Call for Applications for INR 16.5 Cr HCL Grant Edition VIII; Deadline is June 18, 2022

New Delhi: NGOs working in the field of environment, health and education can apply for this coveted grant on the HCL Grant Portal HCL Grant Homepage | HCL Foundation

 HCL Grant has announced Edition VIII for recognizing the NGOs Transforming Rural India. The application portal is now live, and the last date for accepting online applications is June 18th, 2022.

Started in 2015, the HCL Grant is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment through the HCL Foundation, the CSR arm of HCL Technologies, to strengthen and empower NGOs, engage with them, and recognize them for their path-breaking work. HCL Foundation has now announced Edition VIII of the HCL Grant.

HCL Grant awards the winning NGOs in each Environment, Health, and Education category a grant of ₹5 Crore for a three-year project. The HCL Grant rewards the other finalists too, who are doing great work in their own right. So, the two other finalists in each category receive a grant of ₹25 lakhs for a year-long project mutually agreed upon with HCL Foundation and NGO after the final Jury meeting.

The application portal for HCL Grant for this year is live now. NGOs looking to apply for this year’s Grant can fill out the online application form through this portal, including the organizational profile, project abstract, and some mandatory documents.

HCL Grant is applicable for NGOs working in Environment, Health, and Education, with experience in implementing projects in rural India. Organizations with innovative, replicable, and sustainable models that can significantly contribute to rural development in Environment, Health, and Education 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 charges or fees while applying. There is no authorized individual, third party, company, agency, or organization to accept the application on behalf of the HCL Grant or ask for any monetary or in-kind benefit for completing the application process.

HCL Grant, an initiative by HCL Foundation, the philanthropic arm of HCL Technologies, is a step towards recognizing the ‘The Fifth Estate’ contributing to Nation Building. It started in 2015, 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 achieving sustainable socio-economic development. A unique aspect of the HCL Grant is that the organizations are recognized based on the ‘idea’ and their power to transform ideas into implementable projects and thereby transform Indian villages in a sustainable way. For more information, please log on to  https://www.hclfoundation.org/hcl-grant

Ms. Nidhi Pundhir, Director – HCL Foundation said that “Our aim to host the HCL Grant is to recognize the unique NGOs for their power to transform their ideas into reality and thereby change the communities. In the past, the need to acknowledge the crucial role of the fifth estate is more emphasized. The NGOs are bridging the gaps and helping the communities gain access to the essential resources and highlight the extraordinary 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 that features the winners and the work of 30 other shortlisted NGOs, 10 from each category. It 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 2022 were:

• PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT ACTION (PRADAN) – Environment -West Bengal.
• THE ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY – Health – Karnataka
• LANGUAGE AND LEARNING FOUNDATION – Education – Chhattisgarh.