We need corporate funding: NGOs

There may be 20 lakh NGOs in the country, but most are finding it extremely tough to run their programmes, expand their reach, balance out costs and pay staff salaries.

With corporate social responsibility (CSR) becoming mandatory for companies from April 1, city NGOs are hoping for some concrete and long-term funding support from the MNCs and tech giants dotting the landscape.

The current support from companies, specially towards smaller NGOs, is minuscule.

Officials from NGOs working in the field of education say getting as much as Rs1200-2,000 per child per year is a Herculean task.

One Billion Literates Foundation, which provides English and computer skills to 400 children from 15 government schools in Bangalore and Anekal, has been going from door to door, asking companies for some funds.

“We need just about Rs8-9 lakh per year to operate, which is peanuts for corporates. We are located close to Electronics City. Often, we have taken corporates with us to these schools to show them the work we do. Companies only give words of encouragement, but nothing much in terms of funding,” says Ruby Kamdin, director, One Billion Literates.

NGO officials say they need funds primarily to pay salaries of staffers working in rural areas and to run their programmes. Most have minimised their costs to the extent of doing away with offices by working virtually from home, taking cuts in their own pay etc.

“But we still need some funds. Like we have women from Anekal teaching our kids, and they need to be paid. We need laptops to train the kids, though we did get 12 laptops from biotech firm Novozymes,” says Kamdin.

Experts say big NGOs—especially those with international backing—usually keep getting funds.

“It’s the smaller ones like us that find it tough to get support on a sustainable basis,” says Sumathy K, executive director at Technology Informatics Design Endeavour (TIDE), an organisation that trains rural women from Tumkur to make dried food products.

Many NGOs are seeking support beyond merely funds. “Companies can help us access markets to sell products made by people from our organisations. They can help us tie up with banks for loans, help us evolve our business models,” says Sumathy.

We also need corporates to encourage their employees to volunteer with us, says Kamdin.

Experts say there are instances when companies are ready to provide support to programmes operating out of Bangalore, but not to those that function from rural areas, or tier-II cities, where the need of NGOs is much more.

Magic Bus, an NGO that works towards the development of children through sports, currently works with 9,000 children in Bangalore, and 18,000 in Mysore.

“Bangalore companies often refuse to lend support to our Mysore programme. This attitude needs to change,” says Mallika Tatavarty, from Magic Bus. With funds hard to come by, most are relying on support from friends, family and individuals.