The official GuideStar India blog

Want to honour an individual dedicated to Gandhian work & ideals?

2011-12-30T12:48:00.001+05:30

The Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation is inviting nominations for theJamnalal Bajaj Awards 2012.

Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation set up in 1977 and chaired by Mr.Rahul Bajaj has instituted four Awards which are given annually. The objectiveof these Awards is to recognize and suitably reward and honour the efforts ofmen and women who have dedicated their life to constructive Gandhian work andideals which Shri Jamnalal Bajaj, a close associate of Gandhiji, had cherishedall his life.

· There are three National Awards and one International viz.

National: Outstanding Contribution in the fieldof Constructive Work in Rural India.
National: Application of Science andTechnology for Rural Development.
National: Development and Welfare of Womenand Children (instituted in the memory of Padma Vibhushan Smt.Jankidevi Bajaj, wife of Shri Jamnalal Bajaj)
International: International Award for PromotingGandhian Values Outside India (presented to anindividual holding a foreign passport and nationality).

· Nominations to be furnished in the required formatin English or Hindi. Formats can be obtained from the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation.

· Self nominations will not be considered.

· Last dates for sending nominations are 15^th February,2012 for National Awards and 31^st March,2012 for the International Award.

· For further information, please fell free tosend a mail on jbfoundation.mumbai@gmail.com;info@jamnalalbajajfoundation.orgor call 91-22-22023626 Ext 303/306/308.

New portal to promote US Giving to Indian NGOs

2011-12-25T22:24:00.000+05:30

GuideStar India and the U.S.Department of State held a “Philanthropy in India Roundtable” on December 21 inMumbai. Over 40 leaders from the Indian philanthropy sector discussed thecreation of a new online portal that will assist private donors seeking tosupport Indian NGOs.

Mitul Desai, U.S. State Department Senior Advisor

toSouth and Central Asia Assistant Secretary Robert O. Blake,

Opening thePhilanthropy in India Roundtable on December 21, 2011

GuideStar India is an existingportal of fully searchable information on over 1400 registered NGOs in India,and will serve as the platform for the new portal which is designed to connectprivate U.S. donors with Indian NGOs and organizations. The group agreed thatsuch a portal should also help address two critical needs:
(1) empowering andeducating donors by introducing more information and transparency into thesector; and (2) strengthening capacity-building amongst Indian NGOs.

Consul General Peter Haas and others listening to

GuideStar India CEO, Pushpa Aman Singh speaking at the Roundtable

The new portal willaggregate NGO certifications provided by independent third parties and presentthe information in a format easily searchable and accessible by potentialdonors. Neither GuideStar nor the U.S. Government will rate or certify NGOs.The portal will empower donors and allow them to make better informeddecisions. Indian NGOs, intermediaries, facilitators, foundations and otherorganizations and individuals involved in philanthropy in India will benefitthrough enhanced visibility.

The roundtable participantsprovided input on the design of the portal to GuideStar representatives. The diverse group of leaders gathered at theroundtable reflected the shared desire of the private sector, civilsociety and the U.S. State Department to explorenew and creative ways to support Indian NGOs.

NGO India 2012 - event to connect with 5000+ visitors

2011-12-09T20:04:00.001+05:30

Register for the workshop in Mumbai (Dec 15)/ Delhi (Dec 19)/ Chennai (Jan10).

NGO India 2012 (www.india-ngo.org) is a not-for-profit large scaleexhibition and conference designed to bring together NGOs in India to share learning and best practices and engagewith key stakeholders including local and international corporates,foundations, government and the general public. NGO India 2012, is being organised by UBM India, a global business media company thatdoes over 50 exhibitions and conferences every year in India.

NGO India 2012 aims to:

Raise awareness of NGOs and their work
Create opportunities to showcase the good workof NGOs among the public, to facilitate volunteering, fundraising and other positive action
Facilitate NGOs of different sizes servingvaried communities to network with each other
Connect NGOs with experts in good governance, PR& communications and fundraising
Provide a platform that will allow NGOs toengage with government and corporate stakeholders

Why youshould exhibit at NGO India 2012

Exhibitingat NGO India is FREE to all NGOs & Foundations that meet UBM India’s eligibility criteriawhich will be verified by GuideStar India. At this 3 day event, 150-200 NGOs would beshowcasing their work to over 4000 visitors from corporates, grant makers &NGOs and 5000 visitors from the general public. There would be conferences ongood governance, fundraising, PR & communications free of cost for NGOsto connect with experts in these areas.

Why youshould register for the workshop

UBM Indiaand GuideStar India are organising workshops for NGOsand Foundations across India. The workshops will be done in a mix ofEnglish, Hindi and Tamil (in Chennai).

Theworkshop will provide detailed information about the 3 day event NGO India2012 to be held in Gurgaon from March 16-18, 2012. Registration is FREE.

Representativesfrom UBM India’s Operations & Marketing teams would conduct sessions on howto build up your stall and what kind of promotion & branding can be donewithin the stall so as to showcase your activities in the best possible manner.They will screen videos of similar events conducted by UBM for the NGOcommunity in the UK & Brazil.

GuideStar India will explain the due diligence criteria and process forNGOs to qualify for participation in NGO India 2012.

Where	When	Venue
Mumbai	Thursday, Dec 15, 2011	Hotel Kohinoor Corner, Kohinoor Hall 3^rd floor, Opp. Siddhivinayak Mandir, Veer Savarkar Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai - 400 025. Tel: 022-24226743 / 24372441 / 24361282
Delhi	Monday, Dec 19, 2011	India International Centre, Annexe Building (please note that this is not the main IIC building), Next to World Bank Lecture Hall II, 40, Lodi Road, Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi – 110 003 Phone : 011-24619431
Chennai	Tuesday, Jan 10, 2012	Will be declared in due course

Whoshould register for the workshop

Heads ofOrganisations, Heads of Fundraising/ Programmes/ Communications from NGOs &Foundations. A maximum of ONLY two participants per organisation

How toregister for the Workshop

Toregister for the workshop, please fill the form at http://guidestarindia.org/NGOIndia2012.aspx If you face any difficulty, please call Sangeeta at GuideStarIndia on 022-26856900/99.

How will you know if your Participation isConfirmed

You will receive a mail from GuideStar Indiawithin 2 days of receiving your registrationform. If you do not receive a mail, please feel free to call Mercina atGuideStar India to verify your confirmation status. Confirmation is onfirst come first served basis. If you have any questions regardingparticipation, please write to info@guidestarindia.org.

If you would like to know more about NGO India2012, please visit www.india-ngo.org or contact Harsha Advani on 022-66122630.

Please register for the workshop at http://guidestarindia.org/NGOIndia2012.aspx and await emailconfirmation of your registration.

Ifyou would like to hear of more such opportunities, please complete your freeregistration with GuideStar India at http://www.guidestarindia.org/Registerorg.aspx.

Did you make a difference this Diwali?

2011-10-29T21:49:00.000+05:30

Shefali Anand of Wall Street Journal says "GuideStar India's website is a one-stop-shop to look up financial statements, annual reports and in some cases tax returns of more than 1,000 non-profits", in her article urging people to use online tools that are now available to make it easier for you to donate.

We are happy to share the WSJ article with you.

This Diwali, Stop Hesitating and Donate

By SHEFALI ANAND

Don't let laziness or ignorance hold you back from making this Diwali a day of giving to those less fortunate than you.

Gifts for your maid and driver or office boys are all good, but you can afford to be more generous. We are in a country where nearly 400 million people live on less than what it costs you to buy a can of Coca-Cola, or popcorn at a multiplex.

Recent studies have shown that we give away a much smaller percentage of our wealth than our counterparts in Western countries.

Don't be a part of this statistic. What's more, you can get tax breaks for your charitable giving.

Charitable experts in India say that individuals often hesitate in giving because they are not confident if a particular organization is legitimate and if their money will be put to good use. Also, while individuals sometimes have a cause in mind that they would like to support, they don't know how to find a legitimate organization which works in that sphere.

With more than a million non-profit organizations in India, that can be a tough task. But several online tools are now available to make it easier for you to share goodness.

To begin with, several large non-profit organizations like Child Rights and You (CRY), Smile Foundation, and HelpAge India allow you to donate money online using your debit or credit card, or through online banking.

If you want to help the smaller guys, websites of non-profit organizations like Mumbai-based GiveIndia and Samhita, and Delhi-based Charities Aid Foundation India, provide a range of options of charities that work in various fields.

These sites allow you to search by a cause – say education or children or the environment – and, based on your budget, you'll get a list of specific programs that you can fund. You can also narrow down options by region or by the tax benefits of the donation.

For instance, a search on GiveIndia.org for donation options under the broad umbrella of "Health" throws up choices like funding a month-long tuberculosis treatment center for poor patients in a slum by donating 7,000 rupees ($140) to Operation Asha, or paying 1,300 rupees ($26) for the cataract surgery of a poor person, administered by a non-profit named Jan Manas Vikas Sansthan.

GiveIndia currently has around 200 non-profits listed on its site. Chief Executive Officer Dhaval Udani says that charitable giving through their site has grown 30% to 40% over the last five years. "It's still very low compared to the potential," says Mr. Udani.

Samhita.org, launched in 2010, follows a model similar to GiveIndia and currently has around 100 non-profits on its website.

All these aggregators -- GiveIndia, Samhita and Charities Aid Foundation India -- do some basic due diligence into the legitimacy of the non-profits listed on their sites, primarily by assessing their financial and legal documents.

GiveIndia and Samhita also take care of a common question donors have: "Hey I gave the money – whatever happened to it?" says Priya Naik, chief executive officer at Samhita. Donors are provided a progress report on the specific project or non-profit they are funding.

Such feedback gives donors the security that "the money is being utilized well," says Mr. Udani of GiveIndia.

If you want to look for other non-profit options or want to donate on a larger scale, look up the websites of Credibility Alliance and GuideStar India, which work toward increasing accountability and transparency in the non-profit world.

Credibility Alliance, set up in 2004, gives accreditation to non-profits which meet certain financial, governance and transparency standards. Credibility Alliance verifies these standards based on the non-profit's financial statements, annual reports and other documents, as well as on-site visits. Non-profits either meet "minimum" norms or go a level higher of meeting "desirable" norms, by having a more independent board of directors and by publicly sharing details about staff salaries.

If a non-profit is accredited by Credibility Alliance, donors can have "a basic assurance that their money is not going to any wrong hands," says S. P. Selvi, executive director. See here the list of 250 accredited members. Ms. Selvi says 140 more are under review.

Meanwhile, GuideStar India's website is a one-stop-shop to look up financial statements, annual reports and in some cases tax returns of more than 1,000 non-profits. This is all self-reported data and GuideStar doesn't do detailed due diligence on the listed non-profits. For now, GuideStar is meant to "act as a repository of information," says Chief Executive Pushpa Aman Singh.

Ms. Singh and her team often work with large donors and companies, connecting them with specific non-profits and charitable programs.

Ms. Singh says that in recent years the option of "payroll giving" – in which some money is deducted every month from an employee's paycheck – has become popular. If your company provides such an option, sign up for it.

If you would rather help a charitable organization in your neighborhood and want to get some comfort about its activities, you can do your own due diligence by asking to see the organization's audited accounts, financial statements, and annual report detailing their activities. You might not understand all the financial stuff but if they are open to sharing the information, it should give you some confidence that they are willing to be transparent.

