Companies and CSR committees play a crucial role for India to be a stable society by efficiently planning their CSR commitments, focusing on ESG principles, and working towards the 17 UN SDGs. While every rupee given for a good cause counts, there are certain inherent limitations which having a small pool of funds at disposal poses for NGOs. With a larger pool of funds available on hand, the impact could be multiplied manifolds at a much lower cost per beneficiary due to economies of scale.
hynGO - our unique tech based solution - provides an opportunity to companies to raise funds for existing CSR projects or choose new projects vetted by HelpYourNGO from our curated database of 700 NGOs across India working towards achieving the 17 UN SDGs. What's more, it also gives them a chance to involve stakeholders in contributing to the company's CSR projects at zero additional cost!
Can you imagine the might of how much more could be achieved if do-gooders, both individual as well as companies, came together to contribute to a common cause? Even better, what if we got them to pool in resources to support a cause already being supported by a company they are associated with?
To meet this increasing demand, we at HelpYourNGO, have designed a SaaS based solution - hynGO - for companies to amplify the CSR projects that they are supporting by giving an opportunity to the employees, customers and suppliers to contribute to these projects. This will allow users to donate via a single click from the hynGO button placed on the company's website and mobile app, thus helping people associated with the company to boost the impact of the company's CSR and amplify their CSR projects.
A day full of playing, learning and lots of fun for the beneficiaries of Anando Program! The Light of Life Trust’s annual Bal Kala Mahotsav, held on 8th January 2023, was a huge success!
The event is a platform for students to showcase their inherent talent. Students enthusiastically participated in competitions such as elocution, rangoli making, essay writing, drawing, singing, and dancing. Receiving trophies and certificates at the hands of the special invitees boosted the morale of the participants.
HYNGO's CSR client has been supporting the education of 200+ beneficiaries in rural Rajasthan every year since the past 5 years via LOLT’s Anando, a supplementary education program.
PraveenLata Sansthan, via CSR support from Stone Shippers Ltd., imparted training on menstrual hygiene management and distributed sanitary kits to 300 adolescent girls and women in Garrda district, Rajasthan
As a donor transparency should be of paramount importance. Your first choice of NGOs should be the ones who are transparent about disclosing how your donations are being used and sharing periodic program reports.
It's your right as a donor to be informed. Another important factor to consider is the percentage spent on beneficiaries i.e. how much of your donation is actually reaching the end beneficiary and how much is spent on overheads and marketing expenses.
On HelpYourNGO, you can find and donate to 650+ NGOs across 13 causes that have been financially and qualitatively assessed, beyond statutory fiscal audits using structured, and systematic analytical tools.
'Is the rich world aware of how four billion of the six billion live? If we were aware, we would want to help out, we'd want to get involved'. - Bill Gates
The pandemic has shown us how the world unites in the face of adversity. We united against this deadly virus and went all out to help those in need in terms of monetary help to staff or distribution of dry ration kits, and meals to the less fortunate, providing cars for ferrying patients to hospitals or providing oxygen cylinders across various cities.
NGOs and organisations working towards relief activities recorded a tremendous spike in donations over the past two years. But do we really need to wait for a tragedy of this magnitude to make us realise the fragility of human life? Aren't there already enough issues ailing us that need our attention and intervention?
Modes available for fund raising for NPOs shall be Equity, ZCZP, Development Impact Bonds, Social Impact Fund with 100% Grants-in grants out provision, and donations by investors through Mutual Funds.
Quantum Mutual Fund's SMILE facility: The SMILE facility enables an Investor, on the basis of his consent, to contribute some percentage of his/her Investment with Quantum Mutual Fund towards a charitable cause to any NGOs (maximum two) which are registered, vetted and monitored by HelpYourNGO Foundation (HYNGO). Investors can contribute 10% from the holding of investor under the folio tagged for SMILE at the end of each year ended September 30 and shall be made by way of automatic redemption of units.
India cannot achieve the SDGs by 2030 through government initiatives alone and needs help from local and foreign sources of funding. There is a need for a more collaborative approach between the government, private sector, civil society and citizens.
Though HelpYourNGO helps efforts across the 17 SDGs, HelpYourNGO itself is part of Goal 17 which calls for 'Partnerships for the Goals'. Establishing strong partnerships between stakeholders can help move the SDGs from commitments to actions. As followers of Philanthropy Impact know, platforms can leverage partnerships to unlock opportunities for stakeholders working towards social change and build a more equitable and just world.
