Welcome to India's largest and most reliable list of certified organisations NGOs who are pre-vetted and "ready-to-partner".
GuideStar India certifies NGOs based on their level of transparency & public accountability after a rigorous due diligence carried out by our team of certification experts. Due diligence is based on verifying financial and legal compliances consisting of a thorough scrutiny of registration documents, tax returns, FCRA returns, audited financial statements & auditor's reports, public disclosures on our portal, reporting key facts to stakeholders as per our Annual Report disclosure template and confirmation of third party site visits and references.
Certification is based on the financial year reviewed and requires annual renewal. Reviews based on FY 2019-20 are under process for organisations that have completed annual audit and filing of IT Returns.
The unique aspect of our certification is that NGOs are required to voluntarily submit information and documents for due diligence by displaying the same on their profile on our portal. This ensures high levels of transparency via public disclosures and establishes credibility through public accountability. It also enriches the organisation's online profile and, makes available rich information about it to all stakeholders to make informed decisions.
Until Jan 2015, we certified NGOs for our institutional users based on their specific requirements for due diligence. We launched our standardised NGO certification programme in Jan 2015, to reduce duplication in the efforts of users and NGOs avoiding wastage of resources of all players. With our standardised certification programme, you could choose the level of certification required as per you need, shortlist NGOs that match your cause/ location, and if you wish to carry out additional vetting of the NGO's programme or there aspects, you collect our due diligence diagnostic report from us and request the NGO only for additional information.
What are the types of GuideStar India Certification
GuideStar India Platinum (Champion Level) is a Seal issued after thorough due diligence of an organisation for legal & financial compliances and a certification that the organisation is transparent and holds itself accountable to not just its stakeholders but also to the general public. It is a review based on facts presented by the NGO and verified against documents issued by regulatory authorities, statutory auditors, past donors and key visitors or memberships/ accreditations with philanthropic intermediaries. It is additionally based on the organisation making detailed disclosures in the GuideStar India template for disclosures in the public domain based on Credibility Alliance norms.
It certifies that the organisation: is a bonafide not for profit, its financial statements are in order, it files its annual returns with the Income Tax, Ministry of Home Affairs (if applicable) and its Registrar (if applicable), the organisation practices high level of transparency and the organisation is making critical disclosures in the public domain about its identity, aims, performance, governance and financials in a standardized and comparable form as per the Credibility Alliance norms. The seal and certificate are valid for 10 to 15 months depending on when the organisation applies for certification as due diligence is linked to the financial year reviewed.
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GuideStar India Gold (Advanced Level) is a Seal issued after thorough due diligence of an organisation for legal & financial compliances and sharing these transparently in the public domain. It is a review based on facts presented by the NGO and verified against documents issued by regulatory authorities and statutory auditors. GuideStar India Silver is given to an organisation that meets all the requirements of Gold except that there is a delay in filing of statutory returns and/ or some disclosures were missed and the organisation has disclosed the details on its GuideStar India profile, as well as it has provided an undertaking to take care of the same in the future.
It certifies that the organisation: is a bonafide not for profit, its financial statements are in order, it files its annual returns with the Income Tax, Ministry of Home Affairs (if applicable) and its Registrar (if applicable) and, the organisation practices high level of transparency. The seal and certificate are valid for 10 to 15 months depending on when the organisation applies for certification as due diligence is linked to the financial year reviewed.
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Criteria and Process for GuideStar India Gold Certification
GuideStar India’s Transparency Badge (Intermediate Level) was being issued after verifying that the organisation shared information about the cause and geography it serves, and that it has uploaded in its document gallery on GuideStar India: its registration document, MoA/ Deed, audited financial statements and Income Tax Return. The organisation provided an undertaking that it shall not remove these documents during the validity of the badge. The Transparency Badge is discontinued for certification based on FY 2016-17 and thereafter. Instead, organisations are encouraged to apply for Gold level or for the Transparency Key.
The badge was an indicator that the organisation voluntarily disclosed its key information in the public domain. The badge would be removed if documents were found missing on random checks and verification of report of abuse by users (if any). It did not certify compliance with the law nor with the norms of good governance prescribed by the Credibility Alliance. The Transparency badge is valid for 10 to 15 months depending on when the organisation applies for certification as due diligence is linked to the financial year reviewed.
GuideStar India’s Transparency Key is the Foundation Level certification indicating that the organisation has filed annual income tax returns as a tax-exempt entity and has shared the same in the public domain.
NGOs opt for certification levels based on their interest, and their capacity for transparency and public disclosure. NGOs that are found to be compliant, after a thorough due diligence by experts, are certified for based on the level of compliance, ranging from GuideStar India Platinum at the highest level to GuideStar India Gold, and a Transparency Badge or Transparency Key for minimum public disclosure.
Organisations may voluntarily choose to undergo certification or may be required by their donors/ potential supporters to attain certification levels to qualify for their support.
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Criteria and Process for GuideStar India Transparency Key Certification
Not for profit organisations/ NGOs wanting to undergo certification,
click here to know more about our certification criteria, benefits, process and other key details.
What are the benefits of using GuideStar India's certification solutions
GuideStar India certified NGOs have undergone different levels of rigorous due diligence by experts, so you can choose organisations from a trustworthy pool of pre-vetted organisations
You save time and effort in your NGO partner selection process and can focus on evaluating the NGO’s projects
Information about GuideStar India certified NGOs is available on www.guidestarindia.org. You can compare shortlisted organisations on various parameters
You can readily view scanned copies of NGO’s registration documents, audited financial statements, tax returns and FCRA returns
You can download key information presented in GuideStar India’s Transparency & Disclosure template in case of GuideStar India Platinum certified NGOs
You can obtain detailed due diligence reports from GuideStar India for its Platinum and Gold certified NGOs.
What next
If you wish to get your organisation certified or desire that organisations that you support get certified,
If you wish to donate towards certification of one or more NGOs or wish to support our capacity building efforts to enhance transparency and public accountability of NGOs and thereby increase their fundraising capability, please write to
certification@guidestarindia.org.