“People click Donate, then leave before they pay.”
Cut the form to what the certificate needs and put UPI first. CRO (conversion rate optimisation) tests one change at a time.
This is mineHome / Industries / NGOs and social sector
Industries · NGOs and social sector
NGO digital marketingfor the social sector
For NGOs, trusts and foundations that need donors and CSR partners. We show what the money did, so people give, and then give again.
/ 01 Digital marketing for NGOs
Donors give to proof.Show them what the money did.
A donor gets nothing they can hold, so they give only when they can see where the money went. For NGOs, trusts, foundations and CSR-funded programmes, PromotEdge does NGO digital marketing.
We build donation pages that work on a phone, impact stories with consent, and pitches for company CSR (corporate social responsibility) teams. So more people give, more give again, and more companies agree to meet you.
NGO stands for non-governmental organisation. A donor asks quiet questions first. Is this NGO real? Where will my money go? Will I get a receipt? Your site must answer in a minute, on a phone.
Two kinds of givers need two routes. A person gives a small amount after one story. A company's CSR team gives far more, after weeks of checks.
We have run our own firm since 2015, so we treat a donor like a valued customer. We start with your case for support, one appeal and one page for about 90 days. Then we grow what worked across our digital marketing services.
/ 02 What usually gets in the way
What gets in the wayand the way through.
“People give once, and we never hear from them again.”
Send a same-day thank-you, the certificate and a note on what the gift did. Then invite monthly giving. A CRM (one list of every donor) sends the reminders.
This is mine“Our photos feel like begging. We're not comfortable with that.”
Show change, not misery, in people's own words, with written consent. Pity costs dignity. With children, we often show no faces.
This is mine“We send CSR proposals to companies, and nobody replies.”
Answer a CSR head's three checks on page one: an allowed activity, your registration and how you report results.
This is mine/ 03 Proof
Who we haveworked with.
Balrampur Foundation, the foundation of one of our clients, is on our client list. We haven't yet published an NGO case. The nearest work is a public-awareness campaign for Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in Durgapur: positioning, outdoor, press notes and social media.
Brands in this trade we have worked with
“An aligned partner is always a welcoming step. Someone who can think deep through lines, understand the matrix of product management. Fortunate enough, PromotEdge has been a partner in progress for me. …”
Bobby SrinivasChief Manager Marketing & Brand Marketing at Utkarsh India/ 04 Order to start
Trusted, found, given to.Then given to again.
| Step | What we do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Donation page | Registration and audited accounts up front, UPI first, one-time or monthly. We track every gift by source. | Trust is checked and money paid here. |
| 2. Donor care | A same-day thank-you, the certificate, a quarterly update and a year-end appeal. WhatsApp only for people who agreed. | A repeat donor needs no new ad spend. |
| 3. Impact stories | Field stories for social media and short films, with written consent, made by our video production team. | A named village or school beats a general appeal. |
| 4. Search and Ad Grants | SEO for your cause and city, Google Ads through Ad Grants, and AI answers. | People search for causes near them. |
| 5. CSR outreach | A CSR pitch deck and LinkedIn outreach to CSR heads. | A board committee decides CSR money. |
/ 05 Cost
What affects the cost of marketing an NGO.
We don't publish a price list. We quote after a first conversation. We'll also tell you what free tools, such as Google Ad Grants, can cover.
What affects the cost
- Starting point. A working donation page and donor list mean less set-up.
- One audience or two. Individual donors only, or CSR partners too.
- Field stories. Visits, photos, video and consent forms.
- Ad spend. Ad Grants if you qualify, plus any paid ads.