Whichever route you take to giving, it's more important you take action now.

I'm betting Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, whom we invite into our homes on Diwali, will be more generous if we share her bounty with others.

Happy Diwali to all!

Are you late for India's biggest online fundraising opportunity? NO

2011-09-25T23:52:00.001+05:30

India Giving Challenge 2011: the prizes just got bigger. Register for almost a month of exciting online fundraising!

India Giving Challenge 2011 (IGC2011) started on Sep 6 and within 2 weeks, NGOs raised more than Rs. 30 lakhs!42 NGOs registered specifically for IGC 2011 and an equal number are at variousstages, hurrying up to complete the registration process.

Though IGC 2011 is in its 4thweek, there is still plenty of time to fundraise and win prizes. The contestis open till Oct 20, 2011!

What is India Giving Challenge

India Giving Challenge (IGC) isan online event held by GiveIndia as apart of the Joy of Giving Week 2011, when India celebrates its culture ofgiving. This event is to encourage NGOs and companies to raise funds online andget rewarded for their efforts in turn.

This is the perfect opportunityto go out and ASKpeople to donate to your organisation. It does not matter whothey are. It does not matter if they have supported your organisation in thepast or not. It does not matter if they have ever donated in the past or not.

The basicidea behind the India Giving Challenge is to build a community approach to fundraising.The event encourages you to reachout to all your networks for donations, and get rewarded with additional funds,for the donations that you receive (if you qualify). So please use thisopportunity to reach out to
- donors- both old and new
- supporters
- Board Members’networks
- Employees'networks
- Your personalnetworks - spouse, in-laws, spouse’s friends, 1st cousins, 2ndcousins and neighbours.

Pleaseremember that there are dailyprizes to the tune of Rs.50,000 to be won EVERYDAY. There are well-wisherprizes to be won during the Joy of Giving Week (Oct 2-8) only. A well-wisherof GiveIndia, who has been following the challenge closely for the past 3years, has decided that he too wants to be a part of the event. He has beenimpressed by the efforts of participating NGOs over the years and so tomotivate NGOs to reach out all the more, has decided to sponsor the followingset of prizes:

Matching prizes to the top50 NGOs that raise the most money during Joy of Giving Week (i.e. Sun,Oct 2nd- Sat, Oct 8th) as follows:

NGO Position	Matching Grant Limit (Rs.)	Minimum Funds to be Raised to Qualify (Rs.)
1-10	35,000 each	35,000
11-20	30,000 each	30,000
21-30	25,000 each	25,000
31-40	15,000 each	15,000
41-50	10,000 each	10,000

This gives 50 NGOs a chanceto win a prize from Oct 2-8! And these are in addition to thealready announced Rs. 75 lacs (http://www.giveindia.org/t-india-giving-challenge-2011-matching-grant.aspx). And all of this will count towards your overall prizes!

So, put this opportunity right on the topof your “to-do” list and apply today!

Depending on how ready your documentsare, you may take 2 to 5 days to complete your registration. The sooner youregister, the bigger your chance of raising donations and matching funds. [Youcan see below, the list of top 10 NGOs as of now and feedback from anorganisation that participated in IGC).

To apply, visit: http://www.guidestarindia.org/IGC2011.aspxand read the eligibility criteria, process and fill the simple form today.

If you are already raising funds throughGiveIndia, you need not register specifically for IGC. You may simply write to tarika@giveindia.org for details aboutcreating your iGive (fundraising) page.

What is GuideStar India's role

As the NGO Outreach & RegistrationPartner for the India Giving Challenge 2011, GuideStar India creates awarenessabout IGC among NGOs and helps NGOs complete the necessary process required toget registered with GiveIndia, specifically for IGC 2011. We carry out duediligence of NGOs as per criteria set by GiveIndia.

All NGOs featured on GuideStar India need to upload only additional documentsand complete the processes unique to IGC 2011. NGOs that apply for IGC 2011 getautomatically featured on GuideStar India, on submission of the basicinformation required for GuideStar India registration.

If you have any questions, please call us on 022-26856900/ 99.

How to apply for The Times of India Social Impact Awards

2011-06-06T20:44:00.002+05:30

As an implementation partner for The Times of India Social Impact Awards, GuideStar India encourages you to apply for theseawards. Please read the invitation below and the FAQssection before you apply.

To apply, you can log in via Twitter, Facebook, itimes, indiatimes or TOI IDs. If you do not have an account on these, please click “More Login Options” and select 'Connect with Times of India' and join as a new member
If you have any queries, please write to: socialimpactawards@indiatimes.com
Last date for applications: 7th July, 2011. We advise you to apply at the earliest
Log in to www.timessocialawards.com and send in your applications

I N V I T A T I O N

There has beenundoubted progress post India’s independence but it is overshadowed todayby the persistenceof poverty, ignorance and disease among a vast number of our fellow citizens.While most people will agree with this, they despair at the vastness of theproblems. Some close their eyes and strive only for personal advance. Othershope that state policies will somehow change the prevailing order. Fortunatelyfor India, there are wonderful and amazing people and organizations who havebeen battling enormous odds and making great personal sacrifices so that thelives of disadvantaged people are changed for the better. To acknowledge andhonor these unsung heroes of India, The Times of India has decidedto institute ‘The Times of India Social Impact Awards’. This paper, whichhas over the past few years launched such initiatives as Teach India, Lead India and Aman ki Asha, believes it has a responsibilitytowards this nation, and its people, that goes beyond merely reporting the newsof the day.

The TOI Awards willhelp focus greater attention on five critical spheres: education, healthcare, livelihood,environment and advocacy/empowerment. As we want to credit outstanding contributionsfrom different sections of society, there will be three awards in each of thefive spheres – a non-governmental organization (NGO); a corporate-backedorganization; and a government body at the state or district level. There willalso be a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Global Impact Award. Widespread and tangibleimpact, which has the quality of changing lives forever, is the key criterionfor these awards. The applications for each award will be vetted by an esteemedpanel of jury members and domain experts.

We encourageorganizations like you to send in your application for the awards by logging onto www.timessocialawards.com. Your support andparticipation will serve as an inspiration to the millions who wish to make areal difference.

The awards willculminate in a final award ceremony which is scheduled for Sunday, October 2^nd 2011.

Best Regards,

TeamSocial Impact Awards

What are you doing this Joy of Giving Week?

2011-04-01T18:54:00.001+05:30

Register for the NGO workshop on Fundraising during the Joy of Giving Week 2011on April 11, 2011 in Mumbai from 9am to 1pm. This workshop is ONLY for NGOs with operation in and around Mumbai. If your NGO is outside Mumbai, please watch out for workshop annoucements in your city.

What is the Joy of Giving Week (JGW)

The Joy of Giving Week (JGW) is India's "festival of giving". Launched in Sept 27-Oct 3, 2009, the festival is celebrated every year, in the week including Gandhi Jayanti, i.e., October 2, and brings together Indians from all walks of life, to celebrate "giving". From auto drivers to CEOs, school children to celebrities, homemakers to opinion leaders, millions of people give their time, money, resources or skills back to society- by creating or participating in "events" of their choice. Events are organised by NGOs, individuals, social groups, schools, colleges, corporates, media houses and others.

More than 1 million Indians participated in 400+ events held in JGW 2010 and funds and material worth over Rs20 crore was raised.

Why your NGO should be a part of JGW

While some NGOs have made events during JGW an annual affair to generate awareness and donations, we believe that with some orientation and training, thousands of NGOs could significantly leverage the JGW platform to raise funds and/ or create awareness if they start planning NOW.

You could create your own event or join an existing umbrella event. You could focus on fundraising or simply heighten the awareness about your work. It is a great time to do events with people you know to reach to people they may or may not know. It is a festival during which corporates, schools, colleges, associations, housing societies and individuals are keen to spread joy. Many of them are eager to support NGOs working for their favourite cause. The media devotes space and time to cover events.

What will be done at this NGO workshop:

• Overview of JGW in the 2009 & 2010

• Key platform events planned in Mumbai for JGW 2011 – which you can join

• Show case of replicable events & ideas

• Identification of specific event options for your NGO

• There are worksheets that NGOs will use in small groups to think through and arrive at 2-3 specific options for each NGO

• JGW Resources

Who should attend this workshop:

Ideally the chief functionary AND fundraising head should attend this workshop.

When & where

Monday, April 11, 2011 from 9 am to 1pm at

Kalavati Chabbria Hall

Rotary Service Centre, Ground Floor

Rotary Chowk, Juhu Tara Road

Santacruz West, Mumbai 400054

Directions and details will be sent with confirmation mails.

The Joy of Giving Week team thanks the Rotary Club Bombay West for providing their venue, facilities and refreshments for the workshop. They responded to our request within minutes by email!

How to REGISTER for this workshop

To register for the workshop, please fill the online form at http://bit.ly/jgwngoworkshopregn . It will take you less than 10 minutes to register.

Registration is FREE but compulsory as we can take in only 100 participants.

Within 2 days of registration, you will receive a confirmation mail from GuideStar India. Please carry a copy of the confirmation mail for entry at the venue.

Register now as confirmation is strictly based on first come first served basis for a maximum of 2 persons (decision makers) from each NGO.

Only 3 documents & 30 min needed to register an NGO on GuideStar India!

2011-03-09T16:16:00.000+05:30

Our registration process for NGOs has been further simplified! It takes only 3 documents (ITPAN, registration certificate as Society/ Trust/ Section 25 Company and a valid address proof) and a simple form which you can fill in less than 30 minutes to apply for registering an NGO on www.guidestarindia.org. Registration is FREE!

Over 1000 NGOs have registered with GuideStar India and we have connected them with resources and opportunities such as free IT training workshops and software donations from NASSCOM Foundation, online fundraising through GiveIndia, membership & accreditation from the Credibility Alliance, the Spirit of Humanity Awards from AmeriCares India, India NGO Awards from the Resource Alliance.

NGOs have started quoting their GSN (GuideStar Number) on application forms to qualify for fast track registrations and for other assessors to refer to their documents online!

Many NGOs have updated their pages on GuideStar India to showcase their work comprehensively and to demonstrate their transparency and accountability. For example visit the pages of Alternative for Rural Movement and ROSARY Trust.

Click here to register now with GuideStar India!

India NGO Awards last date extended to Feb 28

2011-02-15T15:07:00.000+05:30

Many GuideStar India NGOs wrote to us in the last 10 days for their GuideStar Number to fill in their application for the India NGO Awards. Some NGOs wrote to us for their login details for updating their pages before sending off their award applications.

Now, you have more time to apply.

The Resource Alliance has extended the last date to Feb 28, 2011.

All the best!

Only 10 days left to apply for the India NGO Awards!

2011-02-05T16:58:00.001+05:30

The Resource Alliance and the Rockefeller Foundation invite NGOs to apply for India NGO Awards 2010. The application form requires you to quote your GuideStar Number (GSN) so that assessors could refer to additional information from your pages on www.guidestarindia.org. Many of you have been asking us for your GSN and login details for updating your page. If you need this information, please write to info@guidestarindia.org.

