India, 18 June, 2021:HCL Grant has announced Edition VII for recognizing the NGOs Transforming Rural India. The application portal is now live and last date for accepting online applications is June 17, 2021. 

Started in 2015, the HCL Grant is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment by HCL, through HCL Foundation, the CSR arm of HCL Technologies, to strengthen and empower NGOs, engage with them, as well as recognize them for their path-breaking work. HCL Foundation has now announced edition VII of HCL Grant.

HCL Grant awards the winning NGOs in each of the categories of Environment, Health and Education, a grant of ₹ 5 Crore for a 3-5 years project. The HCL Grant rewards the other finalists too, who are doing great work in their own right. So the 2 other finalists in each category receive a grant of ₹ 25 lakhs  for a year-long project which is mutually agreed with HCL Foundation after the final Jury meet.

The application portal for HCL Grant for this year is live now. Through this portal, NGOs looking to apply for this year’s Grant can fill the online application form, which includes organizational profile and project abstract along with some mandatory documents.

HCL Foundation is also organizing Pan India e-symposiums in order to create awareness among the NGOs on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and in order to bring together NGOs, Government, Corporates, and Policy Makers all together on one digital platform, across India and identify those NGOs who are doing path breaking work through an independent, robust, and democratic process. The objective of conducting these symposiums is to make the NGOs understand and discuss the nuances of the CSR mandate (Section 135, Companies Act 2013), provide guidance for Proposal Writing and Project Management cycle sessions and conducting Panel Discussions on the challenges and opportunities in the local area development and in the thematic areas of Environment, Education and Health as well. The symposiums also conduct a series of Panel Discussions on the challenges and opportunities in the local area development & in the thematic areas of Environment, Education and Health. They also guide the NGOs on how to approach for corporate funding as well as guidelines are shared for the online application process for HCL Grant.

These e-symposiums will provide training to the NGOs regarding the use of technology and innovation for solving social sector challenges. The aim of these symposiums is to have an engineering discussion with the NGOs on strategizing CSR to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.  HCL Foundation will be conducting the symposiums online through digital means on the HCLF Academy platform. These e-symposiums will also be streaming LIVE on HCLF Facebook (HCL Grant) handle as well.  

HCL Grant is applicable for NGOs working in the field of Education, Health and Environment and having experience of implementing projects in rural India. Organizations with innovative, replicable, and sustainable models, which can make significant contribution towards rural development in the categories of Education, Healthcare and Environment are eligible for it.

Applicants can submit their entries online through HCL Grant’s official website of HCL Grant portal https://www.hclfoundation.org/user/hcl-grant/register. There will be no charge or fees while submitting the application. There is no authorized individual, third party, company, agency, or organization to accept application on behalf of HCL Grant or ask for any benefit either monetary or in kind, for completing the application process. 

Quote from Ms. Nidhi Pundhir, Director – HCL Foundation:

 “After six successful editions of Grant, we are extremely delighted to announce Edition VII of HCL Grant. Over the last few years, we are truly overwhelmed with the response that we have been getting from NGOs across the country. HCL Grant recognizes the unique NGOs for their power to transform their ideas into reality and thereby, transforming the communities. The current unprecedented times, has emphasized on the need to acknowledge the crucial role of the fifth estate – NGOs in bridging the gaps and helping the communities gain access to the essential resources. This year, in addition to the NGOs who have been doing extra ordinary work in the field of Education, Environment and Health, we would also like to meet and interact with those NGOs who have made a real difference on ground in battling the pandemic through awareness campaigns and making the environment conducive for the health workers to perform testing, sanitization, and vaccination work. The idea of HCL Grant is not only to recognize the work of NGOs contributing to the nation’s growth and development but also stay engaged with them to achieve the desired impact. The HCL Grant also annually releases a compendium which features not just the winners, but also the work of other 30 shortlisted NGOs, 10 from each category. This is a step towards acknowledging the valuable contribution of NGOs and re-establishing the value of strong governance in civil society and providing international visibility to Indian NGOs doing pathbreaking work in the rural development sector.”