FAQs

This is the space where you may find answers to your queries and clarifications on iCONGO and its members, activities, projects, associates and other information related to iCONGO. The Q & A given below is mostly queries that came to us from people or organisations and we have tried to answer it to the best of our capabilities. However these are not the only questions that need to be answered and you may have other queries. If so write to meenu@icongo.in. This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it and we will try and answer the same and put it up on our website for the benefit of all netizens who need some answers related to iCONGO.

What is iCONGO?

iCONGO is like a CII, FICCI, NASSCOM or INS for the NGO, Development and Charity sector. iCONGO is not only a policy influencing collective hub that would work on bringing Corporates, Government bodies and the Citizens of India to link up with pre-screened credible charities and bring about change by creating a collective infrastructure to benefit all causes. iCONGO is a catalytic facilitator and works selflessly (without retaining any management or success fees from funds raised) for audited member NGOs to mobilize resources primarily and mostly from individual supporters thus bridging the big gap of giving for social causes in India. iCONGO realised the need to address issues due to which people in India have lost faith in the NGO sector and thus do not practice social giving by accepting only audited pre screened charities who may avail of the infrastructure created by iCONGO. Our aim is to get people to make social investment rather than just mindless and sporadic giving driven by impulsive emotion. People need to understand the issues related to a cause and drive accountability by getting involved and we aspire to create this critical mass of supporters by mainstreaming the cause. This is a first of its kind unique approach conceptualised and adopted by iCONGO as an apex hub for the collective.

Who is behind iCONGO?

iCONGO is a collective ownership between all the member NGOS registered with iCONGO after an audit process where in all NGOs pledge to adhere to the highest norms of credibility, transparency and accountability where they would maintain low administration and management costs and channel at least 80% of funds and resources for the cause and the community. It is driven by a Chief functionary duly elected by the governing council and he drives this purely on a voluntary basis.

What is social investment?

In India a place traditionally known for its giving patterns 95% of the people give for religious purposes and just around 4,00,000 people give for social causes because they get impulsive with the face of the child that most organisations use as the fundraising product. Before giving to the organisations one should understand how the organisation works with the children or the cause like we study stocks/ shares and mutual funds before investing our money. We should also look at the long term and drive accountability as individual supporters and know that just one or two years of giving can not improve the life of the child as a holistic approach is important. Thus it is iCONGO's mission to promote organised and involved giving that we term as social investment for the cause with pre screened credible charities.

Who are the members NGOs/ Charities?

iCONGO has a good mix of international, national and grass root charities. All members have to adhere to the basic credibility norms as given in the membership form. All members are audited by external agencies like Grant Thornton, Mercer and Prognosis. We have around 60 members now and over 500 have applied and we will accept them as members only after a stringent audit process. A lot of charities are averse to this process and do not like the iCONGO idea of the NGO accreditation and certification program we are implementing. You may not find a lot of big brand NGOs as our members since they are not adhering to the credibility norms where we drive accountability and professional management with not more than 20% of the funding as administration costs.

Who governs iCONGO?

iCONGO has a governance structure comprising of a governing council and an advisory council. Please refer to the Meet the iCONGOANS listed on our website