How NGOs can get CSR funding

To get CSR funding, an NGO must first be eligible to act as a company’s implementing agency, and then convince a company that it can deliver a project the company’s board will approve. Eligibility means the right legal form, current income-tax registrations, a CSR registration number from Form CSR-1 and, for most NGOs, three years of similar work. Winning the grant means finding companies whose CSR policy fits your work, proposing a clear project, passing their checks and reporting well.

It is worth the effort. Companies spent ₹34,908.75 crore on CSR in 2023-24, according to government figures published in February 2026, and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ analysis of filings found that about 60% of CSR spending goes through implementing agencies (the latest figure, published in November 2021). Education and health care took 55.2% of the 2023-24 total between them.

This guide walks NGO founders, fundraisers and programme heads through the whole path, with links to the guides that go deeper.

Why CSR money comes with rules

CSR in India is a legal duty. Under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, larger companies must spend at least 2% of their average net profit of the last three years on activities listed in Schedule VII of the Act, and report what they spent. Our guide to what CSR is explains who is covered.

That duty shapes everything a CSR team asks of you. A private donor can give on trust; a company must be able to show its board, its auditors and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) that its money went to a Schedule VII activity, through an eligible agency, under a plan the board approved. The better you understand those duties, the easier you are to fund.

Are you eligible? The four gates

A company can carry out its CSR itself or through an implementing agency: an organisation that carries out CSR projects on its behalf. Rule 4(1) of the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014 (the CSR Rules) lists who can be one.

For an independent NGO, that means four gates:

Three details catch people out:

• The Rules still say “12A and 80G”. Since 1 April 2026 read them as your section 332 registration and section 354 approval; certificates issued under the old Act stay valid until they expire. See income-tax registration for NGOs.
• The track record is about the work. A trust that ran a library for years and has just started maths classes may not yet have three years of “similar activities” for a maths project.
• CSR-1 builds on the tax registrations. The form asks which Rule 4(1) route you come under and for your tax status. See Form CSR-1.

What a company needs from you

A project that fits its policy and its plan. Each year a company’s CSR committee (or, in a smaller company, its board) draws up an annual action plan: the projects, how each will be carried out, how and when the money will be used, how projects will be monitored and reported, and any need and impact assessment (Rule 5(2)). A proposal that gives those details can go straight into the plan.

Money you will actually use. FAQ 7.4 says “mere disbursal of funds for implementation of a project does not amount to spending unless the implementing agency utilises the whole amount”, and asks companies to release funds that agencies can use within the financial year. The company’s chief financial officer must also certify that the money was used as the board approved (Rule 4(5)).

A clear year-end position. After 31 March, a company must move unspent money for an ongoing project (a multi-year project lasting up to three years after the year it starts) into its Unspent CSR Account within 30 days, and other unspent money to a fund listed in Schedule VII within six months. It needs your figures quickly. See unspent CSR money.

Assets in the right hands. Anything built or bought with CSR money must be held by an eligible NGO with a CSR registration number, by the beneficiaries as a self-help group or collective, or by a public authority (Rule 7(4)). See capital assets in CSR.

Finding companies that fit

Aim at a few companies where the fit is real, not at everyone:

• Themes: every covered company with a website must publish its CSR policy and approved projects there (Rule 9).
• Places: the Act asks companies to prefer the areas where they operate. The MCA reads this as “only directory and not mandatory”, but many companies still favour districts near their plants and offices.
• Size: the annual report on CSR shows what a company had to spend. A company with a ₹40 lakh obligation can’t fund a ₹2 crore programme.
• Past spending: the National CSR Portal publishes what companies report, by company, state and sector.

Our guide to finding the right CSR partner shows how to build a prospect list.

Making the approach

Start with a conversation, not a 40-page proposal:

1. A warm introduction where you can get one: from another funder, a partner or someone who has seen your work.
2. A one-page profile: your registrations, two or three programmes with honest results, last year’s income and its sources, and one named contact.
3. A concept note of two pages, mapped to the company’s policy and a Schedule VII item.
4. A full proposal and budget when the company asks. See writing a CSR proposal and budgeting a proposal.

Timing matters. The annual action plan covers a financial year (April to March), and much of the money is committed once it is approved, so ask each company when it plans and start well before. The board can alter the plan mid-year, but late additions are harder.

Stories also help companies discover your work. You can share your NGO’s story with SocioStory: our editors read and edit every story, and we never publish paid stories. A story isn’t a check on your organisation; companies still do their own due diligence.

Due diligence: what to expect

A CSR team checks that you’re real, eligible and able to do the work, in proportion to the size and risk of the grant. Expect it to:

• ask for your document pack: founding documents, PAN, tax registration orders, CSR-1, NGO Darpan ID, three years of audited accounts, annual reports, your board list and policies (see the documents CSR teams ask for);
• check documents at the source, such as the MCA portal, NGO Darpan and the FCRA portal;
• read your accounts for where the money comes from, dependence on one funder, reserves and payments to people connected with your board;
• test your programme: the need, your theory of change, past results and how you measured them, references and a site visit.

Many gaps become conditions, such as adopting a safeguarding policy before work with children starts. A few stop the process: forged documents or any offer of a commission.

The agreement and the first year

A written agreement, often called a memorandum of understanding (MoU), sets out the scope, budget, tranches, reporting, assets, safeguarding and how either side can end it. Read it with your board, and ask a lawyer about anything unusual. See writing a CSR agreement.

Two rules affect your accounts. Interest earned on CSR funds is surplus, which can be used only for CSR (Rule 7(2); FAQ 3.4), so report it. And the 5% limit on administrative overheads in Rule 7(1) concerns the company’s own CSR function: FAQ 3.3 says an agency’s expenses on managing CSR activities “shall not amount to administrative overheads and cannot be claimed by the company”. How much of your running costs a company funds depends on its policy and your negotiation.

Then deliver: progress reports and utilisation certificates on time, problems raised early, and your figures as at 31 March sent in early April. See reporting to funders.

Building a partnership that lasts

• Be honest early. Tell the company when a target will slip and what you’re doing about it. CSR teams compare notes.
• Show outcomes, not just activity. “Children reading at grade level rose from 31% to 52%” says more than “400 sessions held”. See choosing indicators.
• Plan the end from the start: how the work continues through government, the community or other funders when the grant stops.
• Don’t swap one dependence for another. If one company provides more than half your income, plan for the day it leaves.

The path, step by step

1. Register as a trust, society or Section 8 company whose objects cover your work.
2. Get income-tax registration and donor approval, and track their expiry dates.
3. Build three years of similar work, funded meanwhile by individual giving and grants from foundations and government.
4. File Form CSR-1, and prepare your document pack and profile.
5. Shortlist companies whose themes, places and budgets fit, and approach them before they plan.
6. Help them through due diligence, and sign an MoU with tranches you can use.
7. Deliver, report, and renew or exit on the evidence.

Common mistakes

• Quoting a CSR registration number that belongs to a sister organisation.
• Sending the same proposal to hundreds of companies.
• Asking for the whole grant up front, with no milestones.
• Accepting a March tranche you can’t use.