Ravishankar Dakoju

Ravishankar Dakoju (born 6 June 1953) is an Indian philanthropist and real estate investor. During 2018-19 he was the President of Rotary Bangalore Orchards., a charitable trust instituted under Rotary International. In 2018 he became the first Indian national to announce the single largest community development fund from India to Rotary Foundation at INR 100 Crores. (USD 14.7 Million). It is the second single largest contribution to The Rotary Foundation after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He is also the Founder and Managing Director of Hara Housing and Land Development Company, a real estate development company based in Bangalore, India.

Ravishankar was born in Bangalore in 1953 to Kamesh Dakoju and Indira Kamesh as the sixth among seven children. He is a BA Graduate and has a Diploma in Business Administration & Marketing Management. Ravishankar is married to Paola Ravishankar. They have two daughters, Ektaa and Samta.

Over the years, Ravishankar has focused his philanthropic work on areas like community development, education, health, sanitation, orphans, senior citizens, tree plantation, animal welfare, lake rejuvenation, and support to physically challenged. He has worked on numerous projects in the North Eastern States like Manipur and Mizoram. Through the Paola Dakoju Ravishankar Foundation, he has completed the construction of a water storage tank with 77,500L capacity at Ijorong, Inpue District, Manipur. The Foundation has also built the Lyzon Friendship School in Khomunnom Village, Churachandpur District, Manipur, for 350 students. The Sunbird Ravishankar Farming Knowledge Centre is being built in partnership with the Sunbird Trust at Ijorong.

He is currently working on the RBO Happy Schools Project, which will adopt 125 rural schools in Kolar District, across Karnataka & other remote areas. The project benefits include school refurbishment, construction of toilets for students, the supply of RO Water system, painting, flooring, play equipment, tree plantation, library and more. The project is expected to benefit 8000 to 10,000 students per year.

Ravishankar Dakoju believes in philanthropic work that impacts underserved communities directly. He identifies and executes projects that affect change in the short term and continue to deliver positive long-term effects with minimum intervention and investment. His philanthropic process is one of taking up relevant projects only after fully understanding the needs of the local community. This is followed by executing the project in the minimum amount of time while meeting all the set goals. Once the project is completed, he sets long-term goals for local community members to ensure that the project delivers the right results for the maximum amount of time. Every project is handheld for a brief period of time until it starts producing the desired results. Instead of keeping it as a one-way monologue, he believes in fully engaging with the local stakeholders to increase the projects' viability, effectiveness, sustainability, and overall reach.