How we quote
- A 30-minute call about your cause, donors and registrations
- We check your website and past appeals, then write a scope
- A written quote follows within 2 working days, each cost on its own line
What you get in the quote
- A one-page consent note your board approves
- Page, stories, appeals and outreach, item by item
- A monthly report: donations, repeat donors and CSR meetings
- Third-party costs, such as ads or printing, at actuals
How it is billed
| Way of working | When it fits |
|---|---|
| Set-up project | Donation page, tracking and first appeal; timeline confirmed in the quote |
| Monthly retainer | Stories, social, donor emails, search and report; minimum 3 months, 30 days' notice to stop |
| Appeal by appeal | One year-end or festival appeal as a project; timeline confirmed in the quote |
Ask any agency how it counts repeat donors, not just likes. We can't do magic alone. The more involved you are, the faster you see results.
Every client and project is different. The cost depends on the effort it takes, so we price after the first call.
/ 06 Services
Services forNGOs and trusts.
Full service for NGOs, trusts and foundations that are not religious bodies.
Digital marketing for NGOs
Donors and volunteers reached through search, ads, social and WhatsApp as one plan, judged on gifts and sign-ups.
SEO and AI search
Search engine optimisation (SEO) helps people who search for your cause find you.
GoogleSocial media and volunteers
Field stories and volunteer calls. Events run within the PromotEdge group.
InstagramFacebookYouTubeAI for NGO teams
AI drafts updates in local languages and sorts volunteer questions, and a staff member checks every word first.
Brand strategy and positioning
Choose the one cause you want to be known for.
Website and donation page
Trust details up front, and phone giving through UPI (India's instant bank payment).
All services for NGOs and social sector (7)
Impact stories and video
Films and field stories told with dignity, after written consent.
YouTubeGoogle Ads and Ad Grants
Ad Grants search ads if you qualify, a small paid budget if not.
Google AdsFacebook and Instagram appeals
Appeals for adults who care, never aimed at children.
MetaFacebookInstagramDonor emails and WhatsApp
Thank-yous, certificate reminders and a year-end appeal. WhatsApp only for people who agreed.
WhatsAppCSR pitch and outreach
A CSR pitch deck and LinkedIn outreach to funders.
LinkedInAnnual and CSR reports
Reports with a few numbers and stories that donors read.
Donor records and AI tools
A CRM keeps every donor in one place. AI tools draft thank-yous you check.
Not sure whether to start with individual donors or CSR partners? Let's think it through together. Talk it through
/ 07 AI and automation
Where AI can help NGOs and social sectortoday.
Real business problems, from sales to back office, each with a plain AI fix. A person stays in charge of every step.
A survey of 304 nonprofits found many had not actively asked everyday givers for gifts, and digital tools raised the odds of raising funds.
The AI fix AI drafts thank-you notes and reminders in local languages for each group of donors. The fundraiser approves every message; only donors who agreed are contacted.
A 2025 study of 100 nonprofits found most lacked digital readiness, and few used free ad grants or offered content in more than one language.
The AI fix AI helps write free ad-grant campaigns, drafts story posts in several languages and suggests donation-page wording. The communications head checks facts; beneficiaries must agree before they are shown.
AI and automation systems WhatsApp automation Chatbots
These show what such tools do. Each card links its source. We do not claim a past project here.
Our beliefWe use AI to save your team's time. A person still makes the decision.
Go deeperMore on this
The social sector in depth
Market size and trend
Bain and Dasra's 2026 report puts total social sector spending at about ₹27 lakh crore in 2024-25, and about 95% of it is public money. Private giving, CSR included, is projected at about ₹1.43 lakh crore, growing 9% to 11% a year to 2029-30.
Source: Bain & Company and Dasra, India Philanthropy Report 2026, 26 February 2026. The report calls the 2024-25 private giving figure a projection
How donors decide
Our view: your donor hears a story from a friend or a post, searches your name, checks your registration, then pays on a phone. A company's CSR team asks its board first and wants a report. Both drop out at a slow page, no receipt, or a story with no proof.
What donors expect
In their words: "Is this real? Where did my money go? Will I get a receipt?" Few say aloud that they also want a reply within a day and an honest word on what a gift cannot fix. Companies ask for clean accounts and a report on results.
How NGOs here raise money
Small online gifts need a fast page and a receipt. Monthly giving works like a subscription, so keeping donors matters; see our business models guide. CSR money and grants need proof and reports. Foreign gifts need FCRA registration or prior permission. School and college trusts face the same donor questions; see our Education page.
