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 has been extended till July 2, 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-year 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.
In view of these unprecedented times and on ground situations, deadline to apply for HCL Grant edition VII is extended till July 2, 2021 midnight.
HCL Grant is applicable for NGOs working in the field of Education, Health and Environment with experience of implementing projects in rural India. Organizations with innovative, replicable, and sustainable models, that can make significant contribution towards rural development in the categories of Education, Healthcare and Environment are eligible for the grant.
Applicants can submit their entries online through the HCL Grant portal on HCL Grant’s official website on the link: 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.
Nidhi Pundhir, Director – HCL Foundation, says, “Owing to the surge in the Covid-19 cases, many states have announced lockdown to mitigate the spread of the virus. We understand that NGOs are facing difficulties to gather various data pertaining to their various projects which forms an integral part in the nomination process. Keeping the current situation in mind and acknowledging the restrictions, we have decided to extend the deadline to apply for HCL Grant Edition VII till July 02, 2021. We expect that this additional time will help us to reach more NGOs who couldn’t participate earlier due to closing of deadline but now will get a scope to amplify their work in an effective manner. Our aim to host the HCL Grant is to recognizes the unique NGOs for their power to transform their ideas into reality and thereby, transforming the communities.
The current unprecedented times has further 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 and highlight extra ordinary work they are performing in the field of Education, Environment and Health thereby bringing a difference to people’s life.
Apart from the prize money, 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.”
The winning NGOs of HCL Grant 2021 were:
Sahas (Environment) – Bengaluru
India Health Action Trust (Health), Bengaluru
Child Rights and You (Education), Delhi
HCL Grant, an initiative by HCL Foundation, the philanthropic arm of HCL Technologies is a step towards recognition of the ‘The Fifth Estate’ contributing towards Nation Building. Started in 2015, it is a commitment by HCL to strengthen transformation in the areas of Education, Health and Environment, by reaching out to marginalized, isolated and underdeveloped rural communities, and achieve sustainable socio-economic development. A unique aspect of the HCL Grant is that the organizations are recognized not only based on the ‘idea’, but also for their power to transform ideas into implementable projects and thereby transform Indian villages in a sustainable way.
