NGO Full Form Name
Full
Form of NGO :
Non-Governmental
Organization
NGO
Full Form is Non-Governmental Organization.
NGO refers to associations which neither belongs to the ‘for-profit’ business
nor to the government. It is formed by the citizens of a nation and is normally
funded by foundations, governments, businesses and individual citizens.
According
to the World Bank, NGOs can be classified as (a) Operational NGOs that are
associated with various project developments, (b) Advocacy NGOs that are
associated with promoting a cause. Few of popular NGOs in India include
Deepalaya, Smile Foundation, Pratham, Sammaan Foundation, Udaan Welfare
Foundation, HelpAge India, etc…
In
fact there are variations in NGO, such as (1) Business-friendly International
or Big International or BINGO – e.g. Red Cross, (2) International NGO or INGO –
e.g. Oxfam, (3) Environmental NGO or ENGO – e.g. World Wildlife Fund, (4) