the fifth estate
6
•
•
•• •
the
trailblazers
continues on its
pathbreaking journey to activate deep
changes in the rural development landscape
of India. By working to infuse funds,
strengthen and transform the capacities and
governance of community-led ecosystems or
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
working in rural India, the Grant lends
its he towards achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) of the nited
Nations, as well as contributing significantly
to nation building.
In the last seven years, the HCL Grant, a
flagship programme of the HCL oundation,
has committed
`
79.25 Crore (S$10.83
Million) to NGOs, or ‘e ih Estate’.
Each year, three NGOs in the categories of
Environment, Health and Education are
chosen through a rigorous, thorough and
transparent process. e criteria for selection
of the NGOs that receive the Grant measure
the Relevance, Innovation, Sustainability,
Scalability, Replicability, Inclusiveness and
inancial Modelling of the organization,
and of the specific project applied for, and
siing out those whose programmes and
interventions promise to revolutionize rural
development in dynamic, holistic and far-
reaching ways.
Besides the above engagements, the
HCL oundation organizes knowledge
enhancement and capacity building of
NGOs through its symposiums, this year
all conducted virtually. 4000 participants
attended ten HCL Grant e-symposiums that
had expert panelists discussing key issues like
CSR laws and amendments, the challenges of
leadership during crises, problems plaguing
the social sector, and specific discussions in
the three thematic areas.
e final 3 NGOs receive
`
5 Crore
(S$0.71 Million) each, and the other 2
finalists in each category receive
`
25 Lakhs
(S$0.04 Million) each. Besides this, over the
next three to five years, throughout the period
of the Grant, the HCL oundation collaborates
with the NGO to reinforce its governance and
programmes so that the goals of social and
economic empowerment, of equity, inclusivity
and tangible progress are achieved.
leaDiNG FrOM the FrONt
Real development is driven by a combination
of several factors that fortify the interventions
of NGOs. e importance of CSR funding
cannot be overstated. Government linkages
and integration with existing programmes
ensure scalability. Community ownership
and participation in the programmes is the
impetus for long-term sustainability. Exciting,
innovative ideas and cutting-edge technology
that bring these ideas to life address deep-
rooted issues in fresh ways and deliver long-
lasting solutions at scale.