About Culkey Foundation
Culkey Foundation is a Section 8 not‑for‑profit, founded in 2019 to support informal actors in tourism, arts and culture and to grow India’s experience economy. Our vision is: “Experiences that keep places alive and people thriving.” We back public–private–community led initiatives that connect people and place – informal guides, artisans, homestays, etc. and monuments and cultural landscapes as living testaments of a community. By doing this, Culkey helps informal actors enter the formal fold so local experiences are preserved, shared and turned into stable, dignified incomes.
Vision
Experiences that keep places alive and people thriving.
Mission
To grow India’s experience economy from the ground up by helping local experience‑makers and heritage communities work as one ecosystem where culture, livelihood, and environment reinforce each other. We connect people, places, and simple digital tools so that local experiences are easy to discover, easy to book, easy to fund, and strong enough to last, giving every rupee of support, including CSR, the power to reach further and do more good.
Governance and Board
Culkey Foundation is governed by an independent Board that oversees our strategy, integrity of programmes and responsible use of CSR funds in line with our vision, “Experiences that keep places alive and people thriving.” The Board is supported by three key governance layers: an Audit & Finance oversight function for financial discipline, a Programme Advisory mechanism for Namma Smaraka that works with conservation and community stakeholders, and a DPI/OneTAC Advisory mechanism that brings in technology and ecosystem expertise for our open‑grid work. Formal policies on conflict of interest, safeguarding and child protection, anti‑harassment (POSH), data protection and privacy, and whistle‑blower/grievance redressal guide our decisions and day‑to‑day operations, and are available through our disclosures section for partners who wish to review them.
Board of Directors
Padma Shri Prashanth Prakash
Chairman
Venture capitalist and philanthropist who has helped build and support initiatives that have touched millions of lives.
Mr Satish Shekar
Director
Startup entrepreneur with successful exits, co‑author of OneTAC and mission, lead for Culkey’s experience‑economy and DPI‑inspired programmes.
Mr Aprameya Radhakrishna
Director
Serial entrepreneur with multiple exits, bringing deep product, platform and scaling experience to Culkey’s work.
Mr Arjun Santhanakrishnan
Director
Group CEO who has built and led multiple businesses, contributing operational, financial and organisational scaling expertise to the Foundation’s governance.
The custodian-first experience approach
‘We build custodian-first experience grids in places the world visits, but rarely truly sees.’
A five-point approach that we endeavour to incorporate in all future engagements to custodian-first in experience. economy
1
Listen, Map and recognise custodians
2
Design the place grid
3
Build Hubs & Phygital ladders
4
Unlock Capital, Market and Open grids
5
Measure, learn and replicate with shared governance