Resilient Organisations Are Built On Strong Governance
The Certificate Program in SPO Governance And Compliance Management is a three-month professional program that equips board members, leadership, and implementation teams at social purpose organisations to strengthen governance, manage compliance and build systems that support scale.
Building Governance Capability For A Growing Sector
India’s development sector has grown rapidly, reaching a scale of ₹23 lakh crore in recent years. With that scale, expectations around governance, compliance, and reporting have . Boards and leadership teams are expected to demonstrate not just intent, but consistent accountability and sound practice.
This program was created to help social purpose organisations strengthen governance and compliance as everyday practice—enabling them to scale with stability and trust.
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As social purpose organisations grow, governance expectations increase alongside programmatic reach. Boards and leadership teams are expected to provide stronger oversight, clearer accountability, and consistent decision-making across the organisation.
Regulatory compliance is no longer an occasional or back-office concern. It shapes financial management, fundraising, operations, data use, and ethical practice—and needs to be understood and upheld across roles, not handled in isolation.
Many SPOs approach governance and compliance reactively. This program builds shared capability across boards, leadership, and teams—strengthening governance and compliance as everyday organisational practice.
Strengthening Governance In Practice
The SPO Governance program blends structured learning with applied discussions to help boards, leadership and implementation teams understand their roles and responsibilities towards governance and compliance in the context of everyday decision-making.
The program is designed to translate governance frameworks and policy to practice—strengthening oversight, improving internal coordination and reducing regulatory and operational risk as organisations grow.
Build a working understanding of key regulatory frameworks governing SPOs, including FCRA, GST, TDS, and Income Tax. Participants will learn the applicability of these laws in their organisational context and gain clarity on their interpretation while minimising regulatory and compliance risks.
Understand how to run compliant, ethical fundraising and donor engagement across models such as grants, CSR partnerships, individual giving, events and crowdfunding. The module covers donor due diligence and screening frameworks, Anti-Money Laundering Act, applicable fundraising laws (including FCRA and relevant international considerations), tax benefits and receipt obligations, and risk-aware planning to diversify funding while protecting trust.
Strengthen core financial management practices, including budgeting, accounting standards, and relevant legal provisions. Participants will understand how financial management decisions impact regulatory compliance, donor compliance and statutory obligations, enabling them to build stronger and more accountable financial systems.
Strengthen internal governance through well-defined organisational policies and robust data, knowledge, and technology management systems. Participants will gain an understanding of key labour laws and the DPDP Act and explore their implications for day-to-day operations. The module enables organisations to embed robust internal accountability as an operational standard.
Enhance the ability to navigate complex ethical dilemmas and make well-reasoned decisions rooted in organisational missions. By aligning personal values with professional standards, this module fosters a culture of integrity and ensures ethical coherence across the organsation.
Integrated Governance Framework
A structured approach that goes beyond mere regulatory adherence by integrating statutory, financial, operational and ethical dimensions.
Role-Based Learning
Designed for boards, leadership and implementation teams—clarifying responsibilities and strengthening shared accountability across levels.
Applied Case Discussions
Real-world governance and compliance scenarios drawn from social purpose organisations, focused on decision-making in practice.
Tools And Practical Templates
Actionable checklists, compliance maps, and governance tools that can be adapted within your organisation.
Who Should Apply
This program is designed for social purpose organisations that want governance and compliance to be understood and practised across levels, including:
What SPOs Will Gain
Engaging boards, leadership, and teams in this program helps organisations:
Boards, Leadership And Implementation Teams Trained For 50+ SPOs
Facilitators & Mentors
Deeksha brings over 20 years of diverse experience. At Sapient, where she spent the majority of her work life, she held multiple roles at the senior management level in Human Resources (HR). Here the domains ranged across talent acquisition and development, and workforce planning and deployment.
Her entry into the social sector was in 2012, in Kenya. While there, she helped raise funds for various causes. Back in India, she furthered her entry into the sector by taking up the ‘India Leaders for Social Sector’ or the ILSS program. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, baking, and travelling.
Aarti Madhusudan is the founder of Governance Counts, an initiative that helps nonprofits build more effective and accountable boards. Her work focuses on identifying governance challenges within nonprofit organisations and recommending best practices to strengthen board leadership and decision-making. She has consulted with several Indian and international organisations on governance and board development.
She is deeply passionate about volunteering and leads Whiteboard, an iVolunteer initiative that brings together senior corporate professionals to provide strategic guidance to nonprofits on a pro bono basis. Aarti also actively volunteers with DaanUtsav. She conducts the Volunteer Management Workshop.
Enrolments Open For New Cohort
Equip your board, leadership, and teams to manage compliance with clarity and confidence
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