ICICI Limited, India's leading financial services provider, launched a comprehensive social development portal, http://www.icicicommunities.org/ on November 20, 2000, in its attempt to bring its domain expertise in finance and e-commerce to the world of development.

What is www.icicicommunities.org ?

icicicommunities.org is a social development portal. The portal is devised to address some basic causes of concern of individuals when it comes to fund raising for charities. These concerns include
* How to donate money
* Where to donate money
* Whether all the money donated will be used for the purpose specified by the donor.

It is purely a non-commercial venture and is an attempt to focus on social development and people's involvement in developmental work. It gives the surfers access to resources and the services provided on the portal.The portal carries profiles of a set of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) which have been carefully chosen and vetted by ICICI for their credibility, transparency and accountability. Nachiket Mor, Senior General Manager of ICICI Limited, will oversee the entire work of this social development portal and the marketing team will build up the equity for the portal.

icicicommunities.org will be a meeting space for individuals, NGOs, corporates and research institutions allowing them to contribute to the social sector in several ways.
* 100 percent of the donor's money will reach the NGO without any deductions in the form of commissions by the channels. All overheads of this project are being covered by ICICI Limited.
* 100 percent of the donation will be used for the activity selected by the donor, and the donor gets feedback on how it has been used.
* 100 percent secure online payment options supported by ICICI- through Master and Visa credit card, ICICI Bank's Internet Banking Account or Money2India (if the donor lives outside India). The donor can still choose to register the donation online and mail a physical cheque. Tax benefits are also available for contributions made. The portal provides detailed information about projects being undertaken by selected NGOs. As of now, ICICI has arranged for Jaipur Foot, Seva Mandir, Pratham, PRADAN, National Association for the Blind, Eklavya-Bhopal, Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy, Dean Foundation and Udavum Karangal to be accessible on the portal.

The portal will offer several online and off-line payment options to the prospective donor. Online payments will be routed through Payseal- the secure internet payment gateway launched recently by ICICI.

GIVE Online:
An important plank of the portal, the GIVE online channel allows individuals and corporates to contribute directly to social development organisations listed on the portal. The donor will have the option to choose a particular NGO and a particular project for donation. The funds will go directly to GIVE Foundation, an NGO appointed by ICICI to route funds to the social projects or organisations selected by the donor.

Resources Centre:
The portal will also house special resources centres focussed on infant mortality rate and primary education.

Future plans:
a) A shopping mall for products made by NGOs. This service will provide opportunity to NGOs to market their products across the world, free of cost.
b) Careers and voluntary work in social sector. This application will provide a space for NGOs to advertise for jobs and for candidates to post their resumes.
c) A News and Analysis section especially on the Development Sector.
d) A number of services to NGOs like free e-mail ids, mailing lists, and discussion forums and chatting rooms.

By: Mani D'Mello