Nishant Parekh, Head-CSR Consultancy at HelpYourNGO shares his opinion on the government's move to recognize COVID19 relief spending as a CSR activity, calls it a win-win situation for companies and NGOs.
Considering the huge sum of funds at stake for the relief efforts, corporates are struggling not just in finding a reliable NGO partner but also in figuring out a way to monitor and track the use of these funds and assessing their impact. HelpYourNGO is continuing to recommend programs that meet the donor’s giving strategy after the program information has been financially and qualitatively assessed by us beyond statutory fiscal audits.
Winnie Dholakia - Director, HelpYourNGO speaks with RJ Annie about HelpYourNGO's work and efforts to support NGOs during the COVID19 lockdown. Thanks to their donor community, HelpYourNGO supported diverse programs - from distribution of dry ration kits to direct bank transfers to the underprivileged, from conduting sensitization workshops on safety protocol to provision of meals to migrant workers - they did it all!
Their Research team was hands on involved in coordinating with the teams on the ground and shared Update Reports with all donors for complete transparency.
Winnie Dholakia, Director - HelpYourNGO shares the story of her crossover from the corporate to the non-profit sector in the annual issue of Compliance Connect, a publication by Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy.
"During my 5 years (and counting) journey with HelpYourNGO I’ve realized how I could actually 'make a difference'. Donors are making donation decisions based on our financial analysis and recommendations. Over the years, NGOs have also realized the importance of being transparent and need for sharing information with key stakeholders, just like the corporate sector. I believe better opportunities will lead to better outcomes for those less privileged."
Non-profits mostly have to strive hard to raise funds for their causes. It distracts them from the good work they are doing. But what if those with a proven track record could be assured of funds from individuals investing in mutual funds and, at the same time, eager to do their bit by society? Given the sums that mutual funds attract, the potential is huge for putting money into non-profits and through them promoting better development and inclusion.
The Quantum Mutual Fund has started what is called a Systematic Giving Plan (SGP) for its investors. It collaborates with HelpYourNGO to provide the names of non-profits in different sectors into which investors can opt to put their money.
Donations made to hundreds of projects carried out by NGOs across the country will no longer be eligible for a 100% income tax (I-T) deduction in the hands of the donor from April 1, 2017.
HelpYourNGO, an online donation platform, has on its portal 45 NGOs that run 90 projects eligible under Sec 35AC, these include some well known names like Akshaya Patra, Childline, People for Animals.
HelpYourNGO did a dipstick sample survey of 12 NGOs, for which data was readily available. It showed that the percentage of donations towards 35AC-eligible projects as compared to total donations received by NGOs has declined from 14.7% in FY15 to 7.9% in FY16.
Called Sammaan, the exchange will bring together NGOs and firms willing to spend on philanthropy. Sammaan will launch with about a thousand projects listed by NGOs across the country, which deal with diverse causes. While NGOs can list their projects on Sammaan for free, their work first needs to be green-lighted by six central ministries.
In the first few years, Sammaan will enlist agencies such as HelpYourNGO, Dasra, Credibility Alliance and GiveIndia to audit the projects. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has also agreed to sign off on CSR spending made through Sammaan.
The rules for corporate social responsibility (CSR), under the Companies Act, 2013, which came into force on 1 April 2014, clearly state that companies have three channels to implement their CSR projects: foundations, in-house CSR teams or partnering with non-profits. HelpYourNGO is a platform purportedly listing ‘credible’ NGOs — an initiative started in 2002, which provides detailed financial records of non-profits to help donors pick and chose their organizations.
Pradeep Mahtani, CEO, HelpYourNGO, said, “You need to bring transparency to NGOs and just putting out the numbers is not enough. That is why we have attempted to create categories and sub-categories, which can easily be used and cross-referenced by people using our site."
HelpYourNGO is a website that helps you evaluate and analyze an NGO and make an informed decision before you donate your money to a cause. Often, one is solicited by NGOs for donation with colourful brochures and lengthy program lists. Most may even present their financial details for you to glance over. Impressed by the presentation, you choose to donate to the cause. But how effectively and how well is your money really being used?
HelpYourNGO has the answer to your question. This south Mumbai-based organisation lets you compare financial parametres and NGO data, and helps you make an informed decision.
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