How to Apply for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation – India Fund

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s work in India centers around funding small NGOs working with the most vulnerable communities in priority geographical areas. The India Fund offers grants ranging from ₹10,00,000 to ₹30,00,000 with a rolling application cycle, evaluated biannually in March and October, for project durations of 1 to 2 years. If you’re considering applying for this grant, here are some key things you need to know about the India Fund application process:

The India Fund believes that communities must be central to the work partners undertake and should place people facing disadvantage in India at the heart of leading change and designing solutions to overcome inequality. 

The strategic aims of the fund are to:

• encourage NGOs to take on community-centric development programs.
• enable communities to take charge of their development and improve their lives.
• encourage development funding to address systemic change; and
• enhance the capacity of organizations and people who facilitate the above aims.

Who do the funds want to support?

Organizations supported within the Fund have to be local Indian NGOs with Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration.

The fund supports the organizations who are:

• working with communities to develop their ideas;
• improving the overall well-being of communities in the long term – not just short-term improvements;
• developing links between their work and those of the panchayats (in rural areas) and the municipalities (in urban areas);
• aware of and mitigating their environmental impact seeking to improve the ecology of the area they’re based; and
• working to promote gender equality and support people of all genders to make change.

What will they fund?

Vulnerable communities

They fund organizations working with vulnerable communities. This includes but is not limited to the following groups:

• Communities with little or no access to education
• Communities with little or no access to health services
• Dalit communities, particularly those in dangerous or harmful work
• Disabled people, particularly children
• Families living in extreme poverty
• Tribal communities fighting for or dispossessed of their land and resources
• Women

They want to fund organizations that support these communities to build on their strengths and develop leadership.

Priority geographical areas

They only fund work in their priority areas. This focuses on central parts of India which are among the poorest parts of the country, stretching between the eastern part of Gujarat in the west to West Bengal and Assam in the east.

They support work in the following states:

• Madhya Pradesh
• Chhattisgarh
• Odisha
• Jharkhand
• Bihar
• West Bengal
• Assam

In addition to these states, the fund also supports work in certain culturally identifiable regions in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan which face more extreme poverty than other parts in those states:

• Mewar and Hadoti (southern and south-eastern Rajasthan)
• Bundelkhand (Northern Madhya Pradesh and southern districts of Uttar Pradesh bordering Madhya Pradesh)
• The Dangs (south-eastern Gujarat)
• Telangana (northern Andhra Pradesh)
• Vidharbha (eastern and northern Maharashtra)

What is the application process?

There are two ways to apply to the India Fund, depending on the scale of work your organization does.

Application Process for India Fund (Micro-Level)

Eligibility Criteria:

• Local NGOs with direct community engagement.
• Annual budget typically under Rs 1.5 crore.
• Operations focused within priority geographical areas.

2. Submit Application: Submit your funding request via its online portal. Applications are accepted continuously.
3. Review Schedule: Applications are evaluated biannually in March and October.

Applying for Meso- or Macro-Level Funding

Eligibility Criteria:

• Organizations involved in policy advocacy and capacity building.
• Projects integrating insights from multiple micro-level initiatives.
• Operations may extend beyond priority geographical areas.

1. Request a Call: Initiate contact to discuss eligibility for higher-level funding.
2. Submit Application: Upon recommendation, submit your funding proposal online.
3. Review Schedule: Applications are reviewed biannually in March and October.

For more information on applying and exploring opportunities with the India Fund, visit the Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s official website or contact their grants management team directly.

Best of luck with your application. 

Do you want to learn how to write a winning proposal? Check out the link below!