For Indian NGOs
Reach donors in the US, with a page we build together.
Setu introduces a small number of carefully checked Indian NGOs to donors abroad, and gives those donors a legal way to support you with a US tax receipt. Listing is free.
What you get
A place in front of donors who want to give to India.
We will never show more than 20 NGOs at a time, so each one gets real attention. The first cohort is smaller, starting with SAMADHAN, in New Delhi.
A page on Setu, written with you
Your work, your programmes and your numbers, told clearly for donors abroad. We draft it from your own material, and you approve every sentence before it goes live.
Gifts from US donors, legally
Donors give through a US 501(c)(3) charity and get a tax receipt. You receive one grant each month into your FCRA account.
Donors who hear from you
Your updates go straight to the people who gave, under your name, so donors get to know your team and your work.
A free report on your own website
Most donors will also look at your site. We show you what they see. A rebuild is available at a fixed price, but it is never a condition of listing.
What we ask of you
Listing is free. It depends on our checks alone.
Buying a website from Lotus Rise makes no difference: it will not get you listed, and not buying one will not keep you out.
Once you are listed, send your donors a short update 30 and 90 days after each grant, and keep your documents current. If an update is late, new gifts pause until it arrives.
- Registered as a society, trust or section 8 companyRegistration certificate
- 12A and 80G registration with the Income Tax DepartmentApproval orders
- FCRA licence active, with matching purpose and statesfcraonline.nic.in
- FC-4 returns filed for the last three yearsMinistry of Home Affairs
- Audited accounts for the last three yearsChartered accountant
- Listed on NGO DarpanNITI Aayog
- A visit in person, and two references who are not fundersSetu team
How joining works
Five steps to your page.
- 01
Write to us
Tell us who you are, where you work and your FCRA number, and we will arrange a first call.
- 02
Documents
We check your registrations, returns and audited accounts against government records.
- 03
A visit and two references
We visit your work and speak to two people who know it, who are not your funders.
- 04
Your page
We write your page with you and agree what your appeal is for. Nothing goes live without your approval.
- 05
Live on Setu
Your page opens to donors with the first cohort in early 2027.
Free website check
See your website the way a donor does.
Many donors first meet an NGO through its website, often on a phone and often from another country. This free check shows you what they see. No sign-up is needed.
An example report
What we found for SAMADHAN.
These findings come from our review of samadhanindia.org in October 2026, before we began work on a new site together. SAMADHAN has 45 years of work to show, but a security check was stopping search engines from reading the site at all.
If you would like more help
Help with your own website.
- 01
The free check
The automated part, covering speed, mobile, search and accessibility in plain English. Run it above as often as you like.
- 02
The full report
Someone from our team reads your site the way a donor would, looking at your story, the evidence of your work, and whether someone abroad could actually give.
- 03
A 20-minute call
We go through the report together. If a new website would help, we will give you a fixed price on the call. You pay nothing unless you decide to go ahead.