Finding the right CSR partner

The right CSR partner is a company whose CSR policy, chosen places and budget fit your work, and you find it by reading what companies already publish: their CSR policy and approved projects, their annual report on CSR, their sustainability report if they’re listed, and their spending data on the National CSR Portal. A short list built this way, approached at the right point in the company’s year, beats any number of unsolicited emails.

This guide is for NGO fundraisers and leaders doing prospect research: working out which companies to approach, and why. It covers what makes a good fit, where companies publish their CSR, how to read the national data, how to build and keep a prospect list, and what not to do. If you’re new to CSR funding, start with how NGOs can get CSR funding.

What makes a good fit

CSR teams fund projects that fit a policy their board has approved. Fit has three main parts, and two that matter almost as much:

A company’s CSR obligation is at least 2% of its average net profit of the last three years, so its annual report tells you its budget. A company with a ₹30 lakh obligation can’t fund a ₹1.5 crore programme, however good the fit, and a company with a very large obligation may prefer fewer, bigger projects.

Place matters because the Companies Act asks companies to give preference to the local area where they operate. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) reads this as “only directory and not mandatory” (FAQ 3.9), but in practice many companies favour districts near their plants and offices. If you work far from any company’s operations, look for those with national programmes, or causes that cross boundaries, such as art and culture.

Where companies publish their CSR

On their own website

Read the CSR policy for themes, places, how the company chooses partners and whether it accepts proposals at all. Some policies say plainly that the company works only through its own foundation, or only with partners it invites. Read the list of approved projects for who it funds now, where and for how long. Some companies also publish their annual action plan, the year’s list of projects with how each will be carried out and monitored (Rule 5(2)).

In the annual report on CSR

Every covered company includes an annual report on CSR in its board’s report. Since a revised format came in on 20 September 2022, it gives totals rather than project-by-project tables, but it still shows the obligation for the year, what was spent, any unspent amount and links to impact assessments. Listed companies post their annual reports on their websites. See the annual report on CSR.

In the BRSR, for listed companies

India’s top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation must publish a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR), under SEBI’s rules. Its Principle 8, on inclusive growth, includes two voluntary questions that are useful to NGOs: CSR projects in aspirational districts (state, district and amount), and the beneficiaries of each CSR project, with the share from vulnerable and marginalised groups. Not every company answers them, but those that do tell you where they work and whom they aim to reach. See the BRSR explained.

On the National CSR Portal

The MCA publishes the CSR data companies file each year on the National CSR Portal (csr.gov.in). You can look at spending by company, by state and by development sector. Three cautions:

• The data lags. A year’s figures appear only after companies file their accounts and Form CSR-2, roughly a year after the year ends, and late filings keep revising past totals.
• Sectors aren’t Schedule VII items. The portal sorts spending into about 29 “development sectors”; Schedule VII has 13 items.
• Some spending has no state. Spending reported as “PAN India” isn’t assigned to any state, so state totals add up to less than the national figure.

On the National CSR Exchange Portal

The MCA’s National CSR Exchange Portal (csrxchange.gov.in) lets implementing agencies with a valid CSR registration number list projects to raise funds and respond to companies’ requests for proposals, and lets companies search for projects and partners. It’s worth registering on, but not every company uses it, so it doesn’t replace your own research.

Reading the national picture

National data shows where CSR money goes, and where it doesn’t. In 2023-24 companies spent ₹34,908.75 crore. Education took ₹12,134.57 crore (34.8%) and health care ₹7,150.87 crore (20.5%), followed by environmental sustainability (7.0%), rural development (6.9%) and livelihoods (6.8%), according to MCA data tabled in Parliament in March 2026.

The money is concentrated by place too. According to Fulcrum’s analysis of MCA data for 2023-24, Maharashtra received about 17.4%, and the top ten states about 61%. Smaller states and union territories, such as Lakshadweep, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland, consistently receive the least. CSR spending in aspirational districts, which the government has identified as among the least developed, rose from ₹651.43 crore in 2020-21 to ₹1,402.89 crore in 2022-23.

What this means for you: in a crowded theme, such as school education in a large city, you compete with many strong NGOs and need a clear edge. In a neglected place or cause, say so with numbers. See India’s CSR in numbers.

Building your prospect list

Keep your research in one table that the whole team can see. Four columns are enough:

(All three companies are invented.)

Aim for depth, not length. Ten to twenty companies you understand well will produce more conversations than two hundred you don’t.

Finding the right people

Your research should end with a name. The CSR head or the head of the company’s foundation usually leads, and in some companies the staff at a local plant handle requests from nearby communities. Look for:

• Warm introductions from other funders, partner NGOs, your board, or officials who know your work;
• The contact given on the company’s CSR page or in its policy;
• Events and networks where CSR teams speak about what they fund;
• Your own track record. A company already funding your district partner may hear of you from them first.

Ask early when the company plans its year. Its annual action plan covers a financial year (April to March), and much of the money is committed once it is approved. Our guide to how CSR works in India explains the company’s calendar.

What not to do

• Mass emails. A blind-copied message to hundreds of CSR heads tells each of them you haven’t read their policy.
• “Any CSR support”. Ask for a specific project that fits, with a rough budget.
• Ignoring the policy. If a company funds only within 50 km of its plants, a proposal from another state wastes everyone’s time.
• Paying for access. Be wary of anyone who promises CSR money in return for a commission or “service fee”. Funders treat kickbacks as a serious red flag.
• Overclaiming. Don’t describe a registration, a past grant or a story about your work as an endorsement.

Keeping your list current

Review the list at least once a year. A company’s obligation moves with its profits, partnerships end, and new companies cross the thresholds.

When you’re ready to approach a company, see writing a CSR proposal, and keep your document pack ready.