How to Verify if an NGO is Genuine in India: A Donor's Checklist

There are over three million registered NGOs in India.

That number sounds impressive until you realise it also creates a real problem for donors. With three million organisations operating across the country, how does a donor know which ones are genuine, which ones are dormant on paper, and which ones are outright frauds running on goodwill they have not earned.

This question matters more in 2026 than it ever did before. Tax-conscious donors are increasingly relying on 80G deductions. Corporate CSR teams are routing significant Section 135 budgets through NGO partners. Individual donors are giving more than ever online, often to organisations they have never met. And alongside the growth in giving, fraud cases involving fake NGOs have also risen, with several high-profile incidents reported across Indian cities over the last few years.

The good news is that verifying an NGO in India is not difficult. The information is mostly public. The checks are mostly free. What is missing is a simple, donor-friendly guide that walks you through the process.

This article is that guide. The 10-point checklist that tells you whether an NGO is genuine before you donate, volunteer, or partner. The government portals that hold the answers. The red flags that should make you walk away. And what every donor should know about 12A, 80G, and the broader compliance landscape.

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Why Verifying an NGO Matters Before You Donate

Before getting into the checklist, three reasons explain why verification is not optional in 2026.

Your donation may not qualify for tax exemption if the NGO is not properly registered.

The Income Tax Act allows donors to claim deductions under Section 80G only when the receiving NGO has a valid 80G certificate. If the certificate is expired, suspended, or never granted, your donation does not qualify for the tax benefit you were expecting. Some donors only discover this when filing returns, by which point the donation is already made.

Your money may not reach the cause you intended.

Fake or poorly governed NGOs are a documented problem in India. Several states have ongoing investigations into organisations that collected donations but never delivered the work claimed. Verification protects your contribution from going to organisations that exist primarily to receive funds rather than deliver impact.

Verification is a one-time investment.

The checks below take fifteen to thirty minutes once you have the NGO's name and basic details. That time is the difference between a confident donation and a donation made on hope alone.

The 10-Point Checklist to Verify an NGO in India

Work through these ten checks in order. An NGO that passes all ten is genuine, properly registered, and operationally credible. An NGO that fails any of them is worth pausing on before you commit.

10-Point Checklist

1. Confirm the Legal Registration

Every genuine NGO in India is registered under one of three frameworks.

→ Trust: Registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, with the state-level charity registrar→ Society: Registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, with the State Registrar of Societies→ Section 8 Company: Registered under the Companies Act, 2013, with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs

Ask the NGO which framework they are registered under and request a copy of their registration certificate. Genuine NGOs share this without hesitation. A genuine certificate will include the registration number, date of registration, registering authority, and full legal name.

2. Check the 12A Certificate

The 12A certificate is granted by the Income Tax Department and exempts the NGO from paying income tax on its receipts. Without 12A, the NGO is technically a taxable entity, which suggests either administrative neglect or recent registration.

Ask for the 12A certificate. Verify the certificate number against the NGO's PAN. A valid 12A certificate is one of the most basic credibility markers.

3. Check the 80G Certificate

The 80G certificate is what allows you, the donor, to claim a tax deduction on your contribution. Without it, your donation is not eligible for any income tax benefit.

The 80G certificate must be currently valid. Older certificates were granted in perpetuity, but the framework has been updated and most NGOs now hold time-bound certificates that need periodic renewal. Verify the validity date on the certificate.

4. Check NGO Darpan Registration

NGO Darpan is the government portal managed by NITI Aayog where NGOs register for a unique ID. This ID is required for any NGO receiving government grants and is widely accepted as a basic credibility marker.

Visit ngodarpan.gov.in and search for the NGO by name or unique ID. If they are listed, you can see their registration details, contact information, and registered office address. If they are not listed, ask the NGO why.

5. Verify the Form CSR-1 Filing

If you are a corporate donor planning a CSR partnership, the NGO must have filed Form CSR-1 with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. This is mandatory for any organisation receiving CSR funds under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013.

Ask for the CSR-1 acknowledgement or registration number. Without it, the NGO cannot legally receive CSR money, and any CSR partnership with them would fail audit.

6. Review Audited Financial Statements

Genuine NGOs publish their audited financial statements every year. Request the last two to three years of audited accounts.

Look for the following in the financial statements:

→ Total income and how it was sourced (donations, grants, CSR, other)→ Total expenditure broken down by programme, administrative cost, and fundraising cost→ The auditor's signature and seal→ The NGO's PAN and legal name on every page→ A statement that the accounts have been filed with the Income Tax Department

If the NGO refuses to share audited accounts, treat that as a serious red flag. Genuine NGOs are required to file these and have no reason to hide them.

7. Check the Programmes They Actually Run

A registered NGO can still be dormant on paper while doing little real work. Verification beyond registration matters.

Visit the NGO's website. Look for:

→ Specific named projects with locations and timelines→ Photographs from project sites with visible work→ Beneficiary numbers and outcome data→ Named team members with verifiable backgrounds→ Recent activity dated within the last year

An NGO with a website that has not been updated in three years, no project specifics, and no team transparency may exist legally but is not operationally credible.

8. Test Their Contact Information

A real NGO has real contact details. Call the phone number listed on their website. Email the address provided. Check whether responses come from official email domains (the NGO's own website domain, not a generic free email).

Visit the registered office address using Google Maps if you can. A genuine NGO has an identifiable office or operational base, not just a virtual address.

9. Check Their Online Footprint

In 2026, an NGO operating without a credible online presence is increasingly hard to justify. Look for:

→ An active website updated within the last six months→ Social media accounts with consistent posting and real engagement→ News mentions, partnership announcements, or third-party coverage→ A clear leadership team with verifiable profiles on LinkedIn

A complete absence of online presence is not automatically disqualifying, but it should prompt deeper verification through other checks.

