Study highlights the need for predictable funding, timely disbursements and realistic overhead support to strengthen India’s social-impact ecosystem.
NEW DELHI (India CSR): India’s non-profit sector is asking CSR funders for more than larger grants. It is seeking funding that is predictable, flexible and closer to the actual cost of delivering social impact, according to the third edition of dus spoke India Inc 2026: Trends, Insights, & Voices by Give Grants.
The report finds that 91% of non-profits surveyed want longer-duration CSR grants among their top three asks, while 62% identify timely disbursements as a priority. Reasonable compliance requirements, greater flexibility and higher overhead support also emerged as important expectations from CSR funders.
The study draws on Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings of more than 29,500 companies, surveys of 67 CSR leaders and 200 non-profit leaders, and interviews with CSR leaders from 31 organisations. It examines the evolving relationship between corporate funders, implementation partners and emerging social-capital platforms in India.
Predictable Funding Matters
The findings point to a persistent challenge in the CSR ecosystem: non-profits are often expected to deliver long-term outcomes through short-term, restricted and delayed grants. While 91% of non-profits seek longer funding commitments, only 17% receive more than 10% overhead support from CSR funders. A further 10% receive no overhead coverage at all.
This gap has serious implications for institution building. Overhead support is not merely an administrative expense; it enables organisations to invest in people, systems, technology, governance, monitoring and the capacity needed to sustain high-quality programmes over time.
The report’s foreword notes, “CSR and NPOs are deeply interdependent. Neither can achieve its purpose without the other, and they need to invest in each other for the long term, not just for the duration of a project.”
Capacity Needs Investment
Archana Sahay, Global Head, ESG & Sustainability, LTM, emphasised the importance of investing in institutional strength alongside programme implementation.
“Corporates need to invest as much in building the capacity of their NPO partners as they do in funding programs—without that investment, many credible organizations cannot grow into strong institutions,” she noted in the report.
The message is clear: a project may be funded for one or two years, but meaningful social change requires capable institutions that can retain talent, build trust in communities, collect evidence and adapt interventions to changing realities.
| Key fact | Finding |
|---|---|
| Non-profits seeking longer CSR grants | 91% |
| Seeking timely fund disbursement | 62% |
| Receiving over 10% overhead support | 17% |
| Receiving no overhead support | 10% |
| Large non-profits working with 6+ CSR funders | 91% |
| Large non-profits with majority of relationships lasting 4+ years | 36% |
| CSR teams open to routing residual funds through SSE | 67% |
| CSR teams with over half staff having social-sector education | 69% |
Funder Churn Persists
The report also reveals that even India’s largest non-profits must continuously manage funder churn. The share of organisations working with six or more CSR funders rises from just 3% among non-profits with annual budgets below Rs. 1 crore to 91% among those above Rs. 20 crore.
Yet scale does not necessarily ensure stable partnerships. Only 24% of the smallest non-profits and 36% of the largest report that a majority of their CSR funder relationships have lasted four years or more. Changes in CSR leadership and shifts in corporate strategy are identified as common reasons behind partnership discontinuity.
This makes long-term planning difficult for non-profits, especially in sectors such as education, healthcare, livelihoods and climate action, where results often require sustained engagement over several years.
Shared Power Debate
The report presents a nuanced picture of power and accountability in CSR partnerships. Around 81% of CSR teams and 73% of non-profits believe that power is evenly balanced between funders and implementing organisations.
However, the two sides differ on accountability. Only 7% of CSR teams believe that non-profits are solely accountable for programme outcomes, while nearly half of non-profits view themselves as solely responsible. The finding indicates that implementation partners may still carry a disproportionate burden for achieving outcomes despite shared programme design and funding decisions.
SSE Opportunity Emerging
The Social Stock Exchange (SSE) is emerging as another important area of interest. Among non-profits interested in the SSE, 49% identify CSR funding as their primary reason for listing, ahead of high-net-worth individuals and retail donors. At the same time, 12% of non-profits surveyed have not heard of the SSE.
On the corporate side, 37% of CSR teams are interested in the SSE but have not yet acted. Notably, 67% of CSR teams open to the platform said they would consider routing residual or passive CSR funds through it.
The report suggests that credible, CSR-ready non-profits available for subscription on the SSE between January and March 2027 could be well placed to access unutilised CSR funds.
Beyond Compliance
The report also places India’s CSR landscape in a global context. Corporate giving in the United States, France, India and China ranges between 0.6% and 1.4% of corporate profits. India’s giving stands at 0.9% of total corporate profits, even though only around half of corporate profits are subject to the mandatory 2% CSR provision.
With 69% of CSR teams reporting that more than half of their members have a social-sector education, the sector is also becoming more specialised. The report ultimately makes a compelling case: India’s CSR ecosystem must move beyond compliance-led grants towards partnerships that are long-term, trust-based and designed to build resilient social institutions.
