The official GuideStar India blog

Welcome, NGOs and all those interested in NGOs in India!

If you are running an NGO or working for one, you will find opportunities and resources for your organisation.

If you or your organisation want to direct your time, money, products or services to NGOs that can can make the most effective and efficient use of your donations or grants, you will find this blog and http://www.guidestarindia.org/ useful to announce your offer to NGOs.

You will also get to read about statistics and issues concerning transparency & accountability of the Indian voluntary sector.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Help us to serve NGOs in your network

Join our Friends of Friends Campaign.
Refer at least 5 NGOs and become a supporter of promoting NGO transparency in India!

When we started our journey of organising information on NGOs in India in 2009, there were only about 500 NGOs that figured on the list of most foundations and donors. It has taken us close to 5 years to take that number to nearly 5000! We now have a robust platform in www.guidestarindia.org that can easily cater to the needs of thousands of NGOs.

In spite of studies quoting the NGO population of India to be anywhere between 20 lacs to 33 lacs, basic information required to make a donation is available on the internet for just about 5,000 NGOs. We still find numerous cases of individuals and institutions unable to find NGOs working for their favourite cause, in locations of their choice. We have over 70,000 NGOs on our raw database but not all of them have their IT PAN, and many of them are perhaps not so confident of putting their information in the public domain. Should we deny millions of people served by NGOs, the opportunity to get connected with givers simply because the NGOs working for them are not searchable on the internet? Should we wait for another 5 years for these NGOs to gain confidence to share their details on the internet?


What can we collectively do to expand the pool of NGOs in the philanthropy  marketplace to 25,000? If you care strongly about increasing the impact of the NGO sector, do join us in our Friends of Friends Campaign to reach out to 25,000 NGOs of India by word of mouth. Use your power to influence your NGO friends to be confident about demonstrating their transparency online and start getting connected with opportunities for capacity building, recognition and resources.


We have embarked on an ambitious journey to expand the number of verified NGOs featured on our portal to about 25,000 NGOs, so that:
-       donors do not refrain from giving, because they are unable to find reliable NGO partners serving their favourite cause in locations of their choice;
-       every philanthropic resource flows to organisations that are most transparent, effective and efficient;
-       resources reach millions of needy living in difficult to reach parts of India, through NGOs serving remote areas, and for worthy causes that are not popularly known.

Expanding the reach of the online philanthropy eco-system to 25,000+ NGOs is possible only with your support and your reference. If each of you refer 5 or 50 NGOs from your network, and encourage them to join www.guidestarindia.org with confidence, this goal can be collectively achieved quite easily!

How we can do this
1.     Please arrange to email a list of NGOs along with name of contact person, email id and contact numbers. The list can be in any format! The list can be as small as 5 NGOs or could run into several hundred NGOs.
2.     We will send an invitation mailer to NGOs on the list you provide, stating that the organisation was referred by you. In case multiple NGOs refer an organisation, we will mention names of all those who referred.
3.     You may thereafter encourage/ help the NGOs you refer to us, to complete their registration. You may also like to send them a mail sharing your experience, you may want to speak with them over phone, you may want to invite them for a cup of tea and talk about transparency or include a small session in your training programmes/ meetings/ AGM.


What we will do for you
As a token of our gratitude, we will recognise your support in the following ways:
Those who refer 50 or more NGOs and at least 50 of them complete their GuideStar India registration:
1.     We will feature your name among the list of GuideStar India Champion Supporters for NGO Transparency on our website for one year.
2.     We will send you a certificate recognizing your support as a GuideStar India Champion Supporter promoting the cause of transparency and public accountability.
3.     We will share with you a standardized data template we have developed in MS Excel for maintaining your NGO contacts along with a help guide.
4.     We will invite you to be a network partner for workshops and campaigns we do in your area.

Those who refer 5 or more NGOs and at least 5 or more NGOs complete their GuideStar India registration:

1.     We will feature your name among the list of GuideStar India  Supporters for NGO Transparency on our website for one year.
2.     We will send you a certificate recognizing your support as a GuideStar India Supporter promoting the cause of transparency and public accountability.