10. Talk to People Who Have Worked With Them

The strongest verification check is talking to someone who has worked with the NGO. This could be:

→ A volunteer who has been part of their projects→ A donor who has given to them in the past→ A community partner or local stakeholder→ An employee of a corporate that has partnered with them

A few minutes of real conversation with someone who has worked with the NGO often reveals more than hours of online research.

Red Flags That Should Make You Walk Away

Some signals are clear enough that they should end the conversation before it begins.

Refusal to share registration documents.

Genuine NGOs share their 12A, 80G, registration certificate, and audited accounts when asked. An NGO that refuses, delays repeatedly, or shares documents that look altered is a clear red flag.

Pressure to donate immediately.

Legitimate organisations respect donor decision-making. High-pressure fundraising tactics, urgency claims that cannot be verified, and emotional manipulation are all warning signs.

Vague or shifting information about programmes.

If different team members give different descriptions of the same project, if locations change between conversations, or if outcome claims escalate without supporting documentation, the organisation has internal credibility problems.

Lack of named accountability.

Genuine NGOs have named leadership, named programme managers, and named beneficiaries documented appropriately. Organisations that operate behind generic team pages and unnamed beneficiaries are harder to hold accountable.

Mismatch between claims and resources.

If an NGO claims to have transformed thousands of lives but has no visible team, no documented programmes, and no audited financials supporting the claim, the math does not work. Walk away.

Online ratings and reviews that look manufactured.

If every review is five-star, written in similar language, and posted within a short window, the reviews may be fake. Genuine review patterns include mixed feedback over time from identifiable reviewers.

What to Verify Specifically as a Corporate Donor

If you are evaluating an NGO for a corporate CSR partnership, the verification bar is higher than for individual donations.

In addition to the 10-point checklist above, corporate donors should verify:

Form CSR-1 filing status. Without this, the NGO cannot legally receive CSR funds.

Three-year financial track record. Audited accounts should show consistent income, expenditure, and programme spend over multiple years.

Documentation capability. The NGO must be able to provide utilisation certificates, project reports, photographs, beneficiary records, and BRSR-ready data in the format your CSR team and auditor require.

Geographic and sectoral fit. The NGO should have demonstrable operational presence in the geographies and themes your CSR programme is targeting.

Reference partnerships. Speak to other corporates that have worked with the NGO. Direct conversations with peer CSR teams produce more honest feedback than NGO-provided references.

What to Verify Specifically as an Individual Donor

For individual donations, the verification can be lighter but no less important.

80G certificate validity. This is the single most important check for tax-conscious individual donors. Without a current 80G, no deduction is available.

Donation receipt format. A genuine NGO issues a donation receipt with their PAN, 80G certificate number, donor details, donation amount, and date. The receipt should arrive within a few days of the donation.

Year-end statement. Many NGOs issue consolidated year-end statements for tax filing. This is a credibility indicator and a practical convenience.

Transparency on use of funds. Look for an "annual report" or "where your money goes" section that shows how donations are allocated across programmes and overheads.

The Government Portals You Can Use for Free

Several official portals allow public verification of NGO details. Use these.

NGO Darpan (ngodarpan.gov.in). The NITI Aayog portal. Search by NGO name or unique ID. Shows registration details, address, and basic profile.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs (mca.gov.in). For Section 8 companies. Search by company name or CIN to view registration details and filing history.

Income Tax Department portal. For verifying 12A and 80G status. The current status of an NGO's tax registration can be cross-checked.

State-level registrar portals. For trusts and societies. Each state has its own registrar of societies and charity commissioner. Registration details for trusts and societies are typically searchable on these state portals.

Form CSR-1 listings. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs maintains records of CSR-1 filings, which is what makes an NGO eligible to receive CSR funds under Section 135.

What Makes an NGO Genuinely Credible

Passing the registration checks is the minimum. Genuinely credible NGOs go further.

Multi-year programme continuity. Real impact takes years. NGOs that have run the same programmes consistently over multiple years signal operational depth.

Named programme leadership. Real projects have real people running them, named and accountable.

Transparent documentation. Photographs, beneficiary records, utilisation certificates, impact reports, and audit-ready financial documentation, available to donors and partners on request.

Community involvement. Strong NGOs are embedded in the communities they serve, with local stakeholders who can speak to the work.

Conservative claims. Credible NGOs describe their work accurately, including limitations. NGOs that overclaim impact, beneficiary numbers, or geographic reach are signalling weak governance.

Willingness to be scrutinised. Real NGOs welcome verification questions, project visits, and audit walkthroughs. Resistance to any of these is a credibility flag.

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What Makes Marpu Foundation Verifiable

At Marpu Foundation, we work hard to be a verifiable organisation by every standard described in this article.

Registration: Marpu Foundation is registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act and is fully compliant with Indian legal frameworks for NGOs.

Tax certificates: We hold valid 12A and 80G certificates, which allow our corporate and individual donors to receive applicable tax benefits.

NGO Darpan: We are registered on the NITI Aayog NGO Darpan portal with a verifiable unique ID.

Form CSR-1: We have filed Form CSR-1 with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, making us eligible to receive CSR funds under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013.

Audited accounts: We file annual audited financial statements and these are available to donors and partners on request.

Operational footprint: We operate across 23 Indian states with over 250 corporate partners and a volunteer network of over one million people. Our projects are documented with photographs, beneficiary records, and outcome data.

No foreign funding: We are not registered under FCRA and have chosen, by deliberate decision, to operate entirely on Indian funding sources. This simplifies our compliance footprint and aligns our governance with Indian stakeholders only.

To verify Marpu Foundation, to request our registration documents, or to learn how to donate or partner with us, write to us at connect@marpu.org or visit www.marpu.org.