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HCL Foundation Grant Program Edition VII – India

Deadline: 17 June 2021

The HCL Foundation is accepting applications for its Grant Program Edition VII to strengthen and empower NGOs, engage with them, as well as recognize them for their path-breaking work.

Themes

Currently focused on rural development, the HCL Grant is awarded in three thematic categories:

Funding Information

  • 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 3-5 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 an year-long project which is mutually agreed with HCL Foundation after the final Jury meet.
  • Thus, the total committed fund for HCL Grant is16.5 Crores (US$2.36 Million), for Edition VI.

Pre Requisites

  • Applicant Organization
    • The applicant organization must be a registered entity (as a Trust, Society, Section 8/25 company) and qualify the defined eligibility criteria. Further, the name on the application form must match with the registration certificate and other regulatory documents such as PAN, Audited Financials, 80G, 12A, FCRA, etc.
    • The organization must have adequate experience of working in rural areas in India.
    • The by-laws of the organization must allow it to undertake a project in the proposed thematic category.
    • The organization must have a good rapport with the local administration in the proposed project’s location.
    • The organization, including its governing body members, must not have any pending litigations.
    • The organization must not be blacklisted by any government agency/department/ministry, donor, or international agency.
    • The organization must not have faced cancellation of its license/registration/membership, etc., from the regulatory and/or statutory body. These shall cover (but not be limited to) FCRA, EPF, PT, Income Tax, 12A, 80G, GST, PAN, etc.
    • The organization, including governing board members, must not have any negative media coverage or any other controversy associated with it.
    • The organization or its board members or employees must not have any political or religious affiliations.
    • The organization (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 organization. Sub-granting of HCL funds is not allowed.
    • The proposed project must be designed for a grant amount of 5 Crores (to be received from HCL Foundation) for a period of 3 to 5 years. It can be co-funded by a suitable donor that the applicant organization can bring onboard for any additional amount. However, HCL Foundation must be apprised of all funders and stakeholders in advance. Additionally, the organization must report the utilization, outreach, and impact explicitly achieved through the HCL Grant fund.
    • 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.
    • HCL Grant funds can be used to scale-up an existing project or for a new project where co-funding is involved. However, HCL Foundation 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 fund.
    • If any organization is noted to have furnished false or wrong information during the entire evaluation process at any point in time, the organization will get disqualified from HCL Grant.

Eligibility Criteria

  • The Grant is applicable for NGOs working in the field of Education, Health and Environment with experience of implementing projects in rural India. They encourage organisations from all over India to apply with innovative, replicable and sustainable models, which can make significant contribution towards rural development.
  • The organization 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.
  • The organization must have registered u/s 80G of The Income-tax, 1961. (including organizations who have successfully submitted application for renewal of 80G certificate, subject to further scrutiny).
  • The organization must have the below-mentioned functional existence (as per their registration certificate) in India on or before 31st March 2021:
    • If applying under Environment, Education and Health category – minimum 5 years or above
  • The organization must be in full compliance with applicable regulatory rules and must have valid documents for registration, audited financial reports, etc. Further, the organization must have valid and timely submissions for requisite statutory and regulatory compliances (wherever applicable). These shall cover (but not limited to) income tax, employee provident fund, professional tax, minimum wages, employee state insurance, goods and service tax and FCRA and / or other relevant regulation depending on the nature of funding/donations it receives.
  • The organization must have registered u/s 12A of The Income-tax, 1961. (Including organizations who have successfully submitted application for renewal of 12A certificate, subject to further scrutiny.)
  • The organization must have registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs as CSR Implementing Agency. (including organizations who have successfully submitted application, subject to further scrutiny)
  • The organization must have the below mentioned average expenditure (as per income & expenditure account) for the last three financial years viz. 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20:
    • If applying under Education and Health category – minimum1 Crores or above
    • If applying under Environment category – minimum 0.50 Crores or above

For more information, visit https://www.hclfoundation.org/hcl-grant