The Hindu Business Line : Guiding charity

The entire exercise of evaluating a charity calls for considerable time and effort. A charitable trust is not bound by disclosures and norms that govern a public company, and getting together the required information is, by itself, quite a task. Legal and tax details are difficult to come by. Annual reports of charitable organisations are not required to stick to the formats required of corporates.

Limitations

Paying a visit to the beneficiaries, or judging the effectiveness of a programme may not always be possible. For example, if the organisation aids rural development, you are not likely to be able to visit villages; or if the organisation works for environment conservation, the effects are not tangible.

If you do manage to identify and collect enough information on all the charities you wish to look at, you would have to trawl through it to come to make a decision.

In addition, a good many organisations run primarily on corporate donations, and may not accord smaller donations from individuals much attention, so you may again find it difficult to gather information. Unlike some other countries, there are no national organisations that rate charities on performance or credibility. So, what are the options open for an individual to work around the limitations?

Third-party research

One way is to stick to organisations you already are aware of, run by people you know or whose work and benefits you are familiar with. For instance, CRY and Greenpeace are well-known organisations that work towards children’s welfare and environment conservation, respectively.

However, if you are not aware of well-run charities, there are organisations that evaluate charitable entities.

They conduct the due diligence required and have a roster of validated organisations. They also pool money from donors and then allocate them to the desired programmes. Here are a few organisations that provide such services:

Charities Aid Foundation, India ( www.cafindia.org ): Part of the international CAF network, CAF India raises funds from both corporates and individuals. It also has a list of organisations that it has investigated and approved. It is also accountable for donations it collects and disburses, and provides updates on the progress of projects.

GiveIndia ( www.giveindia.org ): This organisation raises funds to disburse to about 200 organisations that have been evaluated for credibility and transparency. It also gives out feedback reports, and details of how donations have been utilized. Donations may be made online.

Employees of corporates registered with GiveIndia can use its Payroll Giving Programme, where a small sum is deducted periodically from salaries, which may be accumulated gradually and donated to desired causes.

United Way, Mumbai ( www.unitedwaymumbai.org ): Primarily meant for corporate donors, United Way of Mumbai also scrutinizes non-profit organisations and has a validated list. Similar to GiveIndia’s payroll programme, employees or registered corporates can donate to the causes of their choice.

Credibility Alliance ( www.credall.org.in ): This organisation works towards improving accountability and transparency in non-profit organisations. GiveIndia, for instance, relies on Credibility Alliance norms to shortlist organisations.

BHAVANA ACHARYA

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