Having a scarcity of funds is the worst nightmare for almost all non-profits, a nightmare that continually repeats itself. Thus, NGOs are constantly looking out for funding to help accomplish their goals. While there are donations by private individuals, the funds are still not sufficient to enable a non-profit scale up operations.
That is why there is a need for Corporate Funding or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). India is the first country in the world to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandatory. Under Section 135 of the Indian Companies Act 2013, companies with a net worth of ₹500 crore or more, or turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more, or a net profit of ₹5 crore or more during the immediately preceding financial year, are mandated to spend 2 per cent of the average net profits on CSR activities.
Why give out Corporate Donations?
There are many companies all over the world that are known to do ‘good’ for the community. For most of them, their primary motto has been ‘to help others’. However, many companies do not have the window of time or manpower to help tackle the world’s most colossal problems.
On the other hand, NGOs are established with a vision by a group of like-minded people committed to community development and uplift of underprivileged people. There are many NGOs with the right vision and manpower; however, their lack of funds keeps them from being able to help their community to achieve a large-scale impact.
To escape this shackle of helplessness, Corporates come forward and provide donations to NGOs in substantially more significant amounts than private individuals, to help change the world. In a country like India, where Child Healthcare is one of the major problems, donation for children is made by many corporations. Hence, it is a win-win collaboration for both the NGO and the Corporates.
Importance of Corporate Donations for NGOs
There are many reasons why Corporate Funding is of huge importance to many NGOs. One of them is providing financial support. NGOs have a hard time procuring funds to sustain themselves. It’s one of the foremost challenges they face while continuing with their operations.
Some NGOs do receive individual donations. However, these donations are much less than the adequate amounts needed. Hence, NGOs are never able to take the right plan of action towards their potential. This also restricts them from scaling up their operations to achieve a impact and from long-term planning.
They always have to limit themselves as they face the fear of running out of funds. A Corporate Donation is something that is likely to have a substantially larger amount than a private donation. This allows the NGO to sustain itself for a longer duration of time per donation.
It also aids NGOs to brainstorm their plan of action better without the fear of running out of funds too soon. Hence, Corporate philanthropy is the backbone for many non-profits. Second, Corporate partnerships also help NGOs to raise awareness about the problem they are tackling.
Collaborating with a company can also help NGOs to share staff and other resources, making their overall operations more effective and indeed, efficient. This gives a fruitful opportunity for NGOs to leverage corporate networks and platforms for increased visibility.
The Impact of Corporate Donations on Children
In India, there is a scarcity of Pediatric Care. There is a scattered presence of healthcare infrastructure across the country, let alone qualitative care. Other than poverty and malnutrition, there are many other factors that contribute to the high mortality rate of children in India.
One of the foremost problems is Congenital Heart Defects (CHD). According to a report, the estimated number of children born with congenital heart disease in India is more than 200,000 per year. This remains one of the leading birth defects in the country, The treatment for congenital heart defects is extremely expensive. With a lack of medical insurance facilities available, many people are expected to pay out of their pockets which puts a huge financial strain on many families,
Despite this, there are very few NGOs focusing on this problem leading to CHD not getting the visibility it requires. Hence, procuring a donation for children dealing with CHD becomes a colossal problem for many NGOs. The complications aggravate due to little to no awareness among the parents.
