Candid to launch ‘Philanthropy in India’ portal on February 24th

Philanthropy & CSR: On February 24th, Candid, an international nonprofit organisation that provides data tools on nonprofits, foundations, and grants, will launch ‘Philanthropy in India’, a website that will provide comprehensive information on Indian philanthropy.

The website, which has been set up in partnership with Ashoka University’s Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy (CSIP), will make funding data on India’s social sector publicly available, free of cost.

“This website supports the robust philanthropic work that’s already occurring in the country. It will help people and organisations make informed decisions and efficiently work together to promote the causes that matter most to the Indian philanthropic community,” said Bradford Smith, President, Candid.

The Philanthropy in India website will include a dashboard that gives a high-level snapshot of how funding flows; a funding map that shows in-depth data; reports, insights, and other resources that highlight philanthropic work in India. This will enable funders both within and outside India to find other funding organisations that support the causes they care about, and learn about their work to make a change or collaborate.

From 2015 through 2018, Candid has identified 155,192 grants serving India totaling about USD 10.7 billion and tracked 11,004 grants in bi/multilateral aid totaling USD 14.1 billion.

Other key findings from data collated on Indian philanthropy by Candid and CSIP include:

1. Private donors invested most heavily in health (30 percent of total grants), followed by education (21 percent), and community and economic development (20 percent).
2. The top foundations supporting programmes in India are based outside the country.
3. More than 70 percent of bi/multilateral aid is designated towards community and economic development.

Read this article to understand whether philanthropy in India is really growing.

Fundraising & Communications: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a circular extending the validity of FCRA registration certificates to September 30th, 2021. This applies to all FCRA licences that have expired or will expire between September 29th, 2020 and May 31st, 2021. The decision to extend the deadline has been driven by the exigencies arising from the COVID-19 situation.

FCRA refers to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, which permits charitable organisations based in India to raise funds from foreign sources.

The order also clarified that nonprofits that have already opened an account and have the requisite permission to receive foreign aid, can henceforth receive it only in these newly-opened accounts.

The FCRA law was amended in September 2020 to include a clause that mandated that all nonprofits receiving foreign aid must necessarily open an account in State Bank of India’s New Delhi Main Branch. The government had initially set the deadline for this account opening as March 31st, 2021; it later extended it to June 30th, 2021 after several nonprofits argued in court that there had been delays because necessary approvals from MHA had not been received.

Several organisations have not been able to receive foreign funds during the crisis caused by the second wave, and this has impacted their COVID-19 relief efforts. Relaxing the foreign funding rules could significantly help organisations ramp up their operations to help individuals, supply critical healthcare equipment, and respond to communities in rural areas.

Read this article to know how amending the FCRA can have unforeseen implications.

Philanthropy & CSR: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued a circular that allows corporate spending on health infrastructure for COVID-19 care to qualify as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.

This includes setting up medical oxygen generation and storage plants, manufacturing and supply of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders, and other medical equipment to counter COVID-19.  

The announcement comes at a time when all efforts are being directed towards expediting efforts to support the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

According to the circular, companies can now undertake projects and activities in collaboration with other companies using CSR funds. Additionally, they can contribute to specified research and development projects, as well as publicly funded universities and certain organisations that conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

The government had earlier clarified that setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary COVID-19 care facilities would also be considered a CSR activity. Rajesh Verma, the Corporate Affairs Secretary, has requested businesses to consider converting vacant office buildings into COVID-19 facilities to cater to the rapidly increasing caseload.

Read this article to understand why media attention on COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen in big cities has skewed donor priorities.