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.

Showing posts with label transparency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transparency. Show all posts

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Presenting India's most credible NGOs! Partner with confidence with GuideStar India certified organisations.

GuideStar India certifies NGOs based on their level of transparency & public accountability after a rigorous due diligence carried out by our team of certification experts. Due diligence is based on verifying financial and legal compliances through a thorough scrutiny of registration documents, tax returns, FCRA returns, audited financial statements & auditor's reports, public disclosures on our portal, reporting key facts to stakeholders as per our Annual Report disclosure template and confirmation of third party site visits and references. 

The unique aspect of our certification is that NGOs are required to voluntarily submit information and documents for due diligence by displaying the same on their profile on our portal. This ensures high levels of transparency via public disclosures and establishes credibility through public accountability. It also enriches the organisation's online profile and, makes available rich information about it to all stakeholders to make informed decisions.

Until Jan 2015, we certified NGOs for our institutional users based on their specific requirements for due diligence. We launched our standardised NGO certification programme in  Jan 2015, to reduce duplication in the efforts of users and NGOs avoiding wastage of resources of all players. With our standardised certification programme, you could choose the level of certification required as per you need, shortlist NGOs that match your cause/ location, and if you wish to carry out additional vetting of the NGO's programme or there aspects, you collect our due diligence diagnostic report from us and request the NGO only for additional information.



Presenting our certified organisations who are pre-vetted and "ready-to-partner".


Please click on the numbers (in the table below) to view respective list.


Level Certification Valid till Dec 2017 Valid till Dec 2016 Valid till Dec 2015 Total
Champion Level GuideStar India Platinum 14 20 19 53
Advanced Level GuideStar India Gold 32 72 39 143
Intermediate Level GuideStar India Transparency Badge 16 91 16 123
Foundation Level GuideStar India Transparency Key 192 242 NA 434
Total
254
425 74 753


You may refer to updated lists at
 http://www.guidestarindia.org/CertifiedNGOs.aspx.


To obtain a copy of due diligence reports of specific organisations
at a nominal contribution (to recover costs), please send a mail to 
certification@guidestarindia.org stating the purpose of your requirement 
and the names & GSN (GuideStar Number) of organisations. 

Use these quick links to know more about our certification programme.

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, October 26, 2013

NGO Annual Reports - tips for making it a powerful tool for NGOs and donors!


Do Indian NGOs need to make Annual Reports?
Trusts and Societies are not required by law to produce Annual Reports. Section 25 Companies are required to publish Annual Reports. However, organizations that desire to practise norms of transparency and accountability should make their Annual Report for the corresponding financial year within eight months of the end of the financial year. The Annual report should be widely disseminated to stake holders and be available in the public domain. 

What should be included in an Annual Report? Are there any standard formats available?
The Annual Report should clearly describe what the organization is trying to accomplish (vision), what are its strategies for making it happen (mission), what are the organization's capabilities for achieving its mission, state its objectives and how it measures its progress, what the organization accomplished during the year and so far, and most importantly what it did not accomplish and why. It is essential that the organization also provide summarized financial statements for the year (Balance Sheet, Income & Expenditure Statement and Receipts & Payments Account). It is advised to present a summary even if the organization is attaching the entire audited accounts.The organization should also provide its key registration details, contact details, as well as information about is bankers and auditors. The Credibility Alliance has provided norms for disclosures in the Annual Report. Organisations should include all such information as well.

GuideStar India has created a template for Transparency & Accountability Disclosures. It is a 2 page format in MS Excel that can be freely downloaded and filled. This template covers all the essential information that should be contained in the Annual Report. It also makes your information comparable and donor friendly. 

The template can be downloaded from:
How could we use the Annual Report as a tool of transparency and accountability?
If you provide all the information and disclosures as stated above, your Annual Report could become a powerful tool for establishing your credibility and support your fundraising efforts. While the number of copies your produce and the quality of paper you use would be decided by your budget, you can use your electronic version for wide dissemination. Make sure that your file size is optimized for emails and downloads. Ideally keep it to less than 2MB. You could provide options to the user to download a rich version and light version. Upload the Annual Report on your website, include a link in your email signature, upload it on your public profile on  www.guidestarindia.org, the NGO information repository accessed by more than 20,000 visitors every month.

You could also get your Annual Report certified by GuideStar India and apply for a Transparency Badge or Seal of Public Accountability at a nominal cost (Annual Report disclosures is one of several other criteria to qualify).

For more questions, write to info@guidestarindia.org

GuideStar India is India’s leading provider of NGO information. Its portal www.guidestarindia.org is India's largest, fully searchable database of reliable and comparable information on over 4000 NGOs. Its powerful search allows users to find and connect with verified NGOs within minutes. 



