan), a purser at Air India, along with six friends started CRY in Mumbai with an initial corpus of Rs 50.

The objective of the organization was to do something for underprivileged children in India.

Rippan firmly believed that if ordinary people would come together, they could bring about a change in the lives of children who needed help.

The driving force behind the organization was, in Rippan's words, 'What I can do, I must do.'..