If your organisation is in the process of getting uploaded on www.guidestarindia.org, you may quote your GSN in the form as: Completed registration, awaiting GSN. We will mail to you in March, the GSN and login details for updating your pages. We will also directly send your GSN to the Resource Alliance for their reference.

You still have 10 days to send your application if you have not done already. You can download the brochure and form at: http://www.resource-alliance.org/documents/india_ngo_awards_2010.pdf.

Rush your entry to the Resource Alliance before Feb 15, 2011.

Please refer (below) to the communication from the Resource Alliance for more details.

=============================================================
Dear Friends,

The Resource Alliance and the Rockefeller Foundation are pleased to invite applications for the India NGO Awards 2010. The Awards, as you may be aware were instituted in 2006 to recognise and felicitate those organisations that have demonstrated best practices in creative resourcing, financial management, governance and impact in the community.

Non Governmental Organisations from across the country are encouraged to send in their entries under one of the three categories based on their annual budget (income) for 2009-10.

Categories

- Small: Annual budget under Rs 50 lakhs
- Medium: Annual budget between Rs 50 lakhs and Rs 5 crores
- Large: Annual budget over Rs 5 crores

Criteria

Organisations will be evaluated on the effective and sustainable mobilisation of resources, the demonstration of efficient management of resources, good governance practices, transparency and accountability and the impact of the work in bringing about tangible benefits to its target communities,

Benefits

• The three national winners in each category will receive a trophy and cash prize of Rs 4,00,000/- to be used “to strengthen their internal systems and processes.”
• All Regional Finalists will be profiled in a casebook, which will be widely disseminated.
• All Regional Finalists will be mentored by TIE members.
• All applicants will be invited to participate in customised workshops on resource mobilisation and related areas.

Please find attached the brochure/entry form for the India NGO Awards 2010. You may also download the form from http://www.resource-alliance.org/documents/india_ngo_awards_2010.pdf . The last date for receiving entries is February 15th, 2011- just 10 days to go.

For any further information on the Awards please write to us at indiangoaward@resource-alliance.org.

Warm regards,

Rati Misra
Regional Representative (South Asia)
The Resource Alliance
B4/58 Safdarjung Enclave, 2nd Floor
New Delhi-110029 India
Tel.: + 91-11-41354766
Mobile: 9811938889
Website: http://www.resource-alliance.org/

Fast track registration for GuideStar India NGOs to get software donations

2011-01-28T18:41:00.002+05:30

A special offer from NASSCOM Foundation for GuideStar India NGOs to register for its software donation programme BiGTech in partnership with TechSoup Global.

BiGTech has so far donated software worth Rs7.5 crore across 27 states of India. Over 1000 NGOs are already registered under this programme. Currently their donation products come from Microsoft, BUSY accounting, Eagle teleconferencing, Bytes of Learning & Quick Heal Anti-virus.

NGOs registered with GuideStar India are put on a fast track registration process as BiGTech will access their registration details and supporting documents from http://www.guidestarindia.org/. This essentially means GuideStar India registered NGOs do not have to go through their usual process All they need to do is fill in a very short form providing contact details of the person authorised to request for the software donations and provide answers in Yes/No to their eligibility criteria.

In less than 10 minutes, a GuideStar India NGO could be registered with BiGTech!

If you are registered with GuideStar India, follow this link to fill the short form created especially for you by BiGTech. Do remember to quote your GSN (GuideStar Number). Register NOW and start taking advantage of software donations under BiGTech!

If your NGO is already registered with BiGTech, you need not register again.

If your NGO is not yet registered with GuideStar India, please complete the process as described at: http://www.guidestarindia.org/Registerorg.aspx. We will send you an invite for BiGTech registration thereafter. NGOs that have recently completed their GuideStar India registration will receive an invite with their GSN in Feb.

Thank you, Prashant at NASSCOM Foundation for simplifying the BiGTech registration process for GuideStar India NGOs!

Thank you for making 2010 so special for us! Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T18:20:00.000+05:30

As we set out to connect many more people with NGOs of their choice during 2011, we thank all those who made 2010 so very special for us:

• 716 NGOs who chose to be featured on www.guidestarindia.org for voluntarily sharing their information with over 5000 documents in public domain

• 948 participants from 607 NGOs who registered through us and took advantage of NASSCOM Foundation’s free IT training workshops

• 74 NGOs from across India who participated for the first time in online fundraising by registering through us for GiveIndia’s India Giving Challenge 2010

• 32 NGOs that underwent due diligence for Style for Smiles and Speak for Smiles to receive their donations through Toofles Foundation

• 344 NGOs that attended the several workshops of GiveIndia, GlobalGiving and Credibility Alliance for which we did the outreach

• 85 NGOs that signed up NASSCOM Foundation’s BiGTech programme

• The British Asian Trust for making us their due diligence partner when we had just started

• NASSCOM Foundation for making us their Outreach Partner for their ConnectIT workshops

• Credibility Alliance for partnering with us to manage their Membership registration

• GiveIndia for making us their Outreach & Registration Partner for India Giving Challenge 2010

• Resource Alliance for partnering with us to be a part of screening India NGO Award 2010 applicants

• The National Trust, Packard Foundation, Ammada Trust, Goonj, Janpath and Maharashtra State Women’s Council for giving us the opportunity to address their partners

• SP Jain Institute of Management Research for inviting us to address students of their fundraising course

• Tata Tea Jaago Re! And AmeriCares India for using our services to reach out to NGOs

• The Center for Civil Society Studies, Johns Hopkins University for their inputs and guidance with using the International Classification for Nonprofit Organizations

• The American Center, Mumbai and Harmony for Silvers Foundation for providing us their auditorium for workshops

• Blind People’s Association, Goonj, Sightsavers India and STAPI for sharing their database

• Propoor.org, NGO Post, Alliance Magazine and the GiveIndia NGO newsletter for spreading our message far and wide

• GiveIndia and Credibility Alliance for facilitating automatic registration of their partners with us and for working towards smooth navigation for users

• STAPI for providing institutional support

• Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy for advice on a range of issues within hours

• The government departments that welcomed our inputs and also readily offered advice

• Individual donors and foundations who supported our efforts

• Visitors of our site, our followers on Twitter, Facebook friends and subscribers of our blog

• People who reported stories of NGOs they found through GuideStar India and the contributions made

• GuideStar International for support and encouragement in so many different ways

• Our Board Members, Advisors, auditors, volunteers, interns and team members during the year

While we have thanked the numerous organisations that made 2010 special for us, it is wonderful people in these organisations who made the journey so rewarding!

We look forward to another exciting year with your support!

A very happy New Year!

Click and Connect with your favourite cause this holiday season

2010-12-27T14:56:00.001+05:30

Have you ever thought about gifting your time or money to help significantly change lives of those around you? This giving season, spend a few minutes on www.guidestarindia.org to get to know about and connect with NGOs in India working on a cause that is dear to you. You can identify NGOs that you would like to visit in your city/ town or find information on charities that you may want to support remotely. You can also share information on their work via your blog, Facebook or Twitter. GuideStar India features 716 NGOs across India. Just click and connect!

Dr Usha Pillai, of the IDEA Foundation says “Soon after our registration on GuideStar India, we got the opportunity to attend an IT Workshop conducted by the NASSCOM Foundation. Through this workshop we could familiarise ourselves with various online tools to promote our cause. Our presence on the GuideStar India website and a social networking site has in fact helped us to connect with an industry donor, who was looking for a small NGO. Being added to GuideStar India has been of phenomenal long term value to a small NGO like ours within a few months of association."

Pushpa Aman Singh, CEO of GuideStar India says “It is amazing to see how quickly connections happen: I got a call from a person based in Bangalore who wanted his sister, a cosmetic surgeon in Mumbai to connect with a charity working for women around Mumbai so that she could raise awareness about their work at the medical conferences she is invited to address. Within minutes he found a list of suitable organisations on www.guidestarindia.org and within days his family started work with the IDEA Foundation. With so many NGOs using the internet and email effectively, it is fairly easy for people across the globe to support NGOs in India. We get enquiries from students who seek to volunteer for a few days while on a holiday trip, people who want to intern with charities while on vacation, parents who want to spend time along with their children at an NGO reading stories or playing games or helping them with their daily tasks and there are those who support charities from where they live by spreading awareness and doing fundraisers to helping with online communication.”

Ready to make a meaningful gift this holiday season? Click here and get connected with your favourite cause right away! Do write to us at info@guidestarindia.org and share your joy of giving. We will feature some of the stories on this blog.

Happy holidays and best wishes for the New Year!

Karnataka & Kerala NGOs: Register for FREE IT training workshops, limited seats!

2010-12-21T16:25:00.001+05:30

1082 participants have taken advantage of IT training workshops in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat and Delhi. Now it is your turn to attend… Apply NOW!

As the Outreach Partner for these workshops, GuideStar India is pleased to invite you for free high impact IT training workshops titled ‘ConnectIT workshop" in Karnataka.

NGOs can take advantage of free IT training in MS Office & social media worth at least Rs5000. Thanks to NASSCOM Foundation and Microsoft, this programme comes to NGOs free of cost. You can nominate TWO participants, which means a saving of Rs10,000 and your NGO will get the benefit of using IT more effectively.

Where & When are ConnectIT Workshop to be held:

Bangalore 05 – 08 Jan, 2011
Belgaum 18 – 21 Jan, 2011
Hubli 25- 29 Jan, 2011 (26th Jan holiday for Republic Day)
Mangalore 01-04 Feb, 2011

Venue for ConnectIT workshops: will be informed to confirmed participants.

What is the workshop content: Practical training on desktops/ laptops including advanced use of Microsoft Excel, Word, making presentations, newsletters, movie making, animation, sound and video in Power point, use of new media such as blogs, Twitter, Face book, etc. There is a session on how to get featured on GuideStar India. All NGOs that register for ConnectIT workshops will be trained to showcase their work on www.guidestarindia.org. You will also get to enroll for NASSCOM Foundation’s software donation programme BiGTech.

Please refer to the agenda for details.

Participants who attend all 4 days sessions in any one ConnectIT Workshop will receive a Certificate of Participation and a CD based user manual to help them use their learning after this workshop.

Who can participate

NGO leaders and staff who currently use MS Office and are keen to learn to use these and other tools more effectively. These will be conducted in English. Nominate 2 persons, one of who is a key decision maker so that your organisation can implement the learning most appropriately.

Accommodation: Participants have to make their own arrangements for stay and travel.

How to register:

Click http://bit.ly/connectitregn to register online.

If you are not able to fill the online Registration Form, please download the Word document, fill it and email to register@guidestarindia.org. If you face any difficulty, please call Lathika at GuideStar India on 022-26856900/99.

How will you know if your Participation is Confirmed:

You will receive a mail from GuideStar India within 3 days of receiving your registration form. If you do not receive a mail, please feel free to call Lathika at GuideStar India to verify your confirmation status. Confirmation is based on selection criteria and first come first served basis. Entry will be allowed strictly against copy of confirmation mail and photo ID.

You will receive a series of important emails after you register. Please read all our emails carefully as it may contain important information about the ConnectIT Workshop.

If you have any questions regarding participation, please write to register@guidestarindia.org. Please apply at the earliest and await email confirmation of your registration.

Feel free to inform other NGOs from your network to register for the ConnectIT Workshop. You may simply forward the link to this page (http://guidestarindia.org/ITtraining.aspx).