Where it is heading, and AI today and next
Bain and Dasra say private giving cannot close the sector's funding gap without faster growth. So each repeat donor counts. AI today can answer donor questions and draft thank-yous you check. AI next may name NGOs in its answers, so clear pages matter. AI cannot earn trust for you. See our AI systems.
Source: Bain & Company and Dasra, India Philanthropy Report 2026, 26 February 2026, for the funding gap and the growth needed
People, bodies and stories
Associations and bodies
NITI Aayog (NPO Darpan): runs the portal that gives non-profits a Darpan ID.
Ministry of Home Affairs (FCRA): regulates foreign contributions.
CSR portal (Ministry of Corporate Affairs): shows company CSR spending by state and district.
GiveIndia: a giving platform since 2000; its site lists registrations and audited accounts.
GuideStar India: look up not-for-profits before you give.
Source: Each body's own website, read 10 October 2026. The CSR portal address and its role come from a PIB release of 25 March 2026
People who scaled the category
Shiv Nadar, who founded HCL Technologies, and his family gave ₹2,708 crore through the Shiv Nadar Foundation in 2024-25, says the EdelGive Hurun list. The giving focused on education and art and culture.
Shaheen Mistri founded Teach For India in 2008, after starting an Akanksha centre for 15 children.
Source: Business Standard, Nadar family tops philanthropy list again with ₹2,708 crore donations, 6 November 2025. Teach For All, Shaheen Mistri, read 10 October 2026
A brand journey worth knowing: Akshaya Patra
Akshaya Patra began in 2000 with 1,500 children in five Bengaluru schools. It marked five billion meals in March 2026.
In 2003 it signed a school-meal pact with the Karnataka government. A trustee told Business Today in 2019 that the government pays about 60% of each meal and donors the rest. Its donate page asks for one gift that feeds a child for a year.
Source: Akshaya Patra, History, read 10 October 2026. Akshaya Patra, 5 billion meals, read 10 October 2026. President of India, press release on the five billion meals event, 17 March 2026. Business Today, Akshaya Patra's onion-garlic free mid-day meals trigger funding debate, 7 June 2019
What you can do, and how we would deliver
What you can do, and what is not ours
Keep your 12A and 80G tax-exemption papers, FCRA papers and audited accounts current, and get a Darpan ID. Your board and chartered accountant own the legal papers, and field care is yours. We do not take religious bodies as clients, with respect for their work. We take the pages, stories and outreach.
How we would deliver, and why each step
First one cause and one appeal, so donors know what they fund. Then the donation page, because a gift is lost on a weak page. Then donor care, since a repeat donor needs no new ad spend. Stories with consent and search come next. CSR outreach comes last, because a board wants proof first. Rima Shaw, our Senior Account Manager, is your day-to-day contact and sends the weekly reports. Sayantan Guha, our Chief Creative Director, writes the creative brief and the campaign ideas, and directs ad films and sports work.
/ 08 Worth knowing
Worthknowing.
Useful before you start. Open it when you need it.
Checklist, rules, AI for operations (3)
Brand basics checklist
The basics
- Logo and brand guidelinesOne set of logo files and a one-page guide to colours and fonts.
- Domain and business emailyourname.com and name@yourname.com, not a free mail address.
- A website that works on phonesFast, secure, with Call and WhatsApp buttons.
- Google Business ProfileCorrect name, hours, photos and category.
- WhatsApp BusinessCatalogue, quick replies and an away message.
- Social media handlesThe same name on each platform you use.
- Business cardsName, role, phone, email and website.
- Letterhead and invoiceYour legal name, address and tax details, with your logo.
- Company profile or brochureOne document you can send on WhatsApp.
- SignageMatches your logo and your Google listing.
- Photos and short videosReal work, real people, real premises.
For NGOs and trusts
- 12A and 80G registration numbersDonors need the 80G number on receipts. Source: Income Tax Department, 80G FAQs, 2025.
