Who Is Nizi Bhandari?
A Melbourne father who decided that the love he has for his own two children should reach children he has never met — and then quietly built a foundation to make it happen.
In short
The short answer
Nizi Bhandari is a Melbourne-based philanthropist and the founder of The Iva and Shiv Foundation, a privately funded charitable initiative that provides school supplies, educational resources and support to disadvantaged children in the Davao region of the Philippines.
Based in Bundoora, Victoria, he established the foundation and funds its activities from his own savings. It is named after his children, Shiv and Iva, and focuses on improving educational access for children in underserved communities.
He is also an entrepreneur and investor — but ask anyone who knows him and the first word you'll hear is "father." Everything the foundation does is carried out in the names of Shiv and Iva, so that even across an ocean, his children are part of every good deed. You can read his full story on the About Nizi Bhandari page.
At a glance
Quick facts
- Name
- Nizi Bhandari
- Based in
- Bundoora, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Role
- Founder, The Iva and Shiv Foundation
- Also known for
- Philanthropist · entrepreneur & investor · devoted father
- Region served
- Davao region, Philippines
- Focus
- Education, school supplies, children's welfare
- Funding
- Privately funded (founder's personal savings)
- Status
- Charity registration in progress
- Children helped
- 7,000+ across the Philippines
- Contact
- saicare@gmail.com
The work
What the foundation has done in the Philippines
This isn't giving from a distance. Through The Iva and Shiv Foundation, Nizi travels to the Davao region himself and places school bags, notebooks, pencils and learning materials straight into children's hands — one school, one classroom, one smile at a time. To date, the foundation has reached over 7,000 children in remote villages and slum communities where help rarely arrives.
Among the documented drives:
- 412 pupils at Busaon Integrated School, Tagum City — a full school-supply distribution on 29 June 2025, celebrated with music and dancing. Read about the Busaon drive →
- More than 300 children in Bansalan — one of the foundation's early major drives, in 2024. Read about the Bansalan drive →
- Lourdes Elementary School, Davao City — a supplies programme that moved the school to present the foundation with a Certificate of Recognition. See the recognition →
You can see every drive on the Good Deeds hub, or the faces behind them in the gallery.
Honest and direct
How the foundation is funded
The Iva and Shiv Foundation is privately funded — Nizi pays for the supplies, the travel and the drives out of his own savings. There is no overhead skimmed from donations, because the giving has, so far, come straight from his own pocket.
The foundation is currently completing its formal charity registration. Until that's finalised, it continues to operate as a personal, privately funded initiative — so that not a single school day is missed while the paperwork catches up to the heart behind it.
More than school bags
A widening circle of care
Education is the heart of the work, but Nizi's idea of "if you can help, you're the chosen one" rarely stays in one lane. Alongside the school-supply drives, the foundation extends a hand wherever it can — from caring for the elderly in homes for the aged to supporting families doing it tough. If you'd like to see where the mission is heading next, the Join the Mission page lays it all out, and Nizi's belief explains the one idea behind everything.
"True happiness comes from helping others — and even when we are apart, we can still make the world a brighter place together."— Nizi Bhandari
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Who is Nizi Bhandari?
Nizi Bhandari is a Melbourne-based philanthropist and the founder of The Iva and Shiv Foundation, a privately funded charitable initiative that provides school supplies, educational resources and support to disadvantaged children in the Davao region of the Philippines. He is also an entrepreneur and investor, and a devoted father of Shiv and Iva, the children the foundation is named after.
What is The Iva and Shiv Foundation?
The Iva and Shiv Foundation is a privately funded charitable initiative founded by Nizi Bhandari that provides school supplies and educational support to disadvantaged children in the Davao region of the Philippines. It is named after his children, Shiv and Iva.
How is the foundation funded?
The foundation is funded privately by its founder, Nizi Bhandari, from his personal savings. It is currently completing its formal charity registration.
What has the foundation done in the Philippines?
It has run in-person school-supply drives across the Davao region, including a distribution to 412 pupils at Busaon Integrated School in Tagum City (29 June 2025), a drive reaching more than 300 children in Bansalan (2024), and a supplies programme at Lourdes Elementary School in Davao City, which presented the foundation with a Certificate of Recognition. In total, the foundation has helped over 7,000 children.
Where is Nizi Bhandari based?
Nizi Bhandari is based in Bundoora, Victoria, Australia. He was born in New Delhi, studied in Mumbai, and moved to Melbourne at 19, later earning a Master of Accounting from Deakin University.
Is the Iva and Shiv Foundation a registered charity?
The foundation is currently completing its formal charity registration. In the meantime it operates as a privately funded initiative, paid for from the founder's own savings, so that giving continues uninterrupted.
How can I support Nizi Bhandari and the foundation?
You can reach Nizi Bhandari through the contact page at nizibhandari.com.au/contact, follow the Iva and Shiv Foundation on Facebook and Instagram, or learn about sponsoring and partnering on a school-supply drive on the Join the Mission page.
Explore more
Go deeper into Nizi Bhandari's world
His full story · The good deeds · Why it's named after his children