If you do not want to miss this golden opportunity, apply NOW.

Tata Tea Jaago Re! team invites GuideStar India NGOs

2010-12-16T15:36:00.000+05:30

Tata Tea Jaago Re! Team invites NGOs to join their portal and get connected with their vast community of 23,000+ users. After identifying GuideStar NGOs that are already registered with Jaago Re!, the Tata Tea Jaago Re! team asked us to send their invitation to the remaining 644 NGOs who are featured on GuideStar India but were yet to join Jaago Re! The initial response from GuideStar India NGOs has been encouraging.

We are happy to announce that even non-GuideStar NGOs could read the details below and write to jaago.re@tatatea.co.in to join their portal.

From: Team Jaago Re!

Tata Tea Jaago Re! is renowned for taking up social issues and enabling citizens to contribute to social change. We have addressed issues of Voting and Corruption in our previous campaigns.

Now, www.jaagore.com is the portal for NGOs from the reputed stable of the Tata Tea Jaago Re! campaign. It is an online conduit between organizations like yours and the citizens of our nation. This portal is a bustling community of over 23,000 users including 130 NGOs.

The motto of this portal is to encourage citizens to get involved with Social Issues and help NGOs, by sparing some of their time. Registered NGOs have put up more than 270 projects that need volunteers and the site has delivered more than 600 volunteers across the country!

Here are few links to Jaagore success stories:

Ankit Nandwani from Pune galvanized his entire college batch to work on Open Space project… http://www.jaagore.com/blog/india%E2%80%94what-does-it-take-trigger-your-conscience

Shwetha from Bangalore assisted Rang De in Chennai with content editing project sitting at her home… http://www.jaagore.com/blog/awakening-people-%E2%80%94-one-time

Guest blog post from Deepalaya on Education program… http://www.jaagore.com/blog/education-wheels

Interview with Vijay Anand, Fifth Pillar, on fighting corruption… http://www.jaagore.com/blog/corruption-starts-right-birth-until-death-indian-citizen-vijay-anand-5th-pillar-founder

Five reasons why you must sign up with Jaagore.com:

1. 23,000 and growing community of socially conscious pool of citizens

2. Online presence through Jaagore Blog and reach out to users via Jaagore Facebook/ Twitter platforms

3. Get people interested in your cause and connect to prospective volunteers at zero cost

4. Create and manage individual NGO account, announce new projects & events and showcase your work

5. Post and manage all your volunteer/ resource requirements through your account

The way to participate is real simple – please write back to us and we will get you on board. Come and partner with us in this new Jaago Re! movement!

To register, write to jaago.re@tatatea.co.in TODAY.

If your organization has already registered with Jaagore.com, you need not register again.

Team Jaago Re!

Donor for School Infrastructure in Ahmedabad/ North Gujarat invites proposals

2010-12-11T18:39:00.001+05:30

GuideStar India is happy to connect NGOs working in Gujarat with a donor organisation that uses http://www.guidestarindia.org/ to identify suitable partners.

A donor organisation which takes up social projects, especially in the area of Education, is currently in search of NGOs who are running and operating Schools for underprivileged children. They are willing to build critical civil infrastructure for Schools with own premises/ land in Gujarat (Ahmedabad and North Gujarat) like Classroom, Toilets, Classroom furniture, Filtered Drinking Water System, Deep Tube-wells for Sanitation, Lights & Fans, Science laboratories, Library rooms, Computer rooms and so on.

They do not make monetary grants but carry out the actual construction based on the NGO’s requirements.

If your organisation runs a school for poor children in your own premises/ land (in Ahmedabad/ North Gujarat) and are looking to create/ upgrade/ expand your infrastructure facilities, please fill their form and send it directly to the donor to ourschoolprojects2010@gmail.com.

If your organisation eventually gets support from this donor, please share your story with us so that we can cover it in our newsletter.

If your NGO is already featured on GuideStar India, do update your content on GuideStar India when you send your application to the donor as they would be viewing your information on http://www.guidestarindia.org/ for short listing proposals.

Alliance Magazine covers the launch of GuideStar India

2010-12-02T20:23:00.000+05:30

“With the launch of GuideStar India on 23 September, India became the fourth country to have a GuideStar database, joining the USA, the UK and Israel. Unlike the US and the UK, where the starting point for GuideStar was existing official documentation, in India the source is non-profit organizations themselves. This is primarily because India lacks a single source of data on its estimated 3 million NPOs: the country has different registration authorities and lacks a unique identification for NPOs. These reasons make a system like GuideStar both difficult to create and critical to the development of the voluntary sector in India.”

Click here for the full article.

Out of the 716 NGOs currently on http://www.guidestarindia.org/, many organisations have recently updated their profiles. GuideStar India will be sharing stories of users connecting with NGOs. We will be announcing requests received from users seeking NGOs to support and also specific requirements and updates put up by NGOs.

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly - the FCRA Bill 2010

2010-09-13T17:07:00.000+05:30

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill 2010 has recently been passed by both Houses of the Indian Parliament. It now merely awaits the assent of the President and a Gazette Notification to be enacted into Law.

Noshir Dadrawala, legal expert and Chief Executive, Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy examines the ‘Good’, the ‘Bad’ and the ‘Ugly’ aspects of this proposed legislation.

The Good

• Charitable organizations will be allowed to maintain multiple bank accounts for management and utilization of FCRA funds provided only one bank account is maintained for receiving all foreign contribution.

• Both, ‘Registration’ and ‘Prior Permission’ shall be granted or rejected within a period of 90 days from the date of receipt of application. Currently this time frame is stipulated only for applications for Prior Permission.

• Presently foreign contribution cannot be transferred to organizations which are not registered nor have prior permission under FCRA. FCRA 2010 will now allow such transfer with ‘Prior Approval’. However, the rules in this regard are yet to be framed.

The Bad

• Under FCRA 2010, ‘Foreign Company’ is defined and under the definition given u/s 2(g), Indian companies are not included. However, u/s 2(j) ‘foreign source’ includes an Indian company if more than 50% of its equity is held by foreigners. This dichotomy is confusing!

• The definition of ‘foreign contribution’ includes various types of foreign receipts. It does not distinguish between commercial receipts and voluntary contributions. In fact, Explanation 3 to section 2(h) excludes income from business, trade or commerce. This section states that any fee or cost against business, trade or commerce shall not be considered as foreign contribution. In other words, such receipts can be treated as local income. However this provision is in conflict with the amended section 2(15) of the Income Tax Act which prohibits trade or business related receipts above Rs.10 lakhs. NGO are therefore urged to exercise caution.

• Section 3 specifies persons who are ineligible to receive foreign contribution. To the existing list a few more have been added. Of particular concern is the inclusion of, “Organization of a political nature”. The term ‘Political Nature’ has not been defined.

The Ugly

• Section 8 states that the administrative expenses shall not exceed 50% and any expenditure of administrative nature in excess of 50% shall be defrayed with prior approval of the Central Government.

• Registration under FCRA will require renewal every 5 years! However, the Act has provided relief to all the existing NGOs for the first 5 years from the date of enactment. In other words, all existing NGOs will be required to renew their registration at the end of the period of 5 years from the date of enactment of FCRA 2010. According to Section 16 of the proposed Act, all NGOs should apply for renewal of the certificate within 6 months prior to the expiry of the 5 years period.

• Sweeping powers have been given to the authorities for rejecting applications for prior permission or registration. Take for example, under Section 12, “the applicant should not have been prosecuted or convicted for indulging in activities aimed at conversion or creating communal tension”. Inclusion of the term ‘prosecuted’ is of tremendous concern since it implies that even if there is a false or frivolous legal proceeding going on registration could be denied.

• Registration may be cancelled for various reasons including lack of activity for a period of 2 years. Currently NGOs have been enjoying the benefit of keeping their registered status alive by simply filing ‘Nil’ returns despite not receiving or utilizing foreign funds for many years.

• Also, any organization whose certificate has been cancelled / revoked shall not be eligible for registration or prior permission for a period of 3 years from the date of cancellation.

• FCRA 2010 further provides that after cancellation of registration certificate, all the foreign contribution and assets thereof (created since the inception of the organization) shall vest with such authority as may be prescribed. The government authorities shall take charge of the foreign contribution and the FC assets till the registration is restored.

Register for FREE IT training workshops in Jaipur, Jodhpur & Udaipur (April-May), limited seats

2010-03-22T14:51:00.002+05:30

318 NGO participants attended 6 ConnectIT Workshops and the ConnectIT Day in different locations of Maharashtra! GuideStar India (http://www.guidestarindia.org/) is pleased to invite NGOs to the Rajasthan series of “ConnectIT Day”, a curtain raiser for a series of capacity building workshops in IT titled ‘ConnectIT workshops’ to be conducted by NASSCOM Foundation (http://www.nasscomfoundation.org/).

ConnectIT Day:

This half day event to be held in Jaipur on 20th April will include discussion panels on topics relevant to the use of IT in development and will be attended by representatives from NGOs, Government, Industry and domain experts. The ConnectIT Day is a programme for NGO leaders and senior managers to meet and interact with decision makers and experts who use technology for development.

Venue: to be announced shortly.

Registration is FREE and each NGO can send max 2 participants. NGOs that attend the ConnectIT Day will be given preference in registration for the ConnectIT workshops.

ConnectIT Workshops:
There will be 6 workshops called ‘ConnectIT Workshop’ to be held in Jaipur, Jodhpur & Udaipur the months of April-May. These workshops are for NGO leaders and staff who already use MS Office and are keen to learn to use these and other tools more effectively. The workshops include hands-on training on desktops & laptops. Sessions include advanced use of Microsoft Excel, Word, making presentations, newsletters, movie making, use of new media such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. There is also a session on how to get featured on GuideStar India. All NGOs that register for ConnectIT Day/ConnectIT workshops will be trained to showcase their work on www.guidestarindia.org, an online platform for NGOs to create and manage their own web pages.

Participants who attend all 4 days sessions in any one ConnectIT Workshop will receive a Certificate of Participation and a CD based user manual to help them use their learning after this workshop.

Registration is FREE and each NGO can send 2 participants for any one ConnectIT Workshop in Jaipur/ Jodhpur/ Udaipur.

Venue and Date for ConnectIT workshops:

Jaipur ConnectIT workshop I- 12-15 April in Jaipur ( venue to be decided)

Jaipur ConnectIT workshop II - 21- 24 April in Jaipur ( venue to be decided)

Jodhpur ConnectIT workshop - 27- 30 April (tentative)

Udaipur ConnectIT workshop – 3- 6 May ( tentative)

You may subscribe to our blog http://guidestarindia.blogspot.com/ for frequent updates.

Accommodation: Participants have to make their own arrangements for stay and travel.

What did some of the Maharashtra participants say

Participants of the ConnectIT Workshops and ConnectIT Day held in Maharashtra found them useful. This is what some of them had to say:

Ms Diana Peters from Habitat for Humanity India: “Overall the training was educative, informative, effective, building upon the basics. Content was excellent and faculty was interactive, reaching out to everyone’s level of understanding.”

