The India Giving Challenge, India’s first online fundraising event that took place from Sept 1, 2009 to October 11, 2009, channeled more than Rs. 90 lacs from over 5,000 donors to NGOs all across India. This also made it India’s largest ever online fundraising event and only second in size to the Mumbai Marathon in terms of number of donors it engaged!

14 corporates and 100 NGOs battled over the 41-day challenge for a chance to be crowned as Corporate and NGO Challenge Champions. WNS emerged as the eventual Corporate Champion winning a matching grant of Rs. 10 lacs for their chosen NGOs and Parivaar Education Society emerged as the NGO Champion winning a matching grant of Rs. 8 lacs.

The India Giving Challenge, was a Joy of Giving Week event, organized by GiveIndia, which invited NGOs and Corporates to set up fundraising pages online and then reach out to their friends, clients, employees and donors asking them to contribute. There were a total of 12 big prizes for NGOs and Corporates based on the amount they raised as well as the number of donors they raised the money from. Additionally, GiveIndia offered several smaller daily prizes to build excitement amongst the participants. Overall more than Rs. 56 lacs was given out as matching grants during this campaign to 33 different NGOs so in a sense everyone was a winner!

Winners of the Corporate category, WNS, a leading global business process outsourcing company raised more than Rs. 12 lacs from over 3,000 employees during this event! Smita Gaikwad, VP Corporate Communications, said “The fact that over 10,000 employees at WNS were involved in the Joy of Giving Week celebrations bears testament to a culture at WNS that believes in being socially responsible. Education is the most constructive aspect of a child’s life and we are proud that our contribution will help shape the future of many under-privileged children.”

Parivaar Education Society, the NGO Champion raised Rs. 20 lacs during this event. Not only did they raise the maximum of any NGO but they had a great deal of fun doing so as well! Vinayak Lohani, the founder of Parivaar had this to say – “The India Giving Challenge gave a wonderful opportunity for all our supporters and campaigner-volunteers to use the period and platform of the event for further expansion of the support base, and also test the reach and efficacy of their social networks. It was a fun-filled time and a great experience for everyone.”

The Challenge provided some interesting insights into how NGOs raised money. While some of them did it through large donations from their traditional donors, others reached out to their beneficiaries who had benefited over a long period of time with the services offered by the NGO.Vidyarambam was one such NGO whose Founder Mr. Ranganathan told us “The challenge gave us an impetus to reach new sources. Surprisingly we found the Joy of Giving was more explicit amongst small donors who appreciated the cause and not the benefit of tax relief. We are reassured that good causes get good support.”

Notes to Editor

About GiveIndia: GiveIndia (www.GiveIndia.org) is one of India’s top fund raising intermediaries and has channeled more than Rs. 100 Cr. since its inception in 1999 impacting more than a million lives across India. GiveIndia has more than 40,000 donors and partners with more than 80 companies.

For more information about the India Giving Challenge, visit the website http://www.GiveIndia.org/IGC or write to amita@giveindia.org