Trusts, societies and Section 8 companies: which to choose, how to register each, NGO Darpan, the first year, the board, policies and accounts.
10 guides · about 105 minutes of reading · For founders and new NGO teams
Explainer · 11 min read
In India, ‘NGO’ describes what an organisation does, not a legal form. Most NGOs are trusts, societies or Section 8 companies. Here is what that means, how they are funded and which registrations matter.
Guide · 11 min read
All three can run charitable work, get tax registrations and take CSR money. They differ in who controls them, how much paperwork they bring and how hard they are to change later. Here is how to choose.
Guide · 11 min read
A trust is the simplest legal home for a small founding group’s charitable work. Here is how to draft the deed, register it in your state and get it ready for tax registration.
Guide · 10 min read
A society is a membership body: its members elect the people who run it. Here is how to form one under the 1860 Act or your state’s version, what to file, and what the law expects every year.
Guide · 11 min read
A Section 8 company is a non-profit company under the Companies Act, 2013. Here is how to incorporate one through SPICe+, what its licence allows and forbids, and what it must do every year.
Guide · 9 min read
NITI Aayog’s NGO Darpan portal gives every non-profit that signs up a unique Darpan ID. Central ministries require it for grants, and banks look for it. Here is how to get one and keep it current.
Checklist · 11 min read
From the day your registration certificate arrives to your first audit and tax return, here is everything a new NGO needs to set up and file, in order, with the deadlines that matter.
Guide · 11 min read
Whether they are called trustees, a governing body or directors, the people on an NGO’s board answer for its money, its people and its work. Here is what the law and good practice expect of them.
Checklist · 10 min read
Policies turn good intentions into habits that funders can check. Here are the ones every NGO needs, what each should say, which the law requires, which funders ask for, and how to adopt and review them.
Guide · 10 min read
Good accounts keep an NGO’s tax registration safe and its funders confident. Here are the books to keep, how to account for money given for a purpose, which audits each law requires and the controls that prevent trouble.