ANNANDALE, New Jersey — The coronavirus pandemic strained the budgets of many Indian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Burdened by fiscal restraints and diverted funding for managing the infectious disease, many NGOs were forced to reduce operations. Fortunately, the NGO GiveIndia stepped in to provide crucial funding to these strained philanthropic organizations. In its most recent annual fundraiser, GFC 2022, GiveIndia disseminated almost $3 million to hundreds of Indian NGOs.
What is GiveIndia?
According to a 2021 article in the Deccan Chronicle, the poverty rate in India in fiscal year 2021 stood at between 9% and 12.3%. The World Bank predicts the poverty rate in India to drop to between 7% and 10% in fiscal year 2022. Despite these encouraging trends, Indians living in poverty need access to well-funded NGOs. GiveIndia is one organization that works toward providing NGOs with the necessary funds to combat poverty.
GiveIndia is a donation platform that helps users donate to other NGOs in India. Before allowing NGOs to participate on its site, GiveIndia’s rigorous standards certify the NGOs to ensure the NGOs are transparent and credible organizations that serve the people of India. After screening more than 3,000 NGOs, GiveIndia identified about 200 NGOs that meet the standards of GiveIndia’s Listing Criteria.
The organizations on GiveIndia focus on a wide variety of needs. The NGOs range from organizations like HelpAge India, an NGO catering to the elderly in New Delhi, to Mumbai Mobile Creches, an NGO assisting children residing at construction sites.
There are three ways to donate on the site: fundraisers, monthly giving and corporate giving. GiveIndia runs an annual fundraiser from February 1 to March 30 to provide an influx of cash to Indian NGOs at the end of the fiscal year. In 2022, the fundraising challenge, GFC 2022, raised nearly $3 million (Rs 23.48 crore) for around 570 NGOs.
GFC 2022: GiveIndia Fundraising Challenge
GFC 2022 enabled Indian NGOs to galvanize their preexisting donor base and discover future potential donors. All donations made during the time frame would go to the NGOs; additionally, high-performing NGOs could qualify for matching rewards.
GiveIndia matches donations through their Success Slabs and Mega Rewards initiatives. In both programs, NGOs receive extra pecuniary incentives by qualifying for key thresholds in their fundraising venture. For example, if an NGO raises 10,000 rupees, GiveIndia matches that with 1,400 rupees.
Additionally, the Success Slab Boosters initiative encouraged early donations by providing a monetary bonus. These three challenges, coupled with the regular donations, resulted in a massive allocation for the 570 participating NGOs.
GFC 2022’s Five “Winners”
GFC 2022’s charitable contributions were dispersed throughout India. However, five NGOs had a more lucrative fundraising season than the rest. The top five NGOs with the most earnings were: Team Everest, Deesha Education Foundation, Abhinav Samaj, Mahavir Foundation Trust and Jabala Action Research Organisation. Here is a brief overview of these impactful organizations:
- Team Everest: With 25 full-time employees and an army of 25,000 volunteers, “Team Everest is one of the biggest youth-run NGOs in India.” Its vision is to foster a passion for volunteering in everyone while making volunteer opportunities easy and accessible. Team Everest’s goal is to ensure that low-income students have an avenue to a high-quality education.
- Deesha Education Foundation: In India, around 200,000 people are corneal blind. Deesha Education Foundation works to spread awareness of this affliction and construct Deesha eye banks and transplantation centers to attain and transplant eyes from deceased people to the corneal blind.
- Abhinav Samaj: Founded in 2010, Abhinav Samaj serves the elderly in Delhi and its surrounding areas. The organization, which provides assisted living facilities along with palliative and hospice care, believes in a “society where aging is not difficult, where the elderly are healthy, happy, empowered and can have a dignified better life.”
- Mahavir Foundation Trust: This international organization based in India works to uplift and educate students of low socioeconomic status. Mahavir Foundation Trust primarily focuses on educational needs but also facilitates comprehensive growth by providing uniforms, school items, toys and more.
- Jabala Action Research Organisation: This NGO, established in 1992, works to embolden youths, especially girls, from marginalized communities and gives them the tools to define their own futures. Jabala Action Research Organization aims to prevent trafficking and child marriage while promoting gender equality.
The Future for India’s NGOs
While the GFC 2022 certainly was a boon for India’s NGOs, more work lies ahead. As reported in a 2022 article in Devex, India’s government continues to have a hostile relationship with the nonprofit sector, which culminated in the removal of several NGO licenses for foreign funding in late 2021. The Indian government’s animosity toward NGOs has led to a more onerous time raising funds.
Fortunately, GiveIndia is providing a welcoming platform for the nation’s NGOs to procure their essential funding. Organizations with a diverse range of causes are able to better serve vulnerable communities with the funds from GFC 2022. GiveIndia has given hope to citizens in desperate need of assistance from NGOs.
– Alexander Portner
Photo: Flickr