Good Karma

Anand Mahindra, Salman Khan, Naresh Trehan, Prasoon Joshi and Soniya Bosco have something in common: they all strongly believe in giving for a cause close to them. It’s a different matter that 28-yearold Bosco is not a celebrity in this league but her contribution, like that of several others, adds up and helps the needy. “People want to give, but somebody needs to approach them in a correct way for a genuine cause,” says Divakar Shetty, a Mumbai based hotelier, who supports the education of all his employees. Although India does not rate very high on the world giving index, Indians, in their own way, give to causes close to their heart.

Organised giving and charity is still nascent in India, as the most popular form of giving is largely to religious institutions like temples, churches and community institutions. These institutions in turn use the collected money to run schools and hospitals for the needy. A lot of this haphazard giving is changing with the advent of NGOs and online portals channelising funds for a cause. GiveIndia, iCharity and CAF (Charities Aid Foundation), are all working towards creating a platform to easily facilitate and drive funds to causes common to a larger audience.

Adding credibility

One of the most common causes for reluctance among people to donate is the lack of transparency in the way their contributions are utilised. Says Pune-based Sachin Mohod, “I have been inclined to give to a cause, but always felt uneasy due to not knowing if the money was being used appropriately.” But the advent of online platforms and the involvement of corporate India has brought in credibility to the way funds are collected and ensuring that they are used for what they are collected.

Large organisations like Coca-Cola India are turning enablers for its employees in finding a way to connect with social issues close to them. In 2014, the company rolled out ‘Swayam’, an initiative that encourages associates to give back to the society through monetary contribution and take time-off from work to be part of the action. Sameer Wadhawan, VP-HR, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, says: “We partnered with GiveIndia and our 66 associates participated by signing up to make monthly contributions to a cause of their choice.”

Platforms like GiveIndia have over 200 NGOs associated with it, which have gone through a rigorous listing process to check due diligence across different causes. Causes chosen by GiveIndia are on the basis of its philosophy of giving to the poorest of poor of the society. This way, the donor is given the choice of giving to any of these listed NGOs. The payroll giving model works very well for all parties because it ensures a fixed contribution by a donor instead of sporadic and impulsive contributions (See: How payroll giving works).

Typically, the payroll giving platforms identify causes and evaluate them before channelling funds. They next contact corporates who have extensive

employee strength in sectors like manufacturing, BPO, financial services and so on, where a larger section can make contributions regularly. Corporate India, as part of its CSR initiatives, has identified areas where it would like to contribute. Many a times, these initiatives get dovetailed with those of employees who have actively got into volunteering to push for such causes to succeed. Successful entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala setup the Swades Foundation with a mission to empower 1 million lives in five years through 360-degree development. The development is focused across community mobilisation; water and sanitation; education; health and nutrition; agriculture and livelihood. The fact that it had Bollywood links helps the charity attract funding from the industry as well outside.

Convenience and ease

Payroll giving is fast catching up in India with several large corporate offering their employees a way to contribute to their share. “To donate `100 a month is not a big deal, but when 1,000 employees do it each month it stacks up to Rs. 12 lakh a year, which is a sizeable sum,” says Shetty. The beauty of payroll giving is its simplicity, which does not make one feel the pinch of giving away a lot of money by paying small sums regularly. Payroll giving starts with as little as Rs. 100 per month and, in most cases, organisations match-up the sum that is contributed jointly by employees. The move in some organisations has also been a positive influence to check on employee attrition as employees see the employer to be a partner in the causes that are close to them.

The convenience is driving even relatively new and small organisations like Snapdeal to sign up to payroll giving programmes. Snapdeal rakes up Rs. 2 lakh-Rs. 3 lakh through employee contributions that goes to charity. Payroll charity giving has found takers among corporates such as ITC, Genpact, TCS, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Vodafone Group, among others, where, on an average, employees contribute upwards of Rs. 200 a month. The causes towards which they contribute include education, healthcare and upliftment of under-privileged children.

Realising the professional standards expected, online charity platforms regularly audit the charities they channelise funds for. To make it a two-way process, they also come up with detailed donation utilisation feedback report and provide for tax receipts for donors to claim tax benefits under Section 80G.

An extension of payroll giving is volunteering, which many professionals and employees do by devoting time to a cause. Adman and writer Prasoon Joshi has been creating advertisements for free for causes close to his heart. He has also worked on campaigns linked to a wide variety of issues such as eradication of polio and malnutrition in India, children committing suicides due to exam stress and issues pertaining to women’s rights. These initiatives, he feels, are far more valuable than giving money to causes. There is a large population that is making small and regular contributions and in the process creating a social capital, which will go a long way in changing lives. To quote Mother Teresa, “It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” You too can do your bit and be the change agent.

khushboo@outlookindia.com