KOLKATA : Are NGOs and corporates coming closer to achieving a common goal? Well, this could be the trend in the near future.

A lot of corporate houses have already done this. Now it is the turn of tobacco major ITC Ltd.

In a unique corporate-NGO relationship, ITC has tied up with SOS Children’s Villages of India (SOS CVI), an independent welfare organisation, to promote its greetings card business.

ITC is one of the latest entrants in the branded greetings cards industry which is dominated by very few organised players.

A top ranking official of the ITC greetings card business said that the company is looking at garnering at least 40 per cent of the charity cards segment of the market with the help of SOS CVI.

"The charity greetings cards segment of the market has a Rs 20-25 crore annual business where ITC is expected to make its presence felt through this tie-up," he said.

According to the official, SOS will work as a resource mobilisation and mass contact tool. However, ITC and SOS both declined to share the financial details of the tie-up.

Pradeep Singh Phogal, national director of SOS CVI, said, "We are launching greetings cards to not just augment our funding but also help significantly in creating awareness for our efforts."

Commenting on the tie-up, chief executive of ITC greetings business. C. Das said : "With this tie-up we create an additional dimension for both the giver and receiver to participate in a cause. We have priced the cards in an affordable price range while not compromising on quality.

"For us, while this presents a business opportunity, we also see it as a significant part of our social commitment."

He informed that the new range of greeting cards will be available in 1500 outlets across 100 cities in the country.

The price ranges from Rs 4 to Rs 11 and will be offered in 195 designs. Out of this, 157 have been earmarked for the new year season.

Incidentally, the organised segment of the greetings cards business accounts for around 50 per cent of the total Rs 250-crore industry.

ITC entered the greetings market on August 2000 with `Statement’ brand of cards.

The cards are now available in over 500 towns in all the states of the country covering 7,000 retail outlets.