Mr Pandurang Solanke from AFARM: “Very helpful, learnt additional features, shortcuts which will save time, learnt additional Power Point features like power point video, hyperlinks, etc which will help in presentations, got to know about online tools and how to do marketing online, also shall spread the learnings to colleagues which will help them in their daily activities. I will ask other NGOs from our network to register for Nagpur and Sangli.”

Ms Sarita Walkar from Amhi Amchya Arogyasathi:“Overall very good learning workshop. Learnt additional features, better way of creation of report in excel and word. Learnt to create blog which will help the organization to do more creative work with online tools.”

Ms Thelma Pereira from Paragon Charitable Trust: “Overall, the instructional and hands-on training imparted to us was very educative, informative and effective particularly for me who earlier had only basic knowledge and use of the various MS office applications and I am now confidently looking forward to upgrading my IT skills from the current Windows 2003 to Windows 2007. I greatly appreciate the coverage of topics at the Workshop and the active interactions between the trainers and us trainees where our trainers spared no efforts to cater to all levels of understanding.

…And I have left the Workshop greatly enriched by the training and learnings I’ve received and, emulating Ashutosh(trainer), I am sharing them with my office colleagues. I thank you once again not only for the useful training but also for making available to us a CD to reinforce our learnings in the Workshop.”

How do you register

1. You can register online at http://www.nasscomfoundation.org/index.php/component/option,com_performs/formid,26/Itemid,88889002/

Or you can write to us at info@guidestarindia.org for the Registration Form

2. Also you need to fill the Need Assessment Form at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VYRDQRR

How will you know if your Participation is Confirmed
You will receive a mail from NASSCOM Foundation within 3 days of receiving your registration form and Need Assessment Form. If you do not receive a mail, please feel free to call Lathika or Jitu at GuideStar India to verify your confirmation status.

GuideStar India is the Outreach Partner for ConnectIT Day and ConnectIT workshops. If you have any questions regarding participation, please write to info@guidestarindia.org or speak with Lathika on 022-26856900/99. Please apply at the earliest and await email confirmation of your registration from NASSCOM Foundation.

Feel free to inform other NGOs from your network to register for the ConnectIT Day and ConnectIT Workshop.

Due to limited seats at each event, registrations will be based on first come first served basis.

Rush to register and spread the word around.

Registrations begin for Rajasthan IT workshops

2010-02-12T19:58:00.000+05:30

After the success of 6 ConnectIT Workshops and the ConnectIT Day attended by 318 NGO participants in different locations of Maharashtra, GuideStar India (www.guidestarindia.org) is pleased to invite NGOs to “ConnectIT Day”, a curtain raiser for a series of capacity building workshops in IT titled ‘ConnectIT workshops’ to be conducted by NASSCOM Foundation (www.nasscomfoundation.org) in Rajasthan.

ConnectIT Day:
This half day event to be held in Jaipur in mid March will include discussion panels on topics relevant to the use of IT in development and will be attended by representatives from NGOs, Government, Industry and domain experts. The ConnectIT Day is a programme for NGO leaders and senior managers to meet and interact with decision makers and experts who use technology for development.

Registration is FREE and each NGO can send 2 participants. NGOs that attend the ConnectIT Day will be given preference in registration for the ConnectIT workshops.

ConnectIT Workshop:

There will be 6 workshops called ‘ConnectIT Workshop’ to be held in Jaipur, Jodhpur & Udaipur the months of March-April. These workshops are for NGO leaders and staff who already use MS Office and are keen to learn to use these and other tools more effectively. The workshops include hands-on training on desktops & laptops. Sessions include advanced use of Microsoft Excel, Word, making presentations, newsletters, movie making, use of new media such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. There is also a session on how to get featured on GuideStar India. All NGOs that register for ConnectIT Day/ConnectIT workshops will be trained to showcase their work on www.guidestarindia.org, an online platform for NGOs to create and manage their own web pages.

Participants who attend all 4 days sessions in any one ConnectIT Workshop will receive a Certificate of Participation and a CD based user manual to help them use their learning after this workshop.

Registration is FREE and each NGO can send 2 participants for any one ConnectIT Workshops in Jaipur/ Jodhpur/ Udaipur.

Participants of the ConnectIT Workshops and ConnectIT Day held in Maharashtra found them useful. This is what some of them had to say:

Ms Diana Peters from Habitat for Humanity India: “Overall the training was educative, informative, effective, building upon the basics. Content was excellent and faculty was interactive, reaching out to everyone’s level of understanding.”

Mr Pandurang Solanke from AFARM: “Very helpful, learnt additional features, shortcuts which will save time, learnt additional Power Point features like power point video, hyperlinks, etc which will help in presentations, got to know about online tools and how to do marketing online, also shall spread the learnings to colleagues which will help them in their daily activities. I will ask other NGOs from our network to register for Nagpur and Sangli.”

Ms Sarita Walkar from Amhi Amchya Arogyasathi:“Overall very good learning workshop. Learnt additional features, better way of creation of report in excel and word. Learnt to create blog which will help the organization to do more creative work with online tools.”

Ms Thelma Pereira from Paragon Charitable Trust: “Overall, the instructional and hands-on training imparted to us was very educative, informative and effective particularly for me who earlier had only basic knowledge and use of the various MS office applications and I am now confidently looking forward to upgrading my IT skills from the current Windows 2003 to Windows 2007. I greatly appreciate the coverage of topics at the Workshop and the active interactions between the trainers and us trainees where our trainers spared no efforts to cater to all levels of understanding.

…And I have left the Workshop greatly enriched by the training and learnings I’ve received and, emulating Ashutosh(trainer), I am sharing them with my office colleagues. I thank you once again not only for the useful training but also for making available to us a CD to reinforce our learnings in the Workshop.”

Venue and Date for ConnectIT Day and ConnectIT workshops: will be informed shortly. You may subscribe to our blog http://guidestarindia.blogspot.com/ for frequent updates.
Accommodation: Participants have to make their own arrangements for stay and travel.

How do you register

1. You can register online at OR

You can fill the attached Registration Form and mail it to connectit@nasscomfoundation.org AND info@guidestarindia.org

2. After you send the registration form, we will send you a Need Assessment Form.
How will you know if your Participation is Confirmed

You will receive a mail from NASSCOM Foundation within 3 days of receiving your registration form and Need Assessment Form. If you do not receive a mail, please feel free to call Lathika or Jitu at GuideStar India to verify your confirmation status.

GuideStar India is the Outreach Partner for ConnectIT Day and ConnectIT workshops. If you have any questions regarding participation, please write to info@guidestarindia.org or speak with Lathika on 022-26856900. Please apply at the earliest and await email confirmation of your registration from NASSCOM Foundation.

Feel free to inform other NGOs from your network to register for the ConnectIT Day and ConnectIT Workshop. You may simply share this blog post with them.

Due to limited seats at each event, registrations will be based on first come first served basis.

Read what GuideStars around the world are doing

2010-02-04T20:10:00.001+05:30

GuideStar International's latest newsletter has updates from GuideStar India, Korea, US and UK. Click here to view the newsletter. A quick look at the contents:

IN THE NEWS

GuideStar India
- GuideStar India's CEO gives presentation at Taiwan's International Conference on NPO Accountability
- The British Asian Trust to support all its partners to register with GuideStar India - GuideStar India hosts ConnectIT Workshops
GuideStar Korea
- GuideStar Korea speaks about GuideStar (US) on Korean TV Programme
GuideStar (US)
- Majority of Charities Report Increased Demand for Services yet Receive Less Contributions
GuideStar UK
- A Balancing Act: Regulation and Reporting for Small Organisations • GuideStar International News - GuideStar Google Map - Caroline Neligan presents GuideStar to Colombian Civil Society
GuideStar International's Blog Update!
Related Articles
- Beyond the Gloom: Stepping Stones to Growing Philanthropy in Ireland
- New and Emerging Technologies in Emergencies and Conflicts
- Responding to NGO Development Effectiveness Initiatives
- World Bank Civil Society Engagement
- The NGOs and Humanitarian Reform Project: Strengthening Partnership for Effective Humanitarian Response

235 NGO participants know to use IT effectively in their work

2010-01-23T16:30:00.003+05:30

With the completion of the Mumbai workshop on Jan 21, the ConnectIT series of 6 workshops for Maharashtra concluded. 235 participants from 157 NGOs attended IT training workshops organised by NASSCOM Foundation under the ConnectIT series. NGOs took advantage of these 4-day training workshops held in Pune, Nagpur, Sangli and Mumbai between Nov 2009 and Jan 2010. In the workshops held in a lab format, participants picked tips and tricks to use MS Office more effectively in their day to day operations. Sessions on the use of social media, moviemaking and presentations were a favourite with NGOs. GuideStar India reached out to more than 1700 NGOs across Maharashtra inviting them to take advantage of the free IT training workshops.

The next set of 6 workshops will be held in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur from mid March onwards. The last set of 6 workshops in the series will be held in Orissa in 2010-11. NGOs are encouraged to register with GuideStar India for these workshops and take advantage of the IT training. For registrations, send an email to info@guidestarindia.org. Do watch this space for more specific announcements regarding workshop dates.

We thank Propoor.org and Firstsource for helping us reach out to NGOs.

Register for FREE IT training workshop in Mumbai (Jan 18-21), limited seats

2010-01-07T16:34:00.005+05:30

To NGOs in Maharashtra:

After 5 ConnectIT Workshops in Pune, Nagpur & Sangli, GuideStar India (www.guidestarindia.org) is happy to announce that registrations are open for NASSCOM Foundation’s ConnectIT Workshops in Mumbai scheduled for 18-21Jan 2010.

Registration is FREE and each NGO can send 2 participants.

The ‘ConnectIT Workshop’ includes hands-on training in the use of MS Office applications. Sessions include advanced use of Microsoft Excel, Word, making presentations, newsletters, movie making, use of new media such as blogs, Twitter, etc. There is also a session on how to get featured on GuideStar India.

Participants who attend all 4 days sessions will receive a Certificate of Participation and a CD based user manual to help them use their learning after this workshop.

The 5 workshops held in Pune, Nagpur and Sangli attended by 178 NGO participants were found useful by many participants.
Ms Diana Peters from Habitat for Humanity India said, “Overall the training was educative, informative, effective, building upon the basics. Content was excellent and faculty was interactive, reaching out to everyone’s level of understanding”.

Mr Pandurang Solanke from Action For Agricultural Renewal in Maharashtra-AFARM had this to share:

“Very helpful, learnt additional features, shortcuts which will save time, learnt additional Power Point features like power point video, hyperlinks, etc which will help in presentations, got to know about online tools and how to do marketing online, also shall spread the learnings to colleagues which will help them in their daily activities. I will ask other NGOs from our network to register for Nagpur and Sangli.”

Ms Sarita Walkar from Amhi Amchya Arogyasathi, one of the participants of the Nagpur workshop had this to say:
“ Overall very good learning workshop. Learnt additional features, better way of creation of report in excel and word. Learnt to create blog which will help the organization to do more creative work with online tools.”

The workshops are planned as four-days of hands-on and interactive activity-based training. Daily workshop starts at 9am and will be over by 6pm. Participation by the organisation on all days is compulsory.

Who can participate

The ConnectIT workshops are NOT for beginners, who want to learn to use basic applications in IT, but are for those who know the basics (already use MS Word, Excel) and are interested in learning to use common applications more effectively. Participants will receive a CD based user manual to help them use their learning after this workshop.