With a systematically organized repository of NGO information and a range of NGO outreach & due diligence solutions, GuideStar India enables individuals, corporate, government and other institutions to effectively access, engage with and support NGOs. GuideStar India pursues and promotes real time data-sharing and interoperability of portals featuring NGO information. Corporates, Philanthropists and other institutions use GuideStar India for NGO Datasets, NGOSearch & Match, NGO Outreach, NGO Due Diligence and NGO Partnerships. 



GuideStar India educates and equips NGOs to embrace best practices on transparency and public accountability for greater social impact. GuideStar India awards its Transparency Badge and Seal of Public Accountability to NGOs that meet the highest standards of transparency and public disclosure.

Registration on GuideStar India is free for NGOs. Visit: http://guidestarindia.org/Register.aspx 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Meet NGOs who joined our portal in August 2013

49 NGOs voluntarily chose to demonstrate their commitment to transparency and public accountability by joining GuideStar India in August 2013! In a country of a more than a million NGOs (the estimated number of operational NGOs in India is only about a third of the much publicized 3.3 million which is the total of NGOs registered since the year 1860) where the credibility of the voluntary sector is always questioned, we feel encouraged every time an NGO takes the step to voluntarily put its information in the public domain.

We congratulate each of the 49 NGOs that came forward to register last month and joined the 4,000 NGOs that are already a part of our portal.

We will share the list of NGOs added every month. Visit this link regularly to meet our new members: http://www.guidestarindia.org/List_of_NGOs.aspx Feel free to connect with them directly for your CSR programmes, to volunteer with them or support them in any way you can. Please exercise due diligence depending on your level of physical engagement and the the quantum of your support.

Name of Organisation GSN
AAGAAJ FOUNDATION SOCIETY 4891
AARADHANA 4916
Arpana Research & Charities Trust 4893
ARYA JAN KALYAN SHIKSHA SAMITI 4871
BAGNAN CRESCENT EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY 4931
BETHUADAHARI BHORER ALO 4932
Bright Educational & Social Welfare Society 4917
DELHI CAMBRIDGE BROTHERHOOD 4911
DISHA WELFARE ASSOCIATION SAMITI 4922
HOPEMONKEY FOUNDATION FOR INDIA 4888
Indic Society for Education and Development 4841
JIVANDEEP SEVABHAVI SANSTHA 4887
KALYANAM KAROTI 4881
KoraputCSRhub 4898
Krida Vikas Sanstha 4859
Kshamata 4895
Life Line Multipurpose Society.Latur,Tq.& Dist.Latur.(M.S.) 4867
LOK KALYAN SAMITI 4926
LOKKALYAN CHARITABLE TRUST 4899
MAHANT ABANANDGIRI CHARITABLE TRUST 4901
MAHATMA SHIKSHAN SANSTHA 4903
MANAV VIKAS SANSTHA 4906
Manodhairya Manashastriy Sanshodhan Va Prashikshan Sanstha 4912
MAYA FOUNDATION 4892
Miracle Charitable Society 4883
NAGDA ZENITH SOCIAL WELFARE SOCIETY 4879
RUPAMARI RURAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY 4914
SAHITI CHARITABLE TRUST 4875
SAHITI EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY 4868
SAHYADRI SHIKSHAN SANSTHA 4930
SAIRAM HEALTH CARE CHARITABLE TRUST 4900
SAMPARK TRUST 4828
SANATAN UNNAYAN SANGSTHA 4870
SANJEEVANI HOSPITAL FOUNDATION 4882
Sanjeevani...Life Beyond Cancer 4921
SANKALP INDIA TRUST 4872
Sawali Samajik Pratisthan Satara. 4873
Shanti Ratna Parivartan Foundation Sanstha 4908
Sharp Developments 4924
SOCIETY FOR EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 4905
SOCIETY FOR EMPOWERMENT OF VILLAGES AND AGRICULTURE (SEVA) 4909
Society for Rural Awareness and Development in Himalayan Area 4877
Society of Health Education Legal Training And Emergency Rehabilitation 4920
Surbhi Social Development Organisation 4910
THE BOMBAY SALESIAN SOCIETY 4869
The Rashtriya Life Saving Society 4880
VASANTHA MEMORIAL TRUST 4890
VOLUNTARY INSTITUTE FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 4927
watgunge adolescent improvement association 4933

Wish to welcome your favourite NGOs to join GuideStar India? Ask them to visit: http://www.guidestarindia.org/Register.aspx for free registration that takes less than 30 minutes!