- FCRA registration and renewal date, if you hold FCRAMHA's FAQs say apply for renewal six months before expiry. Source: mha.gov.in.
- Annual report and audited accounts pageDonors and CSR teams look here first. A good habit, not a legal rule.
- Donation page with receipt and refund policyUPI first, receipt sent at once, refund terms in plain words. Good practice.
- Beneficiary consent form and photo policyA parent's verifiable consent is needed for children. Source: DPDP Act, 2023, s.9.
- Darpan portal IDNITI Aayog's NPO Darpan gives it. Government grants, FCRA and 80G need it. Source: niti.gov.in.
- CSR registration, if you take company fundsNGOs that run company CSR projects must register with the Central Government. Source: PIB, 2021.
Five rulebooks behind every appeal.
We read the rules that apply to you.
Tax (80G). From 1 April 2026, the Income-tax Act, 2025 renames Form 10BD as 113 and 10BE as 114. No deduction for cash gifts above ₹2,000, or under the new tax regime (Income Tax Department, December 2025).
Foreign donations (FCRA, 2010). The Home Ministry says you need registration or prior permission to take foreign contribution. Keep it out of your domestic bank account.
Company giving (Companies Act, 2013, Section 135). A firm with ₹500 crore net worth, ₹1,000 crore turnover or ₹5 crore profit must spend 2% of its three-year average profit on Schedule VII causes (Ministry of Corporate Affairs).
NGOs as CSR partners. Since 1 April 2021, NGOs that run CSR projects for companies must register with the Central Government. About 60% of CSR spending goes through such agencies.
Children's data (Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, Section 9). Under 18 is a child. A child's data needs a parent's verifiable consent, and no tracking or targeted ads. The Rules (14 November 2025) allow eighteen months to comply.
Google's rules. Google for Nonprofits in India needs FCRA registration. Ad Grants gives up to US$10,000 a month in search ads, if you keep a 5% click-through rate and a conversion each month.
This is general guidance, not legal advice.
Companies spent ₹34,908.75 crore on CSR in 2023-24, up from ₹27,141.45 crore in 2021-22. Education took ₹12,134.57 crore (Ministry of Corporate Affairs, 25 March 2026).
AI for the back office
At a 2025 CSR round table, participants said NGOs must produce many reports and audits, in varying funder formats, often within unrealistic timelines.
The AI fix One master sheet holds project data and receipts. AI turns it into each funder's format and drafts the narrative. The programme head checks every number and signs off.
Source: ISDM and GRAAM, CSR Round Table event brief (event held in Bengaluru, 3 December 2025; PDF dated April 2026)
India's data protection rules need clear notices, consent and breach reports from groups that hold personal data, so NGOs must know where beneficiary data sits.
The AI fix AI finds files holding personal details, drafts plain notices in local languages and keeps a consent log. The programme head decides what to keep; a lawyer reviews notices.
For NGOs with foreign funds, the Home Ministry says any transaction in FCRA accounts after registration expires or is cancelled is a violation.
The AI fix A compliance calendar tracks expiry, renewal and return dates, and AI flags unusual entries in FCRA bank statements. The finance head and chartered accountant decide and file.
Source: Taxmann, 25 January 2025 (reporting an MHA public notice)
Donors leaving at payment, one-time gifts or CSR mails with no reply? Tell us which hurts, and we'll say where we'd begin. Tell us your cause
/ 09 Learn from the leaders
What we can learn from the leadersin NGOs and social sector.
Well-known Indian brands, each with one plain lesson for an owner in your line of work. Names only, as public examples.
Akshaya Patra
Show donors one clear thing their money does, and keep a running count in public. A simple count makes your work easy to trust.
What they did It was serving 1,500 children in 2000. On 17 March 2026 the President of India marked its milestone of 5 billion meals, according to its own page.
Source: Akshaya Patra Foundation, 2026
GiveIndia
Put your annual reports and audited accounts where any donor can find them. Open books build trust before the first gift.
