About HCL Grant:

Started in 2015, the HCL Grant is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment by HCL, through HCL Foundation, to strengthen and empower NGOs, engage with them, as well as recognize them for their path-breaking work. Currently focused on rural development, the HCL Grant is awarded in three thematic categories, namely Environment, Health and Education. The Grant is designed to support breakthrough award-winning projects to NGOs, that have a proven track record of evident impact, high credibility and distinct ability to deliver. NGOs that reach out to marginalized, isolated, underserved and underdeveloped rural communities in India, and work jointly to achieve sustainable socio-economic development.

Thematic Grant Categories:

  • The HCL Grant is awarded under 3 thematic categories – Education, Environment & Health.

Grant Amount:

  • HCL Grant awards the winning NGOs in each of the categories of Environment, Health and Education, a grant of ₹ 5 Crore (~US$0.71 Million) for a 5 years project.
  • The HCL Grant rewards the other finalists too, who are doing great work in their own right. So the 2 other finalists in each category receive a grant of ₹ 25 lakhs (~US$0.04 Million) for a year-long project which is mutually agreed with HCL Foundation after the final Jury meet.
  • Thus, the total committed fund for HCL Grant is ₹16.5 Crores (~US$2.36 Million), for Edition VI.

Who Can Apply:

  • The Grant is applicable for NGOs working in the field of Education, Health and Environment with experience of implementing projects in rural India.
  • We encourage organisations from all over India to apply with innovative, replic​able and sustainable models, which can make significant contribution towards rural development.

Pre-Requisites:

Applicant Organization-

  • The organisation must have adequate experience of working in rural areas in India.
  • The bye-laws of the organisation must allow it to undertake a project in the proposed thematic category.
  • The organisation must have a good rapport with local administration in the proposed project’s location.
  • The organisation, including its governing body members, must not have any pending litigations
  • The organisation must not be blacklisted by any government agency/department/ministry, donor, or international agency.
  • The organisation, including governing board members, must not have any negative media coverage, or any other controversy associated with it.
  • The organisation must not have any political or religious affiliations.
  • The organisation (if announced as winner or runners-up) must open a separate and new bank account for HCL Grant Funds. 

Proposed Project-

  • The proposed project must be in line with the provisions of Schedule VII of Section 135 of The Companies Act, 2013 and the CSR Rules 2014, and its amendments / clarifications.
  • The proposed project must be in rural area/s.
  • The proposed project must be designed for direct implementation by the applicant organisation. Sub-granting of HCL funds is not allowed.
  • The proposed project (in each category) must be designed for a grant amount of ₹ 5 Crores for a period of 3 to 5 years.
  • The grant amount must not be used solely for infrastructure development such as construction, renovation, purchase of fixed assets like land, buildings, and vehicles, among others. Further, proposed infrastructure development costs must be spent in line with project objectives and activities defined.
  • The Grant can be used to scale-up an existing project or for a new project where co-funding is involved. However, HCL must be apprised of all funders and stakeholders in advance. Additionally, the organisation must be able to report the utilization, outreach and impact achieved specifically through the HCL Grant amount.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • The organisation must be a registered not for profit entity in India i.e. either a Society or a Trust or a Section 8 (previously Section 25) company or any other organisation (if allowed to receive CSR funding by a relevant government body in line with Section 135 of The Companies Act, 2013).
  • The organisation must have registered u/s 80G of The Income-tax, 1961.
  • The organisation must have the below mentioned average expenditure (as per income & expenditure account) for the last three financial years viz. 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19:
  1. If applying under Education and Health category – minimum ₹ 1 Crores or above
  2. If applying under Environment category – minimum ₹ 0.50 Crores or above
  • The organisation must have registered u/s 12AA of The Income-tax, 1961.
  • The organisation must have the below-mentioned functional existence (as per their registration certificate) in India on or before 31st March 2020:
  1. If applying under Education and Health category – minimum 10 years or above
  2. If applying under Environment category – minimum 5 years or above
  • The organisation must be in full compliance with applicable regulatory rules and must have valid documents for registration, audited financial reports, etc. The organisation must have valid and timely submissions

For more information, please check the Link

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