NGOs that have already attended any of the earlier ConnectIT workshops are not eligible to attend this workshop even if the participants are different.

Venue of workshop
Asha Kiran Hall
St Pius Complex
Gate no 2, Virwani Road
Near Udupi Restaurant
Goregaon (E)
Tel: 022-28732343

From Goregaon East station, Rs10 by auto or 15 minutes by walk.

Can you get low cost accommodation
Participants have to make their own arrangements for travel and stay. Limited accommodation is available at the venue at Rs200/ Rs250 per person, per night. For bookings, please contact Ms. Betty Ignatius on 022-28732343

How do you register
1. You can register online at http://www.nasscomfoundation.org/index.php/component/option,com_performs/formid,26/Itemid,88889002/ OR
Write for the Registration Form to connectit@nasscomfoundation.org AND info@guidestarindia.org and mail it back to the same ids.

2. If you have not yet submitted the Need Assessment Form, you need to fill the Need Assessment Form at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2f_2bWqI3dD40GHTBILFuYMkQ_3d_3d

How will you know if your Participation is Confirmed

You will receive a mail from NASSCOM Foundation within 3 days of receiving your registration form. If you do not receive a mail, please feel free to call Lathika or Jitu at GuideStar India to verify your confirmation status.

GuideStar India is the Outreach Partner for ConnectIT workshops. If you have any questions regarding participation, please contact Lathika at GuideStar India on 022-26856900/99. All NGOs that register for ConnectIT workshops will be trained to showcase their work on www.guidestarindia.org, an online platform for NGOs to create and manage their own web pages.

Please apply at the earliest and await email confirmation of your registration from NASSCOM Foundation.

Feel free to inform other NGOs from your network to register for this Workshop. You may simply email their ids to us or use the Tell a friend link below.

GuideStar India wishes you a very happy New Year!

2009-12-31T12:09:00.001+05:30

Not a single day passes without interacting with NGOs at the GuideStar India office. We learn something new every single day as we get to know you better and try to present your work truthfully and effectively. Thanks to each one of you, we got strength to take our baby steps...

We spent the last 8 months building our site and database. We expect to go live with the first set of NGO data early in the new year. Until we have significant stories of change to report, we thought of putting together our smiles for you.

I will let my light shine...Christmas celebrations at GuideStar India

2009-12-24T19:51:00.004+05:30

Our team celebrated Christmas in a special way. Team members highlighted the "spark" in one another and wrote it down on "candles". We all pledged "I will let my Light shine" and noted down in our respective "candles", how we would spread our light. Our office looks lovely with the decorations we made and it was great fun doing it together. We also screened a short film "I believe..."

We wish every one a Merry Christmas and a very happy new year.

Taiwan voluntary sector conference finds session on NGO Accountability in India, relevant

2009-12-19T17:48:00.016+05:30

GuideStar India's CEO, Pushpa Aman Singh, was invited to speak about NGO Accountability in India at the International conference on NPO Accountability in Taipei, Taiwan. Pushpa could not go to Taipei due to last minute glitches at the Mumbai airport. However, she addressed the conference via Skype. Thanks to some smart use of technology by GuideStar India and the Taiwan NPO Self Regulation Alliance, the audience had a virtual presentation followed by Q & A. Seen in the picture is Mr Richy Li, Director (News Products, Media Products & Solutions) Yahoo responding to Pushpa's address.

Pushpa gave a brief introduction to the size and structure of the Indian voluntary sector. She pointed out that statutory requirements for NGO accountability and their administration in India was not sufficient for stakeholders to be assured of NGO credibility. She described the various initiatives of the Indian voluntary sector towards promoting NGO transparency and accountability. Chiefly, she described the role of GiveIndia, GuideStar India, Credibility Alliance, the Joy of Giving Week and CSO Partners' Annual report Awards. Pushpa emphasised that NGOs voluntarily participated in initiatives that required them to be transparent & accountable if these resulted in tangible benefits. She also mentioned that several thousand NGOs that were keen to participate in these initiatives could not do so for want of resources to build their capacity. There is also the need to bring thousand of NGOs in remote areas into an electronic database so that they could be made aware of the numerous opportunities that exist. She emphasised the need to make donors (individuals, corporates, foundations and government) aware of the existence of these mechanisms so that they could direct their resources towards NGOs that voluntarily demonstrate accountability.

Pushpa stressed on the need to have easy (low entry barrier) mechanisms such as GuideStar India to allow NGOs to make public disclosure of as little or as much information they could share. GuideStar India allows NGOs to start reporting with just 2 documents (registration certificate and address proof). At the same time, the site (soon to be launched with NGO data) would reward NGOs that report more information and make frequent updates through search results ranking.

Pushpa welcomed the Planning Commission's NGO Partnership System that has over 22,000 NGO records. She expressed concern about some of the government moves such as making FCRA permission for a limited duration, the IT Department stating that 12A could be withdrawn any time and its stand on income earning activities of NGOs. These seem to be quite contrary to the positive tone of the Voluntary Sector Policy, 2007. She welcomed the Planning Commission setting up task forces and committees with NGO representation for implementing the Voluntary Sector Policy, 2007.

The concluding part of the address was devoted to her views about the need for the voluntary sector in India to convert, its various initiatives for transparency & accountability, from small disjointed steps into a coordinated and concerted movement to transform the sector. While NGOs had been successful in pushing for electoral reforms to make politicians accountable, played a key role getting the Right to Information Act passed towards making the government machinery accountable, it has become very critical for the sector to pursue its own accountability with the same passion and zeal.

Reacting to Pushpa's address, Professor Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao, Department of Sociology, NTU, expressed the desire to interact with Indian organisations as Taiwan makes its progress towards self-regulation of its voluntary sector.

Thank you, Chi and Regina of the Garden of Hope Foundation for inviting GuideStar India and providing all the relevant material on Taiwan's NPO sector. A big thank you to the team at Taiwan NPO Self Regulation Alliance.

For the full article/ presentation, please write to info@guidestarindia.org

How many years do we need complete to apply?

2009-12-03T19:41:00.003+05:30

NGOs are eligible to be featured on GuideStar India as soon as they get registered in India as a Trust, Society or Sec 25 Company. All you need is a regsitration certificate and a verifiable address proof (as described in our previous post).

What is GuideStar India's eligibility criteria?

2009-12-02T13:35:00.005+05:30

GuideStar India is open to all NGOs registered in India.

To get featured on GuideStar India, an NGO needs to:
1)be registered as Trust/Society/Sec 25 Company in India and
2)have a verifiable address.

What are the minimum documents an NGO is required to give us:

1)Registration Document
any one of: Trust Registration Certificate/ Trust Deed with Sub-Registrar's stamp/ Society Registration Certificate/ Cetificate of Incorpration under section 25 of the Indian Companies Act

2)Address Proof
any of the following, not older than 2 months, stating your address for correspondence: telephone bill/ electricity bill/ bank statement (not bank pass book)

We require photocopies that are attested by the NGO's authorised signatory and carry the NGO's stamp.

Watch out for our post about the Pre-Registration form and process.

Find answers to your questions about GuideStar India

2009-12-01T11:22:00.003+05:30

Starting today, we will present excerpts from our FAQs so that you can get answers to your questions about GuideStar India.

How are you connected with GuideStar in the US and the UK?
GuideStar India is set up in collaboration with GuideStar International (GSI), the founders of GuideStar US & UK. GuideStar India is independent of its US and UK counterparts. GSI provides technology and other resources to GuideStar India. We are a part of the GuideStar Alliance, hence connected with all other GuideStars which are emerging in more than 10 countries. We are a part of the global reporting framework developed by GSI, which makes NGOs featured on GuideStar India, also an integral part of the global search across other GuideStars. For more details, visit http://www.guidestarinternational.org/.

Good news for NGOs registered for the Joy of Giving Week

2009-10-15T18:43:00.002+05:30

We are happy to share that Credibility Alliance will be inviting all NGOs that registered with GuideStar India for the Joy of Giving Week to become its members. They will not ask NGOs to resubmit documents already available with GuideStar India because we will share scanned copies of documents with them. This is a great moment for us as we would like more and more organisations to use our database and reduce multiple submissions of similar information by NGOs.

NGOs voice their IT Challenges at ConnectIT Day

2009-09-25T13:43:00.004+05:30

90 NGO representatives from different parts of Maharashtra attended NASSCOM Foundation’s ConnectIT Day on Sep 16 in Mumbai. It was great to see many participants from outisde Mumbai.

Dhaval Udani, GiveIndia’s CIO, Ms Annabel Mehta Treasurer of Apnalaya and Ms Mrinalini Kher, Director, KSWA were among the NGO panellists. The speakers and NGO leaders present in the auditorium argued if and how IT could really address challenges faced by NGOs. While Mr Jerry Rao, Chairman, NASSCOM Foundation wore multiple hats (IT industry leader/NGO leader/Philanthropist) as he moderated the discussions, Mr Sunil Soni, Principal Secretary, Planning Dept., Govt of Maharashtra, urged NGOs to visit government websites and raise questions or at least provide some feedback. Some NGO leaders wondered whether computerisation & IT training would make programme staff at NGOs spend more time in the office than be amongst the community! Speakers made NGOs aware of various resources available to them: NASSCOM Foundation’s (www.nasscomfoundation.org) BiG Tech and BiG Bridge programmes, TCS’ Adult Literacy programmes, use of free social media, etc. Rufina Fernandes, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation urged NGOs to register with NASSCOM Foundation to avail of its several programmes for hardware & software support as well as IT skilled volunteers.

NASSCOM Foundation will be organising 4-day hands-on IT training workshops for NGOs in Pune, Nagpur & Sangli between Nov 2009 & Jan 2010. Similar workshops are also being planned for Rajasthan and Orissa. Participation is free. If interested, please write to GuideStar India, the Outreach Partner for these workshops at info@guidestarindia.org.

Thank you, FirstSource!

2009-09-14T15:56:00.002+05:30

A very big thank you to the FirstSource whose team made sure that every single NGO on our invite list for the ConnectIT Day of NASSCOM Foundation was called. We have had a steady flow of registration forms and phone calls. Registrations are closing end of today.

Thank you you Madhu, Vinay & team, Subramonian and Lakshmi. We immensely value your support.

Registration on for NASSCOM Foundation's ConnectIT Day

2009-09-04T13:36:00.006+05:30

NGOs in Maharashtra:

GuideStar India (www.guidestarindia.org) is pleased to invite you to “ConnectIT Day”, a curtain raiser for a series of capacity building workshops in IT titled ‘ConnectIT workshops’ to be conducted by NASSCOM Foundation (www.nasscomfoundation.org). The objective of the programme is to provide effective computer technology and Internet training to assist NGOs and Government officers accomplish their development objectives through effective use of IT in their operations.

‘ConnectIT Day’, is on Sep 16, 2009 at Y B Cavan Centre, Rangswar Auditorium, Mumbai, from 2.00pm-5.30pm.

The participation is FREE but requires you to register in advance (due to limited seats). You need to send the participation form and complete an IT Need Assessment Form. Click here for the communication from NASSCOM Foundation. Participants will be confirmed by NASSCOM Foundation based on need assessment from the questionnaire you fill and on first come first served basis.

