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New global, regional and national realities are the result of both historic turning points (e.g. end of the cold war and technological inventions) and trends (e.g. increasing poverty and income disparities, changing roles of government and environmental degradation).
New political, economic, social and technological realities in turn define a new context for non-profit activity. Therefore, it is important to understand the relationship between the context we work in and the new forces that enable and persuade non-profit organisations to begin looking for local resources which will enable them to supplement international support.
There are those who believe that poor people in poor nations should not be asked to support their own development. Instead, the belief is that rich nations should share their wealth with the poor, and that the rich owe development assistance to the poor as a right.
Such thinking takes a dim view of those who promote local resource mobilisation as an integral part of local institution building and empowering the poor, disadvantaged and oppressed. They may, however, argue that this releases the international community and national governments from their responsibilities.
When analysing this external context, it is important to make the case for local institutions, local action, local resources and strong local governance while not ignoring the fact that income distribution of various forms between North and South remains a moral imperative.
THE NEW GLOBAL REALITIES ARE:
-- Unipolar, global power
-- Fundamentalism: international, regional, national terrorism & insecurity
-- Democratisation
-- 'Free Market' Economies
-- Changing role of national governments (decentralising)
-- Corporate Social Responsibility (increasing)
-- New 'AID' paradigm (trade not 'aid')
-- Millennium Development Goals (Rhetoric or Reality)
-- Human Rights Based Approach
-- Pressure on unrenewable natural resources: oil, water, air
And their implication for NGOs and NPOs are:
-- Changing environment: government and private sector become potential donors
-- Demands for good governance in all sectors; especially NGOs/NPOs
-- Organisational change required for local ownership, good governance and LRM
-- (Local Resource Mobilisation)
-- Strategic planning & results based management
-- Local fund raising necessary for local accountability
-- Empowerment, rights based & institution building programme foci
-- Combination of Advocacy & Action needed for impact
-- Learning and evidence based approaches required to link action to measurable results
-- Partnerships & scaling-up the way forward
UNDERSTANDING RESOURCE
MOBILISATION:
Resource mobilisation does not stem simply from knowledge of techniques. One key area for success comes from the understanding that resource mobilisation has to be planned and sustained.
Even more important is the understanding that fundraising has to start firstly from the mission of the organisation, and then develop from a sound programme plan and strategy. However, the mistake that many people make is that they begin first by looking for sources of funding rather than working out what they want to do and how much they need to do it.
In research supported by the Ford Foundation, East African NGOs were found to be changing the focus of their programmes each year, depending on what funding they had managed to secure.
The problem is that this dependency on grant funding can undermine an organisation's ability to maintain focus and expertise in their chosen programme area. Even though foreign grant funding will always be a vital source of support to civil society in many parts of the world, grant makers need to be more active in helping their recipients to reduce their overall reliance on grants through securing local funding.
While local resources may be not be easily or readily accessible, there is still much potential for most organisations to begin to generate at least part of their annual budget through local resource mobilisation.
This might include methods such as membership, appeals to individuals, events, corporate partnerships, and/or earning income in some way.
LACK OF LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE:
Although many people will gain valuable knowledge through their own experiences or through attending events like capacity-building workshops, they face a new challenge once they return to their own workplace. This arises because there is an absence of infrastructure to support them as they attempt to apply what they have learned.
In Europe or North America, there are many high-quality courses fundraisers can attend. There are books, journals, websites, consultants, as well as professional bodies to represent the interests of the sector.
In the developing world, however, very little of this exists and capacity development tends to be supply driven
Resource Alliance, therefore, now sees its mission as providing help to local organisations and institutions to develop local infrastructure to support resource mobilisation. This work continues to build on the impact initially achieved through the workshops and what we have learned through our engagement with those already working in local civil society.
Some of those who have attended Resource Alliance workshops have begun to organise themselves and their peers in an attempt to address some of the wider issues which NGOs face in seeking to mobilise resources locally - issues like legal and tax obstacles, lack of credibility and transparency, and professional development.
The Christian Relief and Development Association, the principal NGO umbrella body in Ethiopia, has sent a number of people to Resource Alliance events over the years. They have then gone on to use the knowledge they have gained, for example, in their work with government on developing a new NGO law. Also, in response to the growing interest from the local NGO community, they have recently appointed someone to act as a focal point for local resource mobilisation issues.
Resource Alliance has also supported the Kenya Association of Fundraising Professionals which was launched earlier this year. One of their priority areas is to campaign for tax incentives to encourage individual and corporate philanthropy.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS:
In order for NGOs to continue to succeed, they need to have a distinct vision and mission. They need to recognise the importance of capacity building at an individual and organisational level. Organisations in South Asia are not inclined to building the capacity of their staff/teams and expect results overnight Also, successful NGOs must invest in fundraising as it is only then that they can expect long term results.
Success seeking NGOs should ensure that the organisation's values, vision and mission are clear, and that they are consistently applied. All the work that the NGO undertakes should have a clear strategic link to the goals and objectives derived from the mission, while ensuring that this strategy is clear, practical and realistic. This is the behaviour that will lead NGOs down the path of success.
NGO's also need to identify whether they hold any sort of comparative advantage, and the best way to market this. Complacency and dependence on international agencies brings up the point of 'funding the fundraising' whereby international agencies support NGOs through start-up funding for their efforts, which although needed at this point, should not be entirely depended upon as this will never allow self-sufficiency and growth. NGOs also need to be able to measure the extent of their work, and the impact of their projects.
Accountability and transparency should always be an important focus in any successful NGO's working environment, as well as the ability to collaborate and cooperate.
COURTESY: NGORC Journal

Copyright Business Recorder, 2005

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