What is the last date

We will include all NGOs referred by you and who complete their GuideStar India registration by October 31, 2014 in this Friends of Friends Campaign. Please send immediately your list of NGOs to partnerships@guidestarindia.org.

Thank you in advance for your support!


Saturday, July 26, 2014

How to use your Annual Report effectively for fundraising & Legal Compliance

Workshop for NGOs of Gujarat to learn how to create an Annual Report that serves as a powerful fundraising tool and to understand legal compliance issues, especially about changes in the recent Finance Bill. Sign up for the workshop on 7th August in Ahmedabad.

GuideStar India and Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy (CAP) are delighted to organise, in association with Blind Peoples’ Association, a one-day workshop on the important topics of:
How to use your Annual Report effectively for fundraising
&
Legal Compliances

About the workshop
Your annual report is a powerful tool to communicate, in your voice, the story of your non-profit organization's activities and accomplishments during the past year. An insightful annual report would help the reader understand the challenges faced by your organisation, your plans to accomplish your mission, and the support you require. A report on activities with summarised financial information and disclosures on compliances enhances your credibility and inspires confidence. Pushpa Aman Singh – Founder & CEO, Guidestar India will conduct a highly interactive session to help you think through the content of your Annual Report and prepare a concise template that is sure to provide users of your report, particularly donors, all the information they seek. She will explain the what, why and how of making your Annual Report a powerful fundraising tool. The session will include a step-by-step approach. Please bring you latest annual report and audited financial statements so that you can get answers to specific questions.

The legal requirements for NGOs in India are many under the Income Tax Act, FCRA and as per acts governing trusts, societies and nonprofit companies. Most donors look for organisations that are legally compliant and those that also disclose details of compliance with applicable laws of the land. Over the years, we have witnessed tighter requirements in the Income Tax Act. There are key changes impacting NGOs as introduced in the recent Finance Bill. Many NGOs are yet to fully comprehend and practice changes as per FCRA 2010. Mr Noshir Dadrawala, CEO of Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy will help you understand the implications for your NGO and the steps you need to take be legally compliant. He will explain in simple terms and use examples that will help you understand a complex subject. He will also address common questions.

Who should attend?
Chief Functionaries, Finance Heads, Fundraising & Communications Managers. We recommend that you nominate two persons (one from Programmes/ Fundraising/ Communications and one from Finance/ Accounts).

The workshop will be conducted in a mix of English, Hindi and Gujarati.

About the Speakers

Noshir Dadrawala:
Noshir H. Dadrawala has studied law and especially non-profit law and has been passionate about the philanthropy sector. Noshir has been the Chief Executive of the Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy (CAP) right since its inception in 1986. In his capacity as CEO, Noshir is consulted for advice on matters such as the choice of set-up of non-profit organizations, integrated legal and fiscal compliance, tax exemptions and deductions, Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act (FCRA) and good governance best practices and the Legal Aspects of Corporate Social Support & CSR. He has been invited as a guest speaker at many international conferences. He has also conducted seminars and workshops for the grant making and development sector across the country and is avisiting faculty member at leading business schools.

Recently with the mandatory CSR, he has been a speaker at many forums about the implications of

Section 135 of the new Indian Companies Act 2013 . This includes the Deutsche Bank, CII – Pune, CII- Mumbai among others and Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy. Even before CSR became
mandatory corporates such as Thermax, forbes Marshall, Atlas Copco, Tata Motors, Titan, HDFC
among others have availed of his expertise while forming their CSR units or corporate foundations.
His international affiliations include serving on the board of the International Centre for Nonprofit
Law (ICNL) and serving as a member of the Asian Philanthropy Advisory Network (APAN).

