Guide · Nonprofits
What an NGO website needs to win CSR funding in India
Before a company funds an NGO from its CSR budget, its team checks that the NGO is eligible (CSR-1 registration, 12A and 80G, and a track record of at least three years for most NGOs) and that it can show results. Your website should put all of that in one place: registration numbers, recent annual reports and audited financials, the people who govern the organisation, programme pages that match Schedule VII activities with real outcomes, and a clear contact for partnerships.
Indian companies above a certain size must spend part of their profits on corporate social responsibility (CSR). That makes CSR one of the most important sources of funding for Indian NGOs, and also one of the most competitive. CSR teams usually shortlist partners by looking at what is public, and for most NGOs that means the website.
This guide explains what CSR teams are required to check, and how to make your website answer those checks before anyone has to ask.
How CSR funding works, in short
Under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, a company must spend on CSR if, in the previous financial year, it had a net worth of ₹500 crore or more, a turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more, or a net profit of ₹5 crore or more. It has to spend at least 2% of its average net profit over the three preceding financial years on activities listed in Schedule VII of the Act, such as education, health, water and sanitation, environment, gender equality and rural development.
Companies can run projects themselves or through an implementing agency, which is usually an NGO. Since 1 April 2021, implementing agencies must be registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs through Form CSR-1. According to the MCA's CSR FAQs, the eligible entities include Section 8 companies, registered public trusts and registered societies that hold 12A and 80G registrations and have an established track record of at least three years in similar activities. The rules were amended again in 2025, so check the current version of the form on the MCA portal before you file.
The board of the funding company stays responsible for how the money is used. Larger companies also have to commission impact assessments of bigger projects. That is why CSR teams ask for so much evidence: they are protecting their own compliance as much as judging your work.
What CSR teams check, and where your website comes in
Every company has its own process, but the checks tend to fall into four groups. Your website can answer most of them before the first call.
- Eligibility. Is the NGO legally registered, does it have 12A, 80G and CSR-1, and is it old enough?
- Credibility. Who runs it, are the accounts audited, and is there anything worrying in the public record?
- Fit. Does the work match a Schedule VII activity and the company's own CSR policy, in the regions it cares about?
- Capacity and results. Has the NGO delivered similar projects, at what scale and cost, and can it report on them?
The pages a CSR-ready NGO website needs
1. A "Registrations and compliance" page
This is the page a CSR analyst is looking for, so make it easy to find from the main menu or the footer. List each item with its number and, where you are comfortable, a downloadable copy:
- Legal form and registration: trust deed, society registration or Section 8 licence, with the date.
- PAN of the organisation.
- 12A (or 12AB) and 80G registration numbers with validity dates.
- CSR-1 registration number.
- NGO Darpan unique ID from NITI Aayog's NGO Darpan portal, which many government and corporate programmes ask for.
- FCRA registration, if you receive foreign contributions.
Mask personal details such as trustees' home addresses or signatures on scanned copies. A CSR team needs the numbers and dates, not anyone's private information.
2. Reports and financials
Publish your last two or three annual reports and audited financial statements as PDFs, with the year in the file name and the link text. Add a one-paragraph summary above each one: income, how much went to programmes, and the main results. Many visitors will read the summary and nothing else.
3. Governance: the people accountable
List your trustees or board members with their role and a line on their background, plus the people who lead programmes and finance. Mention how often the board meets and who signs off the accounts. If you have policies on child protection, prevention of sexual harassment, conflicts of interest or procurement, list them. Funders want to know these exist.
4. Programme pages written for funders
Most NGO websites describe programmes in terms of the cause. CSR teams read them in terms of a project. For each programme, give one page with:
- The problem, in two or three sentences, with a source for any figure you quote.
- What you do, where, and for whom.
- The Schedule VII category it falls under, written plainly, for example "Schedule VII (ii): promoting education".
- Outputs and outcomes from the last full year, such as children enrolled, water points repaired or patients screened, and how you measure them.
- What it costs: a cost per beneficiary or a sample budget for a project of a typical size.
- Photos from the field with captions, and the consent you need to publish them.
5. A "Partner with us" page for companies
This is where you speak directly to CSR and foundation teams. Say what kinds of partnership you take on, such as project funding, employee volunteering or in-kind support, list past corporate partners only if they have agreed to be named, describe how you report (monthly, quarterly, with photos and data), and give a named role and email for partnership enquiries. A short downloadable organisation profile of two to four pages helps the CSR team circulate you internally.
