India’s first online fundraising event, the India Giving Challenge 2009, took place from 1 September to 11 October, raising Rs91lac (approx US$195,000). GiveIndia, which organized the event, provided a matching pool of Rs56lac ($119,000) to the NGOs and companies that raised the most through their fundraising pages, set up on the GiveIndia website.

The response to the event was very positive, with 100 NGOs and 14 companies competing for a share of the large matching pool. Apart from the large final prizes, smaller daily prizes were also given. In the end, more than 5,000 donors helped 33 NGOs win different prizes.

‘The internet medium is a great way for people to raise funds,’ says Dhaval Udani of GiveIndia. ‘It is very cost effective and enables fundraisers to reach out to a large number of people in a very short time.’

The event raised nearly twice as much as was expected. GiveIndia plans to use what they have learnt from this event to enable NGOs and companies to raise even more for their causes through India Giving Challenge 2010.

One of the winners was the Svechha Foundation, which sets up schools for street/slum kids (pictured).