In the News
New Delhi—March 1, 2007
Gram Vikas and Pradan Jointly Win NGO of the Year at the India NGO Awards 2006
Gram Vikas and Pradan have been jointly awarded NGO of the Year 2006 at the first ever India NGO Award event. This is the only initiative in the country that rewards Indian NGOs for exceptional work with key criteria in the areas of good management, impact, and financial transparency. The award is an initiative in partnership with the Resource Alliance. The honorable chief guest Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyer, Minister for Panchayati Raj, Youth Affairs & Sports and Development of the North-Eastern Region presented the award to the winners at a ceremony held at the India Habitat Centre.
“These awards have given us a platform to showcase our work and enhance the overall credibility of the non-profit sector, which in turn will help us in long-term sustenance.”
Deep Joshi—Programme Director, Pradan
Very few non-profit organizations venture into local fundraising and donors are slow to support such initiatives. There is a strong need to elevate the standards of accounting and governance in this sector. The purpose of the award is to raise the credibility of the non-profit sector in order to ensure its long-term sustainability.
From left to right: Don Mohan Lal with the founder of Spastic Society of India, Mithu Alur; and Runa Banerjee, the founder of SEWA.
In the selection process the Foundation and the Resource Alliance collaborated with the Child In Need Institute (CINI) in the east, Confederation of Voluntary Associations (COVA) in the south and S.P. Jain Institute of Management in the west. Two finalists were selected from each of the four regions across India—north, south, east and west—out of 115 entries. The jury was comprised of eminent people from the social sector Dr. Rajesh Tandon (Founder, PRIA), Dr. Ganeshan Balachandran (Representative, Ford Foundation), Ms. Urvashi Butalia (Writer & Publisher), Prof. Harsh Mohan—(S.P. Jain Institute) and Mr. Suresh Neotia (Chairman, Ambuja Cement, Founder, Ambuja Cement Foundation).
The two joint NGOs of the Year, Gram Vikas and Pradan, received a prize amount of USD $15,000 each. The runners-up, Spastic Society of India and Sewa each received USD $5,000.