What they did GiveIndia says it was established in 2000 as a not-for-profit company. Its site lists audited financials and audit reports for each year from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25.
Source: GiveIndia website, accessed 2026
Pratham
Publish your own research. Good data can make you a trusted voice and gives others a reason to link to you.
What they did Pratham says its journey began in 1995 in Mumbai. Its site lists the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) among its programmes.
Source: Pratham website, accessed 2026
Teach For India
Turn your people into your story. Keep past team members and supporters connected so they keep sharing your work.
What they did Its site says Fellows teach full-time in under-resourced classrooms across 9 cities. It also says 5800+ alumni continue to serve children and alumni founded 160+ organisations.
Smile Foundation
Show badges and outside checks on your donate page. Donors feel safer when someone else has looked at your work.
What they did Smile Foundation says it was established in 2002. Its site lists GuideStar India Platinum accreditation, CAF America accreditation and UN ECOSOC special consultative status since 2012.
SEWA
Name the people you serve by their real role, such as workers or members. A clear number and purpose make your message easy to share.
What they did SEWA says Elaben Bhatt founded it on 12 April 1972. Its site gives 3.78 million women workers as members across 20 states.
Source: SEWA website, accessed 2026
Goonj
Turn a plain idea into a repeatable campaign. Give people an easy way to pass on what they already have.
What they did Goonj says human dignity and the world's surplus are at the core of its idea. Its Goonj It! effort works with surplus or waste material, mostly textile.
Source: Goonj website, accessed 2026
These brands are not clients of ours and we use no logos. Each card links its source.
Want a second pair of eyes on your donation page and consent note? Send them over and we'll read them with you. Send on WhatsApp
/ 10 What happens next
What happensafter you ask.
For projects we think we can help, this is how it goes.
- 01
A strategist calls you
In one working day: a 30-minute call with one of our strategists about your business and what is not working.
- 02
You get a 1-page plan
A short, honest plan: what to fix first and what we would do. It is free.
- 03
A quote, if you want one
If you want to go ahead, we send a quote within 2 working days.
We confirm the timeline in the quote. Contracts start at 3 months, with 30 days' notice to stop.
Brands and people are named only as public examples. They are not PromotEdge clients or endorsers unless stated.
Keep exploring
Related pages.
The expertise that fits your business, and the places we work.
NGOs and social sector
Running an NGO, trust or foundation?
Tell us what's not working.We'll show you where the donors are.
Straight answers.
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A clear website, a donation page that works on a phone and honest impact stories. Then search, social media, donor emails and a pitch for company CSR teams. Tracking shows which effort brings donations. We do not take religious bodies as clients.
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We won't claim to be the best. Ask each agency four things. Can it explain FCRA and donation certificates plainly? How will it get consent for a beneficiary's photo? Will it report repeat donors, or only likes? Can it pitch to CSR teams too?
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It depends on your starting point, whether you need CSR outreach, how much field content you want and your ad spend. We don't publish a price list. After a 30-minute call, a written scope and quote follow within 2 working days.
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A fixed donation page and a letter to past donors can help within weeks. Social media takes time too, and SEO results usually come in 3 to 6 months. CSR money is slower, because a board committee decides it. We confirm the timeline in the quote.
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Some can. Google's India page asks for society, trust or Section 8 registration, plus FCRA registration. Government bodies, hospitals and schools can't apply, though their charitable arms can. The account must then keep a 5% click-through rate and one conversion a month.
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It depends on citizenship. An Indian citizen abroad, giving personal savings through normal banking channels, is not making a foreign contribution. A foreign citizen, including an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holder, is, and that needs FCRA registration or prior permission. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
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Only with care. Section 9 of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 needs a parent's or guardian's verifiable consent before you process a child's personal data. It also bars tracking children or aiming ads at them. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
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Yes. Our servicing team is based in cities across India, and most work runs online with daily contact. We meet you in your city at least once every three months. A team member can work from your site if needed. Our in-house team of 65+ also uses consultants and partner agencies.