India's Leading Giving Platform

The Giving Circle is an Indian fundraising platform for people who want to make a difference. You choose a cause you care about, start a fundraiser for the verified NGO working on it, and raise funds by sharing it with your personal and professional network. We call these volunteer fundraisers Cause Champions.

Straight to the NGO. Donations go directly to the partner NGO through the NGO's own payment gateway and into the NGO's own bank account. The Giving Circle does not receive, hold, or process donation funds at any stage.

Your money never passes through us, which is the first thing to know. Donations go into the partner NGO's own bank account through its own payment gateway, and The Giving Circle does not receive, hold or process donation funds at any stage.

Every NGO on the platform has been checked by our own team before it was listed. We verify that it is registered, that its 80G and where relevant its FCRA certificates are genuine and current, and we visit its office and meet the people who run it. Not every organisation that approaches us is listed.

You can see each partner's registration and 80G numbers on its page and check them yourself. We would rather you did.

Before an NGO appears on The Giving Circle, we go and meet it.

We start with the documents. We check that the organisation is registered, and that its tax exemption certificates, its 80G and where relevant its FCRA, are genuine and current. This is done by our own team.

We then visit its office and meet the people who run it. We ask how the work is done and how the organisation is run, and we see that work on the ground wherever we can. Not every organisation that approaches us is listed.

Every partner also commits, in writing, to sharing updates on the work your donation supports. That is a condition of being listed, not a courtesy.

We should also tell you what we do not do. We do not audit an NGO's accounts. Our verification tells you that an organisation is real, compliant, and run by people we have met and questioned. It is not a financial audit.

Yes. We only work with NGOs that hold a valid 80G certificate, and the receipt is issued directly by the NGO rather than by The Giving Circle, because your donation is made through the NGO's own payment gateway. It reaches you on the email address you give when you donate, so do check it is correct.

80G is claimed against the financial year in which you give, not the year you file. A gift made on 30 March belongs to the financial year that is ending; one made on 2 April belongs to the next.

One thing worth knowing: 80G is a deduction under the old tax regime. If you file under the new regime you will not be able to claim it, though your donation reaches the cause exactly the same way. Your tax adviser is the right person to confirm what applies to you.

We would like to hear from you. Get in touch through the form on this site. Every organisation goes through the same verification, which includes a review of your registration and tax exemption documents, a visit to your office and a conversation with the people running the work.