India Inc buckles up to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
“Whether to safeguard their workers or help strengthen the country
Uttarakhand Bio-toilet initiative
At a time when the entire country is raging over the oh-so-popular debate of toilets over temples, Outlook India (an English weekly news magazine), declared sanitation as India
Investing CSR in Incubators
Authored by P.R. Ganapathy, President ( India), Villgro Innovations Foundation
After, USA and China, India has the largest incubator and accelerator ecosystem in the world. But few companies have sufficient information on this ecosystem to be able to invest in it.
Samhita, and Villgro, supported by GIZ are addressing this information asymmetry and facilitating partnerships between companies and incubators and social enterprises(SEs).
The traditional model of CSR involves selecting an NGO working in an area of your interest (livelihoods, education, etc.) and funding them for a specific project, say, training 500 women artisans, or setting up a computer lab in a school.
But, the smart CSR managers of today are asking harder questions of this model.
What happened to those women artisans after the training was completed? Who buys their products and connects them to consumers? Is the model sustainable? What do children actually learn from the computer lab? Who teaches them? What content is available? Who maintains the computers and the lab to ensure it continues to deliver value?
One way to find these answers is to partner with social enterprises or for-profit entities who use market-based approaches to solve social problems.
The next logical question is :
Optimising CSR for Rural Development
According to the 2011 census, 69 per cent of India
Development through community participation
As part of its CSR services, Samhita Social Ventures undertakes community needs assessment for companies to align the expectations and intentions of the company with priorities identified by the community that it seeks to benefit as a key stakeholder. This is accomplished by conducting door-to-door surveys, interviews with key informants in the village (such as sarpanch, asha worker, aanganwadi workers) and focused group discussions with the residents.
Through our intense and in-depth interaction with communities across the country, we have realized that community participation and acceptance are critical in ensuring the success of CSR programs. While the theoretical discourse on development has always acknowledged the importance of participatory approach (you may have heard of Robert Chambers and Paulo Freier), this takes on a pragmatic connotation for companies beginning to think about CSR in India.
Our work has shown that the aim should be to address social implications of corporate activities by securing community participation in decision-making and consideration of local knowledge and the environment. The community should drive and own these initiatives. Any tendency to superimpose or force CSR or other development initiatives top-down on communities could be disastrous.
So for example, during one such assessment in two clusters of Vadodara District, Gujarat it was observed that 87% people defecate openly every day. While reducing open defecation is a national and international priority, it was most interesting to note that communities in one cluster did not perceive it to be an issue. The assessment found that these communities defecated in the open not only because of the unavailability of toilets but due to low awareness of the potential health hazards, internalized behavior, accustomed practice, perception of high costs of maintaining and constructing toilets, caste based differences in terms of maintenance and cleaning, etc. It was seen that these communities appeared resistant to using toilets because of all these reasons. In this context, CSR initiatives of companies to set-up toilets for such communities to eliminate open defecation, disregarding the voices of the community, would be futile and bound to fail. The company would have, in effect, spent its funds putting up concrete structures with its branding
Update to Indian NGO Bright Spots Report reveals important lessons learned for fundraising during the pandemic
Morry Rao
Morry Rao
Much has changed since we published this report on best practices in fundraising from individuals in 2020. The pandemic has upended traditional methods of engaging donors, making it difficult if not impossible to meet in person (which is one of the most effective ways of asking for money). The past two years have been very tough on India’s nonprofit sector to say the least.
What has it been like to fundraise during a global pandemic?
What’s been different, what has stayed the same, and what will endure once this is all over?
We checked back with our Fundraising ‘Bright Spot’ organizations to see how they have fared. Interestingly enough, this challenging period of lockdowns and shifts in philanthropy towards pandemic response has made these exemplary NGOs more creative and resilient in their fundraising efforts. There is still much to learn from their example!
We have updated our 2020 report with new information about how to go about diversifying your funding and building your base of donors in a post-pandemic (or COVID-19 endemic) world. We’ve even added a new Guiding Principle that you can use to leverage the latest technology to acquire new givers. Please take a look at the update, and feel free to share any information that you think would be helpful as well. There is much to learn from each other!
Wishing you great success in your fundraising journey!
Morry Rao
FAQ on CSR Rules, Amendment 2022
How do companies who have given a one-time grant to NGOs account for unspent CSR funds?
- If companies have provided “One time grant” to the NGOs, that grant has to be spent within one financial year by the NGO.
- If the project does not stretch over the financial year. These projects can be categorised under “other than ongoing projects” in the annual action plan.
- Under the annual action plan, the CSR Committee of the company is required to provide modalities for utilisation of funds.
- The CSR Committee shall recommend to the Board on budget allocation for any CSR project including modalities of utilisation of funds in every project.
- Funds allocated to such
CSR Trends & Opportunities in India: 2021
Samhita has conducted a CSR research study in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which coordinates Official Development Assistance for the government of Japan. JICA assists economic and social growth in developing countries, along with promoting international cooperation.
This research report on ‘CSR trends and opportunities in India