GuideStar India is the Outreach Partner for the ConnectIT Day and ConnectIT workshops. If you have any questions regarding participation, feel free to write to us at info@guidestarindia.org.

77 NGOs complete registration for the Joy of Giving Week

2009-09-01T18:05:00.002+05:30

We are happy to announce the list of NGOs that completed the requirements for regsitration for the Joy of Giving Week (JGW). GuideStar India is managing regsitration of NGOs for this massive national event hosted by GiveIndia.

As NGOs already listed with GiveIndia are automatically registered for JGW, they did not have to go through this process with GuideStar India.

Applications are pouring in. Our office is full of papers and our team is stretching itself to process applications on the same day they are received.

NGOs registered for the Joy of Giving Week:
Aangan Trust (Mumbai)
Able Disabled All People Together (ADAPT) - formerly The Spastics Society of India
Acumen Trust
All India Movement For Seva
Arokiya Charity
Arunodhaya Centre for Street & Working Children
ARUWE
Aseema Charitable Trust
Ashoka Innovators for the Public (India)
Association for Non-Traditional Employment for Women
Association for Rural Community Development
Aural Education for the Hearing Impaired
Bharti Foundation
CHILD
Children Toy Foundation
Community Development Organization Trust
Credibility Alliance
Cross Blood Foundation
CRY - Child Rights and You
Dhanvantari Trust
FAME India (Foundation for Action Motivation & Empowerment)
Foundation for Excellence India Trust
Girivanavasi Educational Trust
Habitat for Humanity India Trust
HelpAge India
Hyderabad Council of Human Welfare
India Literacy Project
Iniya Udaiyam Charitable Trust
International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC)
Isha Foundation
JAMGHAT (A Group of Street Children)
Janpath
Karna Prayag Trust
Khairabad Eye Hospital
LIGHT
Love and Care India Trust
Madras Dyslexia Association
Mahan Trust
Malvi Educational & Charitable Trust
Mary Anne Charity Trust
Masoom
MAYA (Movement for Alternatives And Youth Awareness)
Mumbai Mobile Creches
Nagarika Seva Trust
Narmada Kidney Foundation
Nasiha Education & Welfare Trust
Population Services International
Prajna Counselling Centre
PRAYAS
Prerana
Priyadarshini Seva Mandali
Rural Amelioration Service Society
Sadguru Sri Gnanananda Seva Trust
Sankara Eye Hospital
Save The Children India
Service and Research Foundation of Asia on Family and Culture
SHARE - Society to Heal Aid Restore, Educate
Shraddha Charitable Trust
Skillshare International (India) Trust
SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action)
Social Action for Manpower Creation
Society for Higher education of Women in India (SPJ Sadhana School)
Society for Poor People Development
Society Moved to Instill Love with Empathy
Spastics Society of Karnataka
Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Medical Trust
Sri Shakthi Association
Sri Shiridi Sai Seva Trust
Svechha Foundation
The Akshaya Patra Foundation
The Bandra Holy Family Hospital Society
The Indian Cancer Society
Tulir Charitable Trust (For Prevention & Healing of Child Sexual Abuse)
Udhavum Ullangal Public Charitable Trust
VIDYA Integrated Development for Youth and Adults
Vidya Sagar
Visamo Kids Foundation

Ahmedabad workshop on Joy of Giving Week- Aug 24

2009-08-20T12:03:00.002+05:30

NGOs in Gujarat & Rajasthan:
Here is your chance to get to know about the massive fundraising opportuntiy called the Joy of Giving Week, hosted by GiveIndia. Send a mail to jgw@giveindia.org to register for the workshop to be held on Mon, Aug 24 from 11am-1pm at the BPA Campus in Vastrapur.

GuideStar India is managing NGO registrations for the Joy of Giving Week. We will explain the registration process at the workshop. You could also download the registration from (click here) and ask us for clarifications, if any, at the workshop.

For further details, read below the announcement from GiveIndia:
Joy of Giving Week, Sept 27-Oct 3, 2009
A Unique and massive Opportunity for NGOs to raise money, resources and awareness, brought to you by GiveIndia
Ahmedabad Workshop on Monday, August 24, 2009

After bringing you the idea of "fundraising through marathons" to India through the Mumbai and Delhi marathons, GiveIndia now presents NGOs of the country a BIGGER platform- The Joy of Giving Week, September 27-October 3, 2009. The Joy of Giving week is a huge national platform that will bring 2 crore Indians together to engage in conscious acts of giving- money, time, skills, donations in kind. From a panwalla in Muzaffarpur to a billionaire in Mumbai, school children, college goers, factory workers, housewives, autorickshaw walas, celebrities and corporate honchos…just about everybody will participate through this platform. Above all, it creates a platform for NGOs to fundraise with zero fees payable- 100% of what is raised through an event goes to the NGOs!!
We invite you to a discussion on this new national movement and how you might leverage the opportunity to increase the visibility of your work and raise funds for your organisation.
Venue: Blind People's Association, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380015 (opposite IIM campus).
Date: August 24, 2009 (Monday)
Time: 11.00 am – 1.00pm
Register now to confirm participation. Limited seats available on First Come First Served basis. Workshop open to all NGOs of Gujarat and Rajasthan.. Please email jgw@giveindia.org to confirm participation.
More Information on the Joy of Giving Week
Several large national initiatives are already in place-

1. The School Design Challenge will inspire children aged 10-13 from over 30,000 private and government schools all over India to design solutions to India's problems and implement them during the Week. Presented by Riverside School, NID, Stanford Design School and IDEO (the world's #1 design firm), in partnership with hundreds of educational NGOs and schools across India.
2. The College Joyfest will reach youth from 3000+ colleges all over India, and get at least 300 colleges to partner with local NGOs and organise "Joy Festivals" in their colleges. Youth will also be encouraged to volunteer in various community initiatives during the week. The event is being promoted by JAM and supported by MTV.
3. Goonj will run a massive Clothes Collection Drive in 25 cities all over India, targeting to collect at least 1 crore units of clothing during the Week
4. The Battle of Buffets events in Chennai and Hyderabad will see their biggest 5* hotels coming together and offering their best buffet spreads free of cost in large public fundraising events, and NGOs in the city can benefit by selling donor passes to the “zero cost fundraising event”.
5. Stars4Charity, a fundraising event choreographed by ace director Farah Khan to help the Jai Vakeel Trust in Mumbai.
6. A "CEOs Walk the Ramp for a Cause" event by Toofles Foundation will be hosted by the Taj Hotels in Mumbai during the Week

Besides this several individuals and organisations across the country are creating events and opportunities for people to participate in giving and volunteering. Several companies have come forward and offered space for hosting events, providing technology support, free branding and visibility, media coverage, etc. For further details, visit www.joyofgivingweek.org

About GiveIndia:
GiveIndia is India's largest 'philanthropy exchange' that connects donors directly with NGOs. Founded in 2000, our flagship Payroll Giving programme and other activities together channeled Rs26.7cr from 150,000 individual donors to more than 200 NGOs in 2008-09 alone.

Sign up for Joy of Giving Week Delhi workshop -Aug 13

2009-08-10T17:37:00.002+05:30

NGOs in North India (incl. Rajasthan):

Sign up for the NGO workshop on August 13 from 10am to 12 noon at the Bahai Centre (Lotus Temple). You will get to hear amazing fundraising opportunities you can avail of / create under the Joy of Giving Week hosted by GiveIndia.

We will also explain the registration process for NGOs. Click here to download the form. If you register for the Joy of Giving Week, you get automatically featured on www.guidestarindia.org.

The workshop is free and due to limited seats, participation is on first come, first served basis.

To know more about the Joy of Giving Week and earlier workshops, read our earlier posts.

Our list of supporters is growing...

2009-08-04T10:03:00.007+05:30

GuideStar India is happy to announce that many organisations and individuals are coming forward to pool in their NGO database / address books or simply their collection of visiting cards! Some are writing to their partners outlining benefits of being featured on GuideStar India. The list is growing fast...
We would like take a moment to thank them and share the good news with all of you.

Ms Elizabeth Kurian, Regional Director - India Region of Sightsavers International wrote to their 94 partners. Information has started coming in from the partners.
Anshu Gupta, Founder Director of Goonj has shared their list of 161 partners. His team will also be collecting visiting cards from NGOs that attend their workshops and Gramsabhas.
Prof Neerja Mattoo, Chairperson-DOCC Center, SPJIMR shared their database of NGOs and their MBA students would be training NGOs, they intern with during summer, to profile and manage content on GuideStar India.
Mr Harinesh Pandya, Secretary, Janpath will be inviting their 150+ members to get profiled on GuideStar India. They will showcase members profiles on GuideStar India at their AGM in Sep 2009.
Dr Bhushan Punani, Executive Director of Blind People's Association handed over a bagful of visiting cards so that we can invite them to participate on GuideStar India. He also put us in touch with a number of organisations we could partner with. Thank you, Nandiniben for giving us your mailing list on a memory stick in less than 5 minutes!
Mr Vijay Nadkarni, Deputy Director-Credibility Alliance, gave us 2 large cartons of documents of 42 NGOs accredited by them. We have already digitised them. He will be writing to their members shortly.
Mr Ujwal Thakkar, CEO, GiveIndia and Ms Gopi Venkatraman, Head of Listing at GiveIndia for providing "ready to upload" data of 200+ GiveIndia listed NGOs.
Ms Abha Thorat, Director, the British Asian Trust for enaging us to profile their India grantees and introducing us to a large number of people.

This thank you note would be incomplete without acknowledging the efforts of the wonderful people in these organisations: Mariamma of Sightsavers International, Reena of Goonj, Pragya of SPJIMR, Vijay Jani, Praveen & Kuldeep of Credibility Alliance and Swati at GiveIndia.

Hyderabad NGO workshop great success, rush to the Chennai NGO Meet on July 24

2009-07-22T17:22:00.005+05:30

Mr Venkat Krishnan, GiveIndia's Founder, presenting the Joy of Giving Week to NGOs

133 participants from NGOs across Andhra Pradesh attended the Joy of Giving Week workshop at the Press Club in Hyderabad. Besides understanding the concept of the joy of Giving Week and how they could exploit the opportunities it presented, NGOs decided to collaborate. Pushpa from GuideStar India explained the NGO registration process. NGOs were delighted that their profiles would automatically get featured on www.guidestaridia.org on registering for the Joy of Giving Week.

We thank Mr Narsing Rao, Sajitha, Prabhakar & Lakshmi Prasanna of Sahara and Praveen Vempadapu of KIDPOWER India for volunteering with us to manage NGO registration at the workshop.CLICK HERE to download the NGO registration form for the Joy of Giving Week.

Chennai NGO Meet on Jul 24
The Joy of Giving Week (http://www.joyofgivingweek.org/) initiated by GiveIndia (http://www.giveindia.org)/ brings you a unique fundraising opportunity in collaboration with Oriental Cuisines, Chennai - AT NO COST TO YOU. This is an invitation to attend the NGO meet
Date : 24th July 2009, Friday
Time : 10 am to 12 noon
Venue : Conference Hall, ICSA Jivana Jyoti
107 Pantheon Road
Egmore
Chennai 600 008
Phone: 044-28194905/42145726
Directions: Diagonally opposite to Museum Theatre.

