MYRADA also works (at any point of time) directly with approx. one million people in programmes such as drinking water and sanitation, housing, education, health and veterinary care and joint forestry programmes. It is continuously withdrawing from areas and programme sectors after 6 to 9 years and moving into new ones, leaving people with adequate skills and confidence to manage their institutions (including Resource Centres), their livelihoods, assets and natural resources, and to strengthen and expand linkages with supporting institutions.

MYRADA is supported by several donors, both Government and Private. (14 in-country and 9 from abroad). The relationship of private donors to MYRADA falls into two categories. Some consider that their partnership is with MYRADA since their objectives are mutually supportive and largely synchronise; in such cases, the project they support is an expression of this partnership. Others relate directly with the project they support and tend to view MYRADA more as a contractor or intermediary. Among the private donors who value and promote partnership with MYRADA are NOVIB (Netherlands), German Agro Action, HIDA Canada and Population Foundation of India. These institutions involve MYRADA in conceptualisation and formulation of the project, in regular assessments and in their long-term plans which remain constant over the project period. They support MYRADA's efforts to build capacity of its staff as well as of people's institutions and individual livelihood skills. The largest private donor is Plan International which has worked with MYRADA since 1982. A significant feature of Plan's involvement is the long term and stable funding it provides. Plan's support has been particularly helpful in education, health, drinking water and housing and in introducing a visible focus on child related issues. However by mutual agreement, Plan's involvement with MYRADA's programme will decline yearly and end by 2007-08.

The relationship of Government institutions to MYRADA also has significant features of a partnership. For example KAWAD (Karnataka Association for Watershed Development supported by DFID), ICEF (India Canada Environment Facility), SUJALA (the Karnataka Watershed Department Programme supported by the World Bank) and the Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environment Management Project (KUDCEMP) involve MYRADA fully in the management of their programmes; the problems where they occur relate largely to pressures arising from political interests and official government regulations which did not take NGOs and their comparative advantages into consideration when they were framed many years ago. For example Government has no system of dealing with an NGO except as a contractor. MYRADA's relations with financial institutions like NABARD and the Banks has always been a healthy one, with NABARD taking the lead in supporting MYRADA 's micro finance initiatives in a systematic manner over the past 15 years. As a result the largest number of innovations in favour of the poor which have been accepted by the official system and which had their origin in MYRADA 's experience have been in the financial sector.