From cancer screening in India's North East to solar skills in Bengaluru, a CSR-ready organisation shows what well-directed corporate social responsibility can achieve.
"Big national promises only mean something when they reach a classroom, a clinic or a training centre near you."
What Happens When Corporate Intent Meets Community Need?
Every year, Indian companies set aside money for social causes. The challenge is choosing where the money can make the most difference. It’s essential to ensure that the funds reach the right people so that the impact can be tracked.
That is where The Bengal Chamber Foundation (BCF) comes in. As the CSR wing of The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we act as an institutional bridge between corporate CSR capital and grassroots NGOs ready to deliver. Our job is to make that connection simple, credible and focused on results.
The WE Foundation, founded in 2011 by a team of development professionals, the organisation works across India. It supports underprivileged children, women, youth and transgender communities. The organisation primarily works with governments and businesses to turn national and global goals into practical action at the local level.
The WE Foundation’s work is based on four key areas of sustainability. It focuses on protecting the environment and natural resources. It supports responsible economic growth. It promotes social inclusion and justice. It also invests in education, wellbeing and people’s potential.
The organisation brings together companies, governments, community organisations and individuals to work together and create meaningful change. Its work also supports the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Over the years, its work has reached 6.78 lakh people and 2.98 lakh families across India. For any company looking at CSR projects in India, this combination of long experience and a wide footprint matters. So does the fact that the organisation is both CSR and FCRA ready.
Three signature projects show how the pillars play out on the ground.
Project Punarnava: Putting Women's Health First
Preventive healthcare is often missed when families have limited money. Project Punarnava addresses this by providing cancer screening for underprivileged women aged 21–45. Screening is paired with nutrition counselling and linked to government health facilities, so that every woman who needs follow-up has a proper referral route.
To date, the project has reached 20,650 women across several cities and regions:
- West Bengal (Kolkata and Haldia)
- Mizoram (Aizawl)
- Manipur (Imphal)
- Meghalaya (Ribhoi and Shillong)
- Tripura (Agartala)
The ambition now is to reach 1 lakh women over the next three years. For a CSR partner interested in healthcare, this is a model where early detection, advice and government convergence work together.
Care For Hands: Small Habits, Healthier Schools
Few CSR activities are as simple, and as powerful, as teaching a child to wash their hands properly. The Care For Hands campaign promotes handwashing with soap to prevent disease and improve health in schools and communities. It brings together the WHO, government schools, The WE Foundation and local communities.
The approach is demonstrative. Children and teachers in Samagra Shiksha Mission and Municipal Corporation schools, along with residents of slum communities, learn by doing rather than by listening to a lecture. To help the habit stick, hand hygiene kits are given to children and teachers to take home.
Over the past three years in Mumbai, the campaign has distributed more than 34,700 kits and reached 67 schools and 3 slum communities. More than 10,200 students and teachers have been oriented, and over 700 direct beneficiaries have been impacted in BMC schools in Dharavi, BKC and Worli. In Kolkata and Howrah, a further 18,960 beneficiaries have been reached. The next target is 1 lakh children over three years.
Young People Come Forward for a Greener Economy
India's clean energy ambitions need people as much as panels. Project Shreenergy was designed to help build that workforce, working with corporates, ITI colleges, Sector Skill Councils and other stakeholders to prepare a skilled workforce for green industries.
So far, the project has supported more than 300 unemployed young people through industry-standard training programmes in Bengaluru and Mumbai. It is creating a pipeline of skilled solar workers, both Solar PV technicians and helpers, giving young people a route into the green business sector while helping that sector find the talent it needs. Over the next three years, the aim is to support 2,000 unemployed youth in green jobs.
This is where CSR and sustainability come together. The programme creates job opportunities while also helping protect the environment.
Why This Matters for Corporate Social Responsibility in India?
All projects demonstrates how a reliable CSR partner can help create meaningful impact. Each programme has clear goals and works with existing public systems, such as government health facilities, schools and skill councils. Each comes with a stated target, and the organisation is already CSR and FCRA ready. For companies building a CSR strategy, those are the signs of a partner worth backing.
At BCF, we see our role as making introductions like this easier, so that corporate funding reaches organisations with the experience to use it well. The WE Foundation's journey since 2011 is a good example of why that bridge matters.
Building the Next Chapter Together
Strong CSR initiatives in India are rarely built by one party alone. They grow when companies bring capital and commitment, and grassroots organisations bring community trust and delivery skills. The WE Foundation's work on women's health, school hygiene and green livelihoods shows what that partnership can achieve, and its three-year targets show how much further it can go.
Join Us on the Journey: Partner with BCF
Looking for a partner who can turn CSR funding into measurable, verifiable results? Register as a corporate and the BCF team will be in touch.
If your organisation is doing documented, meaningful work in education, health, climate or livelihoods, we want to hear from you. Register as an NGO to turn your CSR commitment into measurable change, or to take your grassroots work to a wider network of corporate partners.
Get in touch with the BCF team, because you’re one conversation away from being part of the next success story.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Bengal Chamber Foundation's role in CSR partnerships like the one with The WE Foundation?
The Bengal Chamber Foundation (BCF) is the CSR wing of The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It acts as an institutional bridge between corporate CSR capital and audited, compliant, grassroots NGOs. The WE Foundation is one such partner. It has worked across India since 2011 and is both CSR and FCRA ready. BCF's role is to make the connection between companies and credible organisations like this one simple, transparent and focused on measurable results.
How can a company support projects like Punarnava, Care For Hands or Shreenergy through BCF?
A company can speak to BCF to find out where its CSR funding can make the most difference. Each project has a clear goal for the next three years. Punarnava aims to provide cancer screening to 1 lakh women. Care For Hands aims to teach 1 lakh children about hand hygiene. BCF helps CSR teams understand these programmes and use their funds effectively. It also helps companies involve their employees through volunteering. To learn more, visit the BCF website.
BCF as the Institutional Bridge
Every meaningful act of corporate social responsibility begins with trust: trust that funds reach the right hands, that programmes are run by people who understand the ground realities, and that impact can be measured rather than merely promised. This is precisely the gap that The Bengal Chamber Foundation (BCF), the CSR wing of The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I), was built to close. BCF acts as an institutional bridge, connecting corporates with audited, compliant, grassroots organisations that are already doing the difficult, patient work of community transformation.
One such organisation is The WE Foundation, whose work spans women’s health, school hygiene and green livelihoods through programmes such as Punarnava, Care For Hands and Shreenergy, each backed by clear three-year targets. Through BCF, that work becomes visible and accessible to a wider circle of corporate partners looking to deploy their CSR resources, or their employees’ volunteering hours, with confidence.
To know more about BCF’s initiatives or to partner with the Foundation, visit www.bengalchamberfoundation.org
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