6. Stories and updates that prove you are active
An events page that stops in 2019 tells a funder that the organisation may have stopped too. You don't need a weekly blog. A short update every month or two, with a photo and a number, is enough to show that the work is current.
7. Donations and 80G receipts
Individual donors matter as well as CSR budgets. A donate button on every page, a secure payment gateway in the NGO's own name, and automatic 80G receipts make giving easy and show professional financial handling.
Small details that build trust
- A current copyright year and recent dates. Old dates make a site look abandoned even when the work continues.
- An email address on your own domain, such as info@yourngo.org, rather than a personal Gmail address.
- HTTPS everywhere. Browsers warn visitors about pages without it.
- Fast loading on mobile. Many people first open your link on a phone, often from WhatsApp. Compress photos and avoid huge sliders.
- Working phone numbers and tap-to-call links, plus a contact form that reaches someone who answers.
- No broken pages. Remove or finish empty sections such as "Chairman's message coming soon".
Quick checklist
| Item | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Registration type and number, PAN | Registrations page, footer |
| 12A/12AB, 80G with validity | Registrations page |
| CSR-1 number | Registrations page, Partner page |
| NGO Darpan ID, FCRA (if any) | Registrations page |
| Annual reports and audited accounts (2–3 years) | Reports page |
| Board or trustees, leadership | About or Governance page |
| Programmes with Schedule VII category, outcomes and costs | One page per programme |
| Partnership contact and organisation profile PDF | Partner with us page |
| Recent updates (last 3 months) | News or Stories |
| Donate button with 80G receipts | Every page |
Common mistakes we see
- Hiding the documents. Reports buried four clicks deep, or only "available on request".
- Publishing too much personal data. Home addresses and phone numbers of committee members on a public page is a privacy risk, and India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 expects you to handle personal data with care.
- Claims without evidence. "We have changed thousands of lives" is weaker than "In 2025–26 we ran 42 health camps and screened 3,100 people", if those are your real figures.
- One giant PDF instead of pages. Search engines and AI assistants read web pages far more reliably than scanned PDFs, so put the key facts in the HTML as well.
Where to start
If you only have an afternoon, make the registrations page and the reports page first. They answer the eligibility and credibility questions that stop most applications. Then rewrite one flagship programme page in the funder-friendly format above, and link to it in your next proposal.
If you would like to see how your organisation's site could look with all of this in place, PageKo builds a free preview of your redesigned website from your existing content. See websites for nonprofits for what we include, and our guide to accessibility basics to make sure everyone can use it.
Frequently asked questions
Does an NGO need a website to get CSR funding?
The law does not say an NGO must have a website. In practice, CSR teams screen many organisations at once and usually check the website first, so a site that shows your registrations, reports and results makes due diligence quicker and makes your proposal easier to approve.
What is CSR-1 registration?
Form CSR-1 is the registration with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs that an implementing agency must have before a company can route CSR money through it. It has been required since 1 April 2021. Once registered, the NGO receives a CSR registration number, which should be visible on its website and proposals.
Can a new NGO receive CSR funds?
Most NGOs that are not set up by a company or the government need an established track record of at least three years in similar activities before they can register as a CSR implementing agency. A newer NGO can still build its website, publish its work and apply once it is eligible.
Which documents should an NGO publish online?
Registration certificates or numbers (trust, society or Section 8), 12A and 80G, CSR-1, NGO Darpan ID, FCRA if you have it, the last two or three annual reports, audited financial statements, a list of trustees or board members, and key policies such as child protection where relevant.
Should we show how much each programme costs?
Yes, where you can. CSR teams have to account for every rupee, so a simple cost-per-beneficiary or budget breakdown for a past project helps them picture a proposal. Only publish figures you can back up with your audited accounts.
Sources
- Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Frequently Asked Questions on CSR (eligibility of implementing agencies, CSR-1, Schedule VII).
- Companies Act, 2013, Section 135 and Schedule VII; Companies (CSR Policy) Rules, 2014, as amended (mca.gov.in).
- National CSR Portal, csr.gov.in (company-wise CSR spending data).
- NITI Aayog, NGO Darpan.
- Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (meity.gov.in).