Bengaluru, March 26, 2020: Goodera, a Series B-funded startup and India’s largest and most trusted platform for CSR and volunteering, in partnership with FICCI SEDF, FICCI’s Foundation working in CSR space since 1995. Goodera and FICCI SEDF today announced a series of initiatives to channelise CSR capital towards COVID-19 relief and rehabilitation. 150+ CSR Heads from the biggest companies of India representing more than INR 5000 crore of annual CSR spend (~40 per cent of India’s CSR capital) gathered virtually on a webinar along with Goodera, FICCI SEDF and government agencies. The group discussed different projects in which CSR capital can help in fighting the pandemic. Some of the projects discussed include ventilators for hospitals, food packets for vulnerable sections of the society, PPE infrastructure for health workers, amongst others.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has declared the pandemic a notified disaster and has begun to accept CSR support from Corporates under Schedule VII’s Preventive Healthcare and Disaster Management areas. State governments have also requested support for PPE kits, N95 masks, ventilators, pumps, beds and medicines in large volumes. India requires massive support from the entire ecosystem to combat COVID-19.
25 per cent of India’s CSR is managed on the Goodera platform. As the leaders in the space of Corporate goodness, Goodera along with FICCI has taken the initiative to bring the CSR sector together in this fight. Some of the largest NGOs in the country were also in attendance, having offered to collaborate with Corporates and enhance the impact they create.
The webinar was hosted by Abhishek Humbad, Founder and CEO of Goodera. Joining him were Jyoti Vij, Deputy Secretary-General at FICCI, Uma Seth, Senior Director & Head Corporate Social Responsibility, Diversity & Inclusion at FICCI SEDF and Sujata Saunik, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra.In this webinar, the discussion revolved around the best practices and learnings to facilitate COVID-19 relief and rehabilitation under the CSR banner. Right now, a few large companies have undertaken steps to prevent the spread of the virus with funding, research, employee donations and relief for daily-wage workers. But the information asymmetry is huge and Goodera and FICCI SEDF will act as a bridge to connect the supply (Corporates, startups, their employees) and demand (NGOs, Governments, Hospitals, etc.) to channelise and facilitate CSR capital in an organised manner.
In partnership with various social organisations and government bodies, Goodera has created a list of 30+ projects across multiple geographies in India which can be funded through CSR. It has also carefully curated donation and virtual volunteering opportunities so that employees at all these corporations who are working from home can contribute towards the COVID-19 relief.
“Goodera will connect healthcare and other requirements arising from government bodies with CSR teams in real-time. Together with FICCI, we coordinate with government agencies on the companies’ behalf in executing and documenting CSR support. Our network of NGOs and healthcare infrastructure vendors will help companies out with procurement as well as delivery. Needless to say, we will help you track the dissemination of the funds and understand the impact your funds are creating on the ground,” said Abhishek, Founder and CEO of Goodera. He also urged all companies to act in a time-sensitive manner and channelise any unspent CSR capital towards COVID-19 relief efforts.
Besides this, Goodera has also opened its donations portal to enable people to contribute to the fight against COVID-19 by donating to the NGOs fighting the pandemic on the front lines. It is also working with the NGOs to ensure effective utilisation of the funds raised.
“India is going through a very tough period and FICCI is working closely with the government to understand the situation, gaps and needs. Simultaneously, FICCI SEDF and Goodera are partnering with India Inc and NGOs to bridge the gap on the ground. We seek the industry’s help in pooling their CSR funds to help those who have been most impacted socially and economically due to the unprecedented health crisis that the country is facing,” said Jyothi Vij, Deputy Secretary-General at FICCI.
With the country in lockdown, the time to act is now. We need to spread awareness and help people across our entire economic ecosystem to fight COVID-19. Together, we can ward off this pandemic, and together, we will prevail.