Get involved · by invitation
Four ways to take part.
The founding circle is small by design. Any one of these moves the work forward — and each begins with a short email and a personal reply from the convenor, not a form into a void.
1 · Founding members
Who this is for. Owners and senior educators of existing AMI- or IMC-aligned Montessori schools in India who want to help shape the Collective from its founding, not be incubated by it.
What we are asking. Be one of three to five founding members who convert the concept note into a charter, programme design, and registered entity. Help settle the open questions — legal vehicle, practice rubric, accepted IMTC courses, observer pool, first-cohort geography, funding mix.
What you get. A seat at the founding table. Co-authorship of the membership standard your own school will be held to. The operational scale (procurement, CPD, shared services) of a network rather than a single school. And, over time, the credibility of a published quality mark you helped build.
Commitment. Roughly one structured working session per month for the first six months, plus participation in one or two working groups. Your school is held to the same membership standard as every later applicant — there is no founder exemption.
2 · Advisors and board
Who this is for. People with experience in non-profit governance, education policy (NEP, the Foundational Stage), CSR, institutional fundraising, or building durable mission-driven organisations — from inside or outside the early-childhood sector.
What we are asking. Join the founding board (small — we want it to function), or sit on the advisory council that helps the founding board through the first two years. Named expertise we are looking for: non-profit governance, education policy, CSR strategy, legal and compliance, brand-building for mission organisations.
What you get. A close-in role in setting up an organisation that has a real chance of changing the meaning of “Montessori” in India — and of giving trained educators an institutional home that does not currently exist.
Commitment. Typically one board or council meeting per quarter, plus targeted asks between meetings on your area of expertise. Independence from membership-growth pressure is structurally protected; advisors are not asked to lower the standard to make the network look bigger.
3 · Funders, CSR, philanthropy
Who this is for. Domestic philanthropists, family offices, CSR teams, and education-focused funders interested in early-childhood education, teacher development, or institutional capacity in the social sector.
What we are asking. Three distinct funding conversations are open.
- Founding capital to incorporate the Section 8 and stand up year one.
- Programme funding for the Montessori Incubator Programme, on a per-cohort basis.
- Multi-year support for the shared-services build-out.
Or simply: an introduction to someone for whom one of the above is a fit.
What you get. Funding goes to an organisation built to be capital-efficient by design — the model is teacher-led, small-scale, and network-supported, not real-estate-heavy or franchise-style. The Section 8 structure, FCRA-readiness pathway, and audit posture will be set up to the standard funders expect.
Commitment. On your terms. Happy to start with a conversation, share the concept note and draft Accreditation Framework, and design the engagement that fits your giving structure.
A note on 80G and FCRA
RoseBank Foundation is being incorporated as a Section 8 not-for-profit. Applications for 12A and 80G registration will be made as soon as the entity is constituted; FCRA readiness is being planned for after the first audit cycle. Funders who require a specific compliance status before giving are welcome to wait, or to engage now on intent so we can sequence appropriately.
4 · In-kind — legal, real estate, materials, tech
Who this is for. Professionals and organisations whose work intersects with the operational needs of a new not-for-profit, and whose pro bono or discounted support can replace a year of fundraising.
Specifically, the in-kind support we are looking for right now:
- Legal and company-secretarial. Pro bono support to set up the Section 8 company, draft the membership charter, and structure school-network agreements.
- Real-estate leads. Small, child-appropriate spaces in residential neighbourhoods of Chennai and Bangalore that could house an incubator school.
- Materials. Discounts or supply partnerships with authentic Montessori materials suppliers, willing to grow with a multi-school network.
- Website, design, brand and content. Support to build a credible parent-facing presence ahead of the public mark.
- Technology. A lightweight school-operations stack that several small schools can share.
And: introductions
Even an introduction moves us forward. Specifically welcome:
- AMI India and the Indian Montessori Centre (IMC), Bangalore — introductions that help open a structured conversation on partnership or recognition.
- Senior Montessori educators (AMI- or IMC-trained, multi-decade) in any Indian city, willing to advise on the practice rubric or join the assessor pool.
- Sympathetic peer school founders running authentic Montessori environments in Chennai, Bangalore, and other Tier-1 cities.
- Journalists, policy people, and writers covering early-childhood education, the National Education Policy, and the Foundational Stage curriculum.
The fastest path
A short email saying which of the four roles fits and what you would like to contribute. A reply will follow with the next concrete step — the concept note, an invitation to a founding conversation, an incubator application form, or a funder briefing pack, as relevant.