Pushpa Aman Singh:
As the Founder, CEO of GuideStar India (2009), Pushpa set up GuideStar India to systematically organise information of India’s vast and complex voluntary sector in a globally trusted and user-friendly fashion. She draws on her vast experience in the financial services industry to make the portal easy for NGOs to self-report and add great value for users through verification and due-  diligence.  Pushpa’s approach to NGOs and the philanthropic community is influenced by her long association with GiveIndia. She loves to create reporting tools and frameworks that capture verifiable facts and inspiring stories. She has been successful in establishing linkages across networks and sectors to build the philanthropy eco-system in India.

Pushpa has conducted numerous workshops for NGOs and corporates, and, is a popular speaker about the Indian NGO Sector. Pushpa is a member of the Learning Series Committee of the CredibilityAlliance and is on the Partnership Advisory Group of TechSoup Global. She is also a member of CII’s Industry-Civil Society Interface Committee and the Pro-bono Task Force of India@75.

Details of the Workshop:
Day & Date: Thursday 7th August, 2014
Time:  The registrations will start at 9.30 am and the workshop will end at 5.30 pm.
Food and refreshments: Mid morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea will be served
Venue: - Blind People's Association, Porecha Auditorium, Arvind Narottam Lalbhai Research Centre (Building No.8), BPA Campus, Jagdish Patel Chowk, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380015.

FEES:
For all those registered with CAP/ GuideStar India/ BPA partner
For all NOT registered with CAP/ GuideStar India/ BPA partner
Rs. 1000 per participant
Rs. 1200 per participant

Registration Procedure
To register for the workshop, please fill the short online form at http://www.guidestarindia.org/workshop_registration.aspx

Payment Details:
FOR SECURITY PURPOSES & OTHER REASONS ALL PAYMENTS NEED TO BE MADE IN ADVANCE.
NO CASH/CHEQUES WILL BE COLLECTED ON THE WORKSHOP DAY.

Payment Option:
Cheque / DD payable in Mumbai in the name of - Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy
Send your payment ONLY to:
GuideStar India, 712 A wing, Corporate Avenue, Sonawala Road, Goregaon (E), Mumbai-400063, Tel +91-22-26856900/99. Write on the cover “ Ahmedabad Workshop”.  Please do not address your courier to any specific individual as some courier companies and postal authorities do not deliver.
Please send a mail to info@guidestarindia org once you courier your cheque.

Confirmation Message:
Once the payment is received, you will receive a confirmation mail from GuideStar India within 2 working days. If you do not hear from us, please send a mail to info@guidestarindia.org 

About the Organizations

Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy (CAP)
Since its founding in 1986, the Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy (CAP) has helped philanthropic organisations comply with the complex web of legal issues governing charitable giving in India. CAP specialises in all legal matters concerning the Trusts/Societies Act, Income Tax Act, Foreign Contributions Regulations Act (FCRA), and a host of allied laws and good governance and management practices.
GuideStar India
www.guidestarindia.org is a globally trusted, fully searchable portal of reliable and comparable information of over 4500 NGOs. Its powerful search engine allows individuals, corporate, government and other institutions to access repository of NGO information within minutes. As outreach and due diligence partners for several institutions and corporates, GuideStar India connects NGOs to several opportunities for fundraising, capacity building, recognition, volunteering and donations. GuideStar India educates and equips NGOs to embrace best practices in transparency and public accountability for greater social impact.

Blind People's Association
Blind People's Association is a professional organization which believes in providing equal opportunities to all categories of people with disabilities. Consistent with the philosophy, it works for providing education, employment opportunities, equal rights and quality life for them. Since 1984, BPA has continuously strived to provide employment opportunities to people with disability. During the last five years, it has been successful in providing employment to as many as 1500 people with Usability who are presently employed in public as well as private sectors and are capable of handling important assignments in banks, railways, hospitals, restaurants, etc

For details/clarifications:  Please write an email to   info@guidestarindia.org.  You may also call and speak with Lathika/ Geeta at 022 26856900/98/99.


If you know other NGOs who could benefit from this opportunity, please forward this mail and encourage them to apply