Rush to register for Joy of Giving Week workshop in Hyderabad (July 22)

2009-07-17T13:43:00.003+05:30

GuideStar India (www.guidestarindia.org) is happy to invite you to the Joy of Giving Week workshop organised by GiveIndia. Please read below the Hyderabad workshop announcement from GiveIndia and confirm your participation to jgw@giveindia.org. They will soon be organising similar workshops in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata.

GuideStar India is managing NGO registration for the Joy of Giving Week. After you confirm participation with jgw@giveindia.org, we will send you the registration form.

Joy of Giving Week, Sept 27 - Oct 3, 2009
A Unique and massive Opportunity for NGOs to raise money, resources and awareness, brought to you by GiveIndia
Hyderabad Workshop on Wednesday, July 22, 2009

After bringing the idea of "fundraising through marathons" to India through the Mumbai and Delhi marathons, GiveIndia now presents NGOs of the country a BIGGER platform- The Joy of Giving Week, September 27-October 3, 2009. The Joy of Giving week is a huge national platform that will bring 2 crore Indians together to engage in conscious acts of giving- money, time, skills, donations in kind. From a panwalla in Muzaffarpur to a billionaire in Mumbai, school children, college goers, factory workers, housewives, autorickshaw walas, celebrities and corporate honchos…just about everybody will participate through this platform. Above all, it creates a platform for NGOs to fundraise with zero fees payable- 100% of what is raised through an event goes to the NGOs!!

We invite you to a free of cost meeting and discussion on this new national movement and how you might leverage the opportunity to increase the visibility of your work and raise funds for your organisation.

Venue: Press Club, Opp. Nizam College (near LB Stadium Gate), Basheerbagh, Hyderabad.
(It is before the Basheerbagh Flyover, on the First Floor)
Date: July 22, 2009 (Wednesday)
Time: 10.00 am – 12.00 noon

Please carry your visiting cards with you to facilitate follow-up contacts.

Register now to confirm participation. Limited seats available on First Come First Served basis. Workshop open to all NGOs of Andhra Pradesh. Separate workshops are being done in other cities for the other states. Please email jgw@giveindia.org to confirm participation.

Travel Directions:

If you are coming by a train or bus, please get down near Nampally Railway Station (or Nampally Bus Stop.) The workshop venue is only 1.5 KM from there. By walk it would take you around 15 mins, else you can take a auto rickshaw for 10-15 Rupees. Also, please find attached to this email a direction map from Nampally to workshop venue.

If you are having any queries/doubts, please call

# 99631 06032 (for mode of communication in Telugu)
# 99082 16677 (for mode of communication in English/Hindi)

More Information on the Joy of Giving Week

Several large national initiatives are already in place-

1. The School Design Challenge will inspire children aged 10-13 from over 35,000 private and government schools all over India to design solutions to India's problems and implement them during the Week. Presented by Riverside School, NID, Stanford Design School and IDEO (the world's #1 design firm), in partnership with hundreds of educational NGOs and schools across India.

2. The College Joyfest will reach youth from 3000+ colleges all over India, and get at least 300 colleges to partner with local NGOs and organise "Joy Festivals" in their colleges. Youth will also be encouraged to volunteer in various community initiatives during the week. The event is being promoted by JAM and supported by MTV.

3. Goonj will run a massive Clothes Collection Drive in 25 cities all over India, targeting to collect at least 1 crore units of clothing during the Week.

4. The Battle of Buffets events in Chennai and Hyderabad will see their biggest 5* hotels coming together and offering their best buffet spreads free of cost in large public fundraising events, and NGOs in the city can benefit by selling donor passes to the “zero cost fundraising event”.

5. Stars4Charity, a fundraising event choreographed by ace director Farah Khan in Mumbai will help the Jai Vakeel Trust to fund raise.

6. A "CEOs Walk the Ramp for a Cause" event by Toofles Foundation will be hosted by the Taj Hotels in Mumbai during the Week.

HYDERABAD is having events like Love 4 Buffet - which presents opportunity for fund raising at Zero Percent Cost, Shadow A CEO, etc. Many NGOs locally are planning and working on huge fund-raising and awareness events during the Joy of Giving Week.

Besides this several individuals and organisations across the country are creating events and opportunities for people to participate in giving and volunteering. Several companies have come forward and offered space for hosting events, providing technology support, free branding and visibility, media coverage, etc. For further details, visit http://www.joyofgivingweek.org/

About GiveIndia:

GiveIndia is India's largest 'philanthropy exchange' that connects donors directly with NGOs. Founded in 2000, our flagship Payroll Giving programme and other activities together channeled Rs26.7cr from 150,000 individual donors to more than 200 NGOs in 2008-09 alone.

Jay, tenth grader from Chicago volunteers with GuideStar India

2009-07-09T15:12:00.006+05:30

We are delighted to have Jay Jani, a tenth grade student from Chicago volunteering with us for 3 weeks. This is what Jay has to say: "I came all this way to India from Chicago to help out this NGO GuideStar India. This gives me community service hours and it also gives me a good feeling inside that I am helping the community. GuideStar India has encouraged me to do community services because it is a program that helps many people internationally. The future of the world is going to depend on international communication, thus, this program enables the practice and understanding of helping others before oneself. I feel it is important to do GuideStar India because it helps India move forward into mindsets of people in giving a helping hand. My goals here are bring back this information that I have learned to my school and community. This will help GuideStar India reach many parts of the world. I have done plenty of community service before. I decided to do this because it will help me in the field of business that I wish to embark into. Traveling and having an exposure of working in GuideStar India will help me in my life in plenty of these ways."
Thank you, Jay. We are sure the work you do with us will help us to showcase the work of many NGOs.

Great response to JGW workshops at Bangalore

2009-07-06T14:49:00.006+05:30

The NGO workshop held at Dell Computers in Bangalore had 116 participants from NGOs in Karnataka and Kerala. The second session at Resource Alliance's IWRM the same day spread the message to another 63 participants from different parts of the country.

Registration forms have been mailed to all participants and completed forms have started coming in. Click here to download the NGO registration form for free registration.

We thank Praveen, Regional Coordinator (South) of Credibility Alliance for helping us at both workshops. We thank Archana of iVolunteer and their volunteers for the day, Prathana Unkalkar, Anto Francis Bharat, Prema Swaminathan and Vijayanand Nagaraj for making the on-the-spot registration process smooth. A big thank you to Gopi Venkataraman and Karpagavalli M Sundaram, Srivibhavan Balaram and Rajeev Goswami of GiveIndia for taking care of every one.

Joy of Giving Week Bangalore Workshop on June 27, 2009

2009-06-19T18:44:00.002+05:30

NGOs in Karnataka and Kerala- send a mail quickly to jgw@giveindia.org to register for the Joy of Giving Workshop.
Venue: Dell Computers India Ltd.,
5th floor, Annexe Building, Discovery Room, Varthar Hobli, Domlur, Bangalore
It is on the intermediate ring road connecting indiranagar 100 ft road to Koremangala.
Date: June 27, 2009 Time: 10.00 am – 12.00 noon .
Do remember to carry your visiting card to facilitate follow up contacts.

70 NGOs register at the Joy of Giving workshop, Mumbai

2009-06-16T14:44:00.005+05:30

96 participants from 70 NGOs attended the Joy of Giving (JGW) workshop held on June 13, 2009 at HR College in Mumbai. The GiveIndia team presented the concept of JGW and explained some of the events planned across India for the week of Sept. 27 to Oct 3, 2009. Goonj, Karmayog and JAM shared details of their activities for the JGW. The GuideStar India counter was buzzing with activity as NGOs rushed for on-the-spot registrations. NGOs collected the 2-page form at the workshop and have started emailing their information.

Ms. Indu Shahani, Sheriff of Mumbai, graced the workshop. She shared stories of her experience in reaching out to women and youth in need of help. She emphasised the role of youth in solving social problems as well as stressed the importance of readily accessible information about NGOs working for different causes.

If you missed the Mumbai workshop, check this blog for announcements of workshops in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad. You can also write to info@guidestarindia.org for free registration.

Rush to register your NGO for the Joy of Giving Week!

2009-06-09T18:26:00.002+05:30

After bringing the idea of "fundraising through marathons" to India through the Mumbai and Delhi marathons, GiveIndia now presents NGOs of the country an EVEN BIGGER platform- The Joy of Giving Week, September 27-October 3, 2009.

GiveIndia has tied up with Guidestar India for NGO registration for the Joy of Giving Week. Guidestar is a database of NGOs that puts all the information out in public domain and GiveIndia believes it is good for organisations to get that visibility. The registration process is entirely free of cost and all you have to do is to fill in the short Joy of Giving Week form of Guidestar India and submit your basic legal and financial documents.

The Joy of Giving week is a huge national platform that will bring 2 crore Indians together to engage in conscious acts of giving- money, time, skills, donations in kind. From a panwalla in Muzaffarpur to a billionaire in Mumbai, school children, college goers, factory workers, housewives, autorickshaw walas, celebrities and corporate honchos…just about everybody will participate through this platform.
Above all, it creates a platform for NGOs to fundraise with zero fees payable- 100% of what is raised through an event goes to the NGOs!!

Attend GiveIndia's free workshop on Saturday, June 13, 2009 for more details on how you can benefit from this. Pallavi, Jitu, Saleha and Pushpa from GuideStar India will be at the registration desk to help you with on-the-spot registration of your NGO. Do write to jasmine@giveindia.org to confirm your participation and send a mail to info@guidestarindia.org for an advance copy of the registration form.

Do you know how many NGOs are there in India?

2009-06-05T11:44:00.006+05:30

Any one trying to understand the voluntary sector in India has this one question that pretty much remains unanswered.

Is it 5000, 50,000, 500,000 or 5,000,000?
The only reliable number that is often quoted is fromthe PRIA- John Hopkins University study conducted in the year 2001 that estimated the number of NGOs in India at 1.2 million. If that number sounds too large, the recent estimates we hear is anywhere between 3-5 million. You might wonder why there is so little statistical information about the voluntary sector in India.

Some of the reasons are:

There are multiple registration authorities for NGOs.
As annual filings are not required by all forms of not for profit entities, there is no count of active organisations.
Registrars that require annual filings are not fully geared to track filings electronically.
Not all NGOs have exemptions under the Indian Income Tax Act to provide tax benefits to donors. Records of the estimated 50,000 NGOs that have such benefits are scattered at over 100 locations.
NGOs that receive foreign contributions are registered under FCRA with the Ministry of Home Affairs. This is the single largest source and that too is estimated to be less than 50,000 NGOs.

GuideStar is reaching out to various sources of information on NGOs (government, foundations, CSR divisions of corporates, intermediaies in the voluntary sector, networks and membership organisations, NGOs and individuals) to encourage NGOs they know of, to profile their organisations on www.guidestarindia.org. We believe that information about NGOs in India would soon be only a click away.

Unlike in the US and UK where the government provides information on charities to GuideStar and NGOs go online and update their pages, in India we will need the help of many hands and hearts. We would need to convert several reams of paper information in many different languages to be digitised. More importantly, we need volunteers who can help NGOs write their content, to showcase their work and articulate their needs online. If you would like to help, write to us at info@guidestarindia.org.