– By Sriparna Raha
The Great Team of India
Think of India as a massive school playground. A lot of children are still at play but fields need swings or benches, or perhaps just a place that is cleaner, so that every child can play and learn fairly with the others. We need helpers!
The Authorities. But next to the Authorities is a huge army of people called Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). They are mostly unsung heroes, the people who do remarkable works for very little praise.
NGOs in India are not just charitable organizations or voluntary groups. They are the vital connectors of large scale plans and money from rich and powerful people to the families and the villages that need it the most. They must be a part of making India a great place for everyone.
This article is going to tell you about what NGOs do, the science behind how they work so smartly, and what the big challenges are that they face each and every day.
The Three Main Strengths of NGOs
NGOs do some very important work. They have three main strengths that are important to create change in society.
1. Ability to Reach the Most Remote Areas of Society:
First, NGOs are good at getting things to the hardest to access places. Think about isolated villages in the mountains or crowded, narrow alleys in the cities. This is often where government service and support run out of options.
For example, an NGO might run a mobile health clinic (a doctor’s office on wheels) that goes to five villages on a weekly basis.
In addition, organisations such as the Akshaya Patra Foundation provide millions of school children with hot, healthy lunches every day. Because of this food, students will stay in school instead of leaving to find work.
So, NGOs act as the delivery method for essential services such as doctors, basic education, and job-skills training.
2.The Voice of Justice:
Second, numerous NGOs serve as powerful advocates for people who are unable to speak for themselves; we call this policy advocacy.
They engage the government about new policies. For instance, an NGO may say, “We want stronger laws regarding child labor,” or, “The new water scheme is unfair to the farmers.”
Additionally, they hold leaders responsible for following laws properly. This is referred to as requiring accountability. Therefore, they have a very large role in making sure that India’s laws are equal for everybody.
3. Teaching People to Fly:
Finally, perhaps the greatest superpower is community empowerment. NGOs educate people how to resolve their own problems.
They help establish self-help groups (SHGs). These are small, informal groups made up of women in a village that save a little bit of money each week. Then, they, as a group and sometimes rotating leadership, will lend each other money in order to start small businesses of their own, like selling homemade snacks or clothing.
In the end, this turns people into independent actors – that is, they go from simply receiving help to helping themselves and the entire village for the better.
NGOs as Innovators and Testers
The impressive thing about NGOs is that they excel in evaluating new ideas. They are like scientists in a laboratory!
Because of the strong relationships they have at the local level, they know what problems really exist and what solutions may work best. They are ideally situated to experiment with new technologies or teaching methods.
For example, an education NGO may decide to implement a new use of a tablet with learning games to teach math to poor children in a neighborhood. If it is a success, it can be shown to the government.
Moreover, if it succeeds, the government can duplicate the effort and implement it in thousands of schools across an entire country!
So, NGOs take huge national aspirations (like the Sustainable Development Goals) and figure out a pilot approach at a small, local scale. They will be the enabler of long-term ideas into action.
The Major Issues Facing NGOs
Even these angels have major problems.
1. Funding Issues and Competition
First, it is always tough for an NGO to secure consistent funding. They rely on short term project funding. This is basically like being paid for only one month, which therefore leads them to spend their quality time wondering where the funding will be for the following month.
In addition, they need to compete to receive funding from corporations (CSR funding from corporations). As a result, they are not always going to be able to pay their staff very well, and often their best, brightest people will transition over to larger organizations.
2. A ton of paperwork
Second, NGOs must comply with numerous complicated statutes and copious amounts of paperwork. This is often referred to as regulatory compliance.
If the NGO collects money from abroad, they have to comply with extremely strict regulations known as FCRA (Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act).
Furthermore, they have to deal with tax certificates known as 12A and 80G. To put it simply, 12A means the NGO doesn’t pay tax on the money it collects. On the other hand, 80G means that the person who donates money to the NGO receives a tax break. However, dealing with all of this is extremely difficult for small NGOs that are not big organizations with offices and staff.
How to Create a Successful Partnership
It is critical for large organizations, and those kind individuals who choose to help, to collaborate with NGOs; however, a partnership needs to be an intelligent partnership.
1. Come to a Mutual Agreement on the Goal
First and foremost, the organization and the NGO must share the same overarching goal. A company that sells clothes should partner with an NGO that teaches tailoring and sewing skills. This way both organizations care deeply about the project being successful in achieving positive outcomes.
2. Request Evidence
Second, the NGO must always provide the organization, who is providing funding, with hard evidence that the money is being used sustainably. They need to see how many lives have truly changed. In addition, they must verify and review that the NGO’s legal documents, such as the 12A and 80G laws, are in accordance with the legal requirements in place. This evidence is a vital key in trusting the NGO and their work to be of credibility.
3. Give a Multi-Year Commitment
Lastly, if you want to be a partner with an NGO, giving funds for one year is not enough. Partners should commit to giving funds for three to five years. In this way, the NGO can hire good people, plan larger projects, and ensure sustainability for the work that they do. When they commit to sustainability, it means that if they receive funding outside of the project timeline and into another funding trail, it should not cease the positive work that they were doing prior. It means that they provide credible evidence of donation impact, which is why they should receive ongoing funding.
Conclusion: India’s Strategic Necessity
The excellent efforts from the NGOs in India come from the passion and commitment of the people involved. They truly are the necessary builders of this country’s future, one street and one community at a time.
Despite the difficult challenges they face, their ability to gain trust and create real change is unmatched.
Thus, for anyone who cares about India a government leader, a business leader, or a global funder doing something to support NGOs is not just a moral idea.it is a logical plan of action. It is a strategic necessity if we want to see a fully developed, fair, and happy India for every citizen. We need to support these amazing super helpers!