CSR Eligibility Criteria: Which Companies Are Legally Required to Fund NGOs
If a company is big enough (in terms of size, sales, or profit), the law requires it to donate money to social causes every year. Here's how to know if a company you're approaching falls into that group.
Step 1: Is the company big enough to be forced by law?
A company must engage in CSR if it meets just ONE of these three criteria. It doesn't need to hit all three; one is enough.
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| Net worth (total value of the company) | ₹500 crore or more | Must do CSR |
| Yearly sales (turnover) | ₹1,000 crore or more | Must do CSR |
| Profit made in a year | ₹5 crore or more | Must do CSR |
A company might have low profit but still own ₹600 crore worth of assets. That's enough on its own; it still has to do CSR, whether there is profit or not.
Step 2: Once they qualify, here's exactly what the law makes them do
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| How much money must they give away? | At least 2% of their average profit from the last 3 years |
| Where can that money go? | Only into approved causes — 28 categories under Schedule VII |
| Do they have to prove the money actually helped? | Yes, sometimes. If the project is ₹1 crore or more, and the company's total CSR budget is ₹10 crore or more, an outside expert must independently check the results |
Why this matters for your NGO: once a company crosses even one line in Step 1, giving away CSR funds is no longer optional; it becomes a legal duty.
Find out if your NGO is eligible to receive CSR funding. Our experts will assess your eligibility and guide you through the requirements and compliance process.
CSR Compliance for NGOs: CSR-1, 12A, 80G & Impact Assessment Rules
CSR proposal writing in India isn't just about persuasive language. It's governed by law, and if your paperwork doesn't align with it, no amount of good writing saves the proposal.
- CSR-1 Registration: Since April 2021, NGOs have been required to register with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs using Form CSR-1 to be legally eligible to receive CSR funds. Many NGOs lose funding simply because this one form was never filed. We check this before we write a single word of your proposal.
- 12A and 80G Registration: Corporates strongly prefer NGOs registered under these sections of the Income Tax Act, 1961, since this also provides them a tax benefit on donations.
- Mandatory Impact Assessment: If your project outlay is ₹1 crore or more and the donor's average CSR obligation is ₹10 crore or more, an independent, third-party impact assessment is legally required, not optional. We help NGOs build M&E (Monitoring & Evaluation) frameworks from day one, so there isn't a scramble later.
We always check the latest rules with these requirements, so your proposal doesn't get rejected over a technicality. This is the part most freelance writers and generic content agencies simply don't check.
What Makes NGOExperts' CSR Proposals Get Approved Faster
We looked at dozens of CSR proposals and consultancy websites before building this service. Most make the same mistake: too much about the NGO's history, too little about what the funder actually wants to know.
- We write for the reader, not for ourselves. A CSR manager reads dozens of proposals a week. We lead with the problem, the number of people affected, and the outcome — not a three-page history of your organisation.
- We use real numbers, not vague claims. Our proposals include baseline data, credible references, and measurable indicators. "Improved lives of many families" is rejected. "Provided clean drinking water access to 1,200 households across 6 villages in 12 months" gets funded.
- We align with the funder's own CSR policy. A proposal for a bank's CSR desk and a proposal for a manufacturing company's CSR team should not read the same way. We tailor the pitch to what that specific company already funds.
- We keep it simple, visual, and quick to read. We write in bullet points, provide clear budget tables, and use a logical flow that a reviewer can scan in five minutes and still walk away with your full pitch.
Our CSR Proposal Writing Process
Here's exactly how we turn your project into a funder-ready proposal, from first call to final submission.
- Understand: We start with a conversation about your NGO's mission, past work, and the specific project or funder you're targeting.
- Verify: We check your registration status (12A, 80G, CSR-1) and flag any compliance gaps before we start writing, so nothing holds up your application later.
- Research: We study the target funder's CSR policy, priority sectors, and past-funded projects so the proposal speaks their language.
- Draft: We build the full report or proposal: problem statement, objectives, methodology, budget, timeline, and impact indicators.
- Review: You review, we revise. We don't consider it done until you're confident sending it.
- Support: We're available for follow-up queries from the funder, revisions, and future reporting needs — including impact assessment documentation once the project is live.
Sectors We Write CSR Proposals & Project Reports For
Education • Healthcare & Sanitation • Rural Development • Women Empowerment & Gender Equality • Skill Development & Livelihoods • Environment & Sustainability • Disaster Management • Water & Sanitation (WASH) • Child Welfare • Elderly & Disability Support • Sports Development • Heritage & Culture Conservation
