Ashraya Hastha Trust

Check which route fits you first

• If you run a registered nonprofit (Section 8 company, Trust or Society, with 12A and 80G), the trust's own grant route is the one that applies.
• If you run a startup or a for-profit company, the trust's own route is not open to you. Its pages say proposals are invited from nonprofit institutions only.
• Startups working on climate solutions should look at the C-CAMP climate calls that name the trust as a collaborator, and apply through C-CAMP.

How the nonprofit route works

• Read the general instructions first, then submit the online proposals form. There is no application fee.
• Have these ready before you start: 12A and 80G details, FCRA details, audited statements for three years and a proposed budget.
• Expect three to six months from expression of interest to decision. The stages are an expression-of-interest review, a request for a detailed proposal and budget, a presentation and a decision.
• Applications are rolling. No deadline is published.
• For questions, write to info@ashrayahasthatrust.org.

What the trust says it looks for

• At least three years of work in one of its six cause areas.
• A programme past the pilot stage, or in validation, with a clear path to scale and a solution others can replicate.
• A dedicated full-time team.
• A commitment to measurement, evaluation and learning.
• A complex social or economic problem that affects many people.

If you are applying to the C-CAMP climate call

• Confirm the deadline, eligibility and application link on C-CAMP's own call page. We could not read it, so they are not listed here.
• The first round looked for deep-tech work at the interface of biology and climate science. The next round is described as seeking field-ready solutions, so be ready to show something that can be tested in the field.
• Be ready to talk about a joint validation project and the pilot partners you would need.

Ashraya Hastha Trust is a family charitable trust in Bengaluru that makes grants to registered nonprofits. It was established in 2000 and works across six cause areas: health, education, livelihoods, animal welfare, environment and disaster relief. It is a grantmaker for nonprofit organisations, not an incubator or accelerator, and its own website does not offer funding to startups.

Startups do come across the trust's name because of a separate climate programme. In late 2025 C-CAMP, the Bengaluru biotechnology innovation hub, announced a climate innovation centre in collaboration with Ashraya Hastha Trust. That programme is run by C-CAMP, and this page explains how it relates to the trust.

How the trust gives grants

The trust describes its approach as trust-based, highly engaged partnerships with the organisations it funds. Its pages state two ways in which a grantee is found. The trust says it identifies organisations and projects through outreach, and approaches them directly when it sees alignment with its values and priorities. It also runs an open route, where a nonprofit can send an expression of interest through an online form.

The open route currently accepts proposals in six areas: animal welfare, health, education, livelihoods, disaster relief and environment. The trust's founding purpose, as it states it, was to help India's rural poor, and its grants have gone to organisations such as Hasiru Dala, SELCO, Mantra4Change, CUPA, Smile Train and NIMHANS, among others listed on its site.

Who can apply

Only nonprofit institutions can apply. Proposals from individuals are not entertained, and the trust's pages do not describe a route for startups, social enterprises or companies. The trust lists these conditions for an applicant:

An organisation must be registered in India as a Section 8 company, a Trust or a Society, and should hold 12A and 80G certification. It must have at least three years of experience in the cause areas above. Its programme should be at the post-pilot or validation stage, with a clear path to scale and a solution that can be replicated. It should have a dedicated full-time team and a commitment to measurement, evaluation and learning, and it should be working on a complex socio-economic issue that affects a large section of society.

How to apply

Applications are rolling. No deadline or cohort dates are published. The trust does not charge an application fee. A nonprofit reads the general instructions for grant-seeking organisations, then completes the proposals form, which has three steps: about the organisation, a previous project, and the proposed programme.

The form asks for the organisation's 12A and 80G details, FCRA details, audited financial statements for three years and a proposed budget. Evaluation typically takes three to six months, depending on how many applications arrive. It runs in stages: review of the expression of interest, a request for a detailed proposal and budget, a presentation, and then a decision. Questions go to the trust's general inbox, info@ashrayahasthatrust.org.

The C-CAMP climate programme

C-CAMP launched a Centre of Excellence for Sustainability and Climate Action under its Bio for Climate programme, in collaboration with Ashraya Hastha Trust. News reports in December 2025 said it aims, over three to five years, to map climate problem statements in environment, health and agriculture, support high-impact solutions and help with validation and adoption.

The centre's first open call, the Call for Climate Solutions 2026, was launched in early 2026 for deep-tech innovations at the interface of biology and climate science. Reports on 1 October 2026 said 11 startups were selected as its first cohort on 29 September 2026. The same reports said selected startups receive funding support, access to incubation labs, scientific and business mentorship, help with scaling up for the market, and networking with industry.

At the same event, C-CAMP and Ashraya Hastha Trust announced a next round of applications for on-field validation of climate solutions. It looks for field-ready solutions where climate change meets environment, health, agriculture and sustainability, and offers support for joint validation projects, government and industry introductions and pilot facilitation. The deadline, eligibility terms and application link were not available to us. Check C-CAMP's own call page before preparing an application.

None of the reports we read say whether Ashraya Hastha Trust funds this programme, co-funds it or only partners with C-CAMP. They describe the trust only as a collaborator. Treat it as a C-CAMP programme and apply through C-CAMP.

Scale

The trust reports on its own pages that it has made grants for over 20 years, with 122 grants or projects across 25 states. These are the trust's own counts. They are undated, and we have not checked them independently. The trust's pages give two different totals for the money it has given, and do not define either, so we do not repeat a figure.

Who runs it

The trust says it was established in 2000 by Major S. Nanjundiah and his family, including K. Dinesh, Asha Dinesh, Divya Dinesh and Deeksha Dinesh. K. Dinesh, a co-founder of Infosys Limited, is its managing trustee. Asha Dinesh is a founding trustee.

Location

The trust's office is in Jayanagar, 3rd Block, Bengaluru,, and it makes grants across India.