Three things NGOs need to change before applying for CSR funds
- Farhan Shaikh
- Aug 11
- 5 min read
A nonprofit guide to make your organisation credible, fundable, and visible to donors, and ready for CSR funds and NGO grants.
One nonprofit keeps getting the same response from potential funders and CSR companies: Your organisation does not seem to be the right fit for us.
Another nonprofit has a detailed deck with multiple programmes information, graphs and figures. Yet, after the meeting ends, the CSR company has one question: “So… What exactly does your organisation do?”
An NGO founder describes their organisation’s initiatives in climate, education, women empowerment, beach clean-up and medical health drives. What looks like covering multiple bases, in fact leaves the audience, stakeholders, and donors confused.
CSR companies, donors, and corporate philanthropy funding nonprofits have similar questions. “Should we go with the NGO doing everything or support the organisation focusing on solving one problem?”
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Hundreds of nonprofit founders and teams receive similar feedback.
The fundraising challenge for NGOs
India has 5.94 lakh registered NGOs in 2026, according to NGO Darpan Portal by NITI Aayog. A recent study by Dasra and Kearney in India Nonprofit Report 2025 found that 91% of nonprofits are managing with an annual budget of under 10 crore. In contrast, only 1% of NGOs have funding of over 50 crore.
Even organisations with good social impact and awareness programmes sometimes are not easily discovered. Often overshadowed by bigger nonprofits, they find it hard to compete in the sector growing increasingly competitive.
One might squarely attribute the limitations of small and mid-sized nonprofits to ineffective fundraising. Undeniably, a part of it, but the issue runs deeper than that.
Empowerment. Sustainability. Development.
Last year, I attended a conference where a friend working in the social sector was moderating a session. Speakers shared insights on India’s funding scenario in a room packed with NGO founders, fundraising teams and more.
As the session ended, a man in his early 40s hesitantly approached one of the speakers. He appeared to be handing her a card. Taking cue, others followed. In the next 30 seconds, around 5-6 people surrounded the speaker.
Nonprofit representatives described their organisation, mentioned they needed funds and trailed off. Some of the most overused words – sustainability, empowerment, impact, livelihood, development – seemed to be floating around like quote bubbles.
After the second person was finished, everyone was starting to sound the same. If a nonprofit is not able to show their unique solutions, their expertise and a realistic mission and vision, donors will not be able to differentiate them from many nonprofits working for the same cause.
Three main factors that negatively impact NGOs:
Complex organisational structures or no strategy at all
A good organisational strategy for NGOs, instead of a for-profits marketing strategy, helps their teams fully connect with the organisation's mission, vision and values. Disarrayed teams encounter friction often when they cannot see a common goal. A structured system and foundation will ensure that the clarity is not muddled after a few years.
A complex structure, similarly, slows down the work. One team came across a grant opportunity, but by the time they compiled necessary information and put together a decent proposal, it was too late - the window was closed. Accessible knowledge resources, plans and tools help in steering in the right direction.
Create institutional knowledge so even when the team or the leadership changes, programmes don't slow down.
Reduce red tape when it comes to decision making. If the team has to follow a bureaucratic process to get a press release out, teams cannot function independently and the organisation might remain stuck with the same challenges years later.
Making programmes the identity of your nonprofit.
If the identity of the nonprofit revolves around its programmes, stakeholders question if the organisation is credible. A strong, credible NGO has distinct characteristics, reputation and a strong positioning in the sector. This reduces any negative impact on the programme and the organisation’s image in light of any issues.
It is important for nonprofits to decide which programmes they are working on, so it is aligned with their identity, values and mission. Some NGOs end up taking up programmes outside of their mission, because they were short on funds. This may help sustain the nonprofit another year, but it will make it harder for the NGO to establish a credible image.
Evaluate the resources your team has - human and financial. If programmes are muddling your original mission, you should assess the hidden costs of continuing to take up similar projects.
For an organisation to become fundable, they should be able to confidently show the impact of their programmes, demonstrate the success and chart a course to scale it. Potential funders can see the nonprofit's vision and are more likely to back them and their social cause.
Believing good work by itself will get them noticed.
NGOs are creating social change. Their missions are built to lift people out of poverty, make education accessible, and remove the challenges that still plague rural communities.
Nonprofits lose golden opportunities due to a poor communication strategy, and treating it as an afterthought. The communication team is brought in to “quickly draft a press release.” Without adequate background information, context, developments and nuances, the NGO gets dry results.
Same goes for going about the work, doing bare minimum communication activities. Harbouring the misconception that good work will speak for itself, is harmful to the organisation, keeping it from scaling its solutions and programmes. Nonprofit organisations are rapidly realising the importance of developing a strategic communication plan.
Encourage communication teams to participate in strategy decisions. Move beyond using a communications team only for PR.
Create an annual communication plan to chalk out the opportunities. This helps keep messaging intact and your narrative sharp and makes the organisation visible to stakeholders and supporters.
In a sector where multiple NGOs are working to solve similar social and development challenges, a nonprofit must be credible, fundable, and visible to succeed.
Nonprofits know best what they need to do and create solutions for causes that help improve thousands of lives. The problem only starts when teams are forced to change characters often - from managing programmes to fundraising to writing a press release.
How does Arcucom help nonprofits
Arcucom works with nonprofits as strategy partners to help organisations become credible, fundable, and visible. We help organisations keep their positioning clear, reduce wastage of financial and human resources and bring clarity to how they communicate so they can share their stories with the right strategies.
We support nonprofits implement and manage Google for Nonprofits, including Google Ad Grants. Our expertise spans creating nonprofit strategies that are customised to the social sector. For this, Arcucom has developed the ARC Programme
The ARC Programme
While nonprofits need funding to sustain, they must prove themselves authentic, relevant and clear in their purpose. This is why we developed the ARC Programme.
We have curated an evidence-led strategy programme for nonprofits who are:
Looking to build a stronger, credible presence,
Creating and delivering programmes that show impact, and
Trying to share the achievements and solutions with the audience, stakeholders and donors.
Under the ARC Programme, we work with nonprofits on three main pillars, bringing strategies and solutions, as per what the organisation needs. We offer a range of services:
Strategies and Systems
Strategic planning
Foundational strategies
NGO positioning
Website and email systems
Programmes Strengthening
Programme research and assessments
Impact reporting
Strategic Communications
Brand positioning
Messaging and narrative
Communication assets
Campaigns
Before we develop strategies, we figure out the problems behind the surface problem. For this, we conduct the ARC audit of the organisation across the three areas that makes them authentic, reliable, and clear to donors, CSR funders, and stakeholders. With the findings, strategies are customised as per the nonprofits’ needs focussed on areas that need improvement.
If you are thinking of strategies and plans to create a strong position for your nonprofit, reach donors who will understand your work, and communicate the programmes with correct messaging to build support and trust, we can help.
Reach out to our team today and we’d be happy to find the best solutions for your social impact organisation.
