1.5M+ Government Schools
India runs the world's largest government-school system. Most face chronic funding gaps that limit what teachers and students can do every day.
A youth-led non-profit · Gurugram
Every child belongs in the first bench.
Government schools tell us what they need. We document it. CSR partners fund it - directly. Everyone sees the impact.
- 100% direct funding
- Tripartite MoU
- Audit-ready reports
Why it matters
The budget exists. The need is real.
Tens of thousands of crores flow into corporate CSR every year, with education the single largest category. Yet small, school-specific projects remain hard to source - every engagement First Bench runs is built to protect intent, reduce risk, and move money directly from company to classroom.
₹29K Cr+ CSR Spend
Annual CSR outlay by Indian companies. Education is the single largest category - yet small, school-specific projects rarely get funded.
The Missing Bridge
CSR teams struggle to source, verify, and track school-level projects. First Bench closes that gap with a tripartite MoU and audit-ready reports.
Listen to schools
Turn on-the-ground needs into structured requests.
We visit every government school in person, walk the campus with the principal, and capture the top priorities - photos, beneficiary counts, and cost estimates. The school owns and signs off on its own submission before it leaves our hands.
Submission · GGSSS Sector 4Draft
Top 3 priority needs
- P1Girls toilet block + water tank₹3.8L
- P2Smart-board for senior section₹2.2L
- P3Library upgrade (1,200 books)₹1.8L
Total ask₹7.8L
Document & match
Verified proposals, matched to CSR mandates.
Each need becomes a vendor-costed, admin-reviewed proposal - board-ready before it goes to a partner. We match on focus area, geography, and budget band. School identity stays anonymised in Discover until the partner signs the NDA First Bench issues.
Proposal · School-0007Published
Rebuild 4 girls toilet blocks with water tank
Sohna block·412 students
WASHGirl child educationGurgaon district
Budget band₹5L – ₹15L
3 partners expressed interest
Fund direct, verify monthly
Partner → school, no middlemen holding cash.
Partner expresses interest, First Bench issues an NDA, and once it's signed we coordinate offline and activate the project. Funds move directly from the partner to the school's bank account against verified expenditure - First Bench never holds or disburses money. Monthly reports (narrative, geotagged photos, bills) keep every rupee traceable and BRSR-aligned.
Project · activatedActive
Bright Future Foundation
Funding GGSSS Sector 4 · 412 students
Committed
₹4.80L
Direct to school
₹4.80L
First Bench never holds or moves your funds.
Audit trail
- NDA signed by partnerDone
- Project activated by First BenchDone
- Monthly report · Aug verifiedDone
Open proposalsBrowse all proposals
Verified school needs - ready for funding.
Every proposal is documented and reviewed by First Bench. Browse without an account - sign up as a CSR partner to see full details and express interest.
How we work
Five steps from first visit to funded impact.
End-to-end from the first school visit to the monthly impact report - every step structured, documented, and audit-ready by design.
01Discovery
Cohort planning4 blocks scoped
Gurgaon · Sohna · Pataudi · Farrukh Nagar
10 schools shortlisted
From UDISE+ data · verified with DEO
District Office aligned
Formal consultation letter on file
Cohort locked
Site-visit assignments ready
Five to ten government schools per year, distributed across Gurugram's four education blocks, in consultation with the District Education Office.
Why partner
Designed around what CSR teams actually struggle with.
Independent verification
We never accept or hold funds. CSR teams get independent eyes on the ground - not a story written by the implementing partner.
Custom-fit projects
Every proposal is built from a specific school's real priorities - not a generic intervention dropped into many schools.
Audit-ready reports
Standardised monthly reports designed to satisfy Section 135, the CSR Rules, and the BRSR framework - without extra work for the CSR team.
Right-sized for CSR budgets
₹3–15 lakh per school. Fits inside an existing CSR budget without committing to a multi-year, multi-crore programme.
Single point of contact
Partners deal with one initiative across multiple schools - instead of negotiating with each principal separately.
Local, continuous presence
We are based in Gurugram and visit each project every month. Partner questions get answered the same week.
The co-founder2026 - present
Sasha Bhowmick
Co-founder, First Bench · Grade 9 at Heritage Xperiential Learning School.
I started First Bench because the gap was so obvious - and so fixable.
Sasha spent time in some of Gurugram's government schools and realised the gap between what they need and what corporate CSR could easily fund is a problem of paperwork and connections, not money.
First Bench is structured as an ongoing non-profit - not a one-off project - so partnerships can compound over multiple years and multiple cohorts. Sasha leads school visits, documentation, partner communication and monthly reporting.
A small group of educators, former government officials and CSR professionals reviews every Detailed Project Report before it goes to a corporate partner. The organisation does not handle CSR funds - every rupee flows directly from the company to the school under a tripartite MoU.
Sasha Bhowmick
Co-founder · First Bench · Gurugram, HR
Get in touch
Let's talk.
CSR teams, educators, potential advisors, or a school in Gurugram - we'd love to hear from you.
- Office
- 609A DLF Golf Drive, Sector 42, Gurugram
- Response
- Within 48 hours