Introduction to NGO Management

Instructor:
Mamoona Tariq
 Learning Objectives

Students will understand

 Globally Importance of NGOs and their Management
 Definition of NGO and its status of being voluntary,
independent, an not-for-profit
 Nongovernmental organizations for humanitarian relief
 Brief History
 Characteristics of NGOs
 An universal need for management in organizations

2
 What are NGOs?
 NGOs are a major component of the global aid system.

 NGOs respond to all types of complex humanitarian

emergencies and natural disasters.
 NGOs follow codified, well-tested international standards of
care.
 NGOs are defined by their voluntary, independent, and not-
for-profit status.
 NGOs have unique charters and missions.

 More than 90 percent of aid coordinated by the United

Nations is provided by NGOs, 95 percent of which is provided
by only 35 to 40 major American and European
organizations.

3
 Introduction to NGO
NGOs worldwide number in the thousands and vary widely in their:
1. Performance,
2. Professionalism,
3. Sense of responsibility, and
4. Attention to standards in accordance with the Humanitarian
Code of Conduct.
 NGO activities addressed in emergency response-relief and
development.
 Other equally important NGOs focus on human rights and
advocacy, conflict mitigation and resolution, and education

4
Classification of NGOs on the Bases of
Orientations

The NGOs can be classified into various

types on the basis of different factors like
orientation or level of cooperation and
World Bank definition .
Bases of Orientations
1. Charitable orientation;
2. Service orientation;
3. Participatory orientation; and
4. Empowering orientation.

5
Classification Of NGOs Level Of
Cooperation

1. Humanitarian aid, both emergency response and

developmental
2. Advocacy groups such as Human Rights Watch,
Amnesty, and Physicians for Human Rights
3. Faith-based groups are humanitarian aid groups
originally founded on faith principles but do not use
religion as a part of the aid given (Mercy Corps) Insert
footnote “missionary aid groups (by definition not
NGO’s) seek to “spread the word” using humanitarian
aid to access to those who they consider needing
spiritual help; more or less conditional aid (Samaritan’s
Purse, Hope Ships).

6
 Classification of NGOs World
Bank Typology

As per the World Bank Typology, the NGOs can be

classified into Operational and Advocacy NGOs.

1. Operational NGO – The main purpose of operational NGO is

to design and implement the development-related projects. The
scope of the Operational NGOs can be national, international or
even community-based.

2. Advocacy NGO – The main purpose of an Advocacy NGO is

to promote a specific cause. It makes efforts to raise awareness
and knowledge by doing various activities like lobbying, press
work and activist events.

7
 Brief History
 The first NGO, Rotary, which later became
Rotary International, dates to the early twentieth
century.
 In the early 1900s there were more than 1,000
recorded NGOs important to women’s suffrage,
scientist rescue, and refugee issues.
 The term NGO came into use in 1945 with
provisions in Article 71 of chapter 10 of the
United Nations Charter, when organizations that
were neither governmental nor member states
were needed for a consultative role to the UN

8
 Brief History
 On February 27, 1950, international NGOs (or INGOs) were
first defined in resolution 288 (X) of ECOSOC as “any
international organization that is not founded by an
international treaty.”
 In June 1997, the vital role of NGOs and other major groups
in sustainable development was recognized in chapter 27 of
Agenda 21, leading to intense arrangements for a
consultative relationship between the United Nations and
nongovernmental organizations.
 Globalization throughout the twentieth century heightened
the importance of NGOs, which have since developed to
emphasize humanitarian issues, developmental aid, and
sustainable development.

9
 NGO Characteristics
NGOs are founded, developed, and managed by people.
1. NGO personnel are highly professional and skilled, trained or
educated in disaster management, public health, logistics,
technology, water sanitation, communications, medicine,
geology, sociology, and psychology.

2. Staff are of different backgrounds, training, nationalities, and

cultures.

3. Most NGOs have moved to use all local staff to build capacity
and have large human resource databases that keep
emergency personnel and cadres of career aid workers on
call.
4. NGOs can be not-for-profit (nonprofit

10
 NGO Characteristics
5. NGOs have major global procurement capabilities for relief
supplies, technical and capital assets, vehicles, and other material
that can be used to respond to humanitarian emergencies.

6. NGOs require funding from external sources to design, implement,

and manage their programming.

7. NGOs obtain funding from numerous sources including government

agencies, private foundation grants and private contributions or gifts-
in-kind from companies and other organizations.

8. Donations of cash, material, or even services (legal, technological,

and the like) to NGOs normally qualify as charitable gifts and can be
used to lower tax liability for the donor.

11
 NGO Characteristics
9. In the United States, legal charitable status for an organization is
granted by the federal government under the classification of 501(c)(3)
that enables the charity to receive tax deductible donations from
individuals or corporations

10.To become a not-for-profit organization, an NGO must be charitable in

its mission, managed and accounted for by a board of directors with no
financial interest in the programs or operations of the organization, and
maintain financial accounting methods that are fully open to the public at
all times.

11. NGOs can also be solely for-profit or have arms within the
organization that are for-profit (for example, International Relief and
Development).
12
 NGOs are Unique.

Although NGOs worldwide number in the thousands, they vary

widely in their performance, professionalism, sense of
responsibility, attention to standards and in accordance with the
Humanitarian Code of Conduct.

The vast majority, 95 percent, of NGO relief work is provided by

only thirty-five to forty major American and European
organizations that, on the whole, follow codified, well-tested
international standards of care.

13
NGOs Share Many Characteristics.

1. NGOs typically serve the public, beneficiaries, needy populations,

constituencies, or target groups that have been affected by some
emergency, disaster, or massive reduction of livelihood.

2. Activities are intended to serve needs that a donor feels appropriate

but aid is based on need rather than any political agenda.

3. NGOs share a relatively small labor pool of emergency, relief and

humanitarian assistance workers, and often times share personnel,
practices, and customs.

4. NGOs have many of the same donors (especially foundation, UN, and
large government grant types), compete for a limited pool of funding,
and must be financially accountable in many of the same ways.

14
Thanks!
Any questions?
You can find me at:
mona.tariq@gmail.com

Instructor: 15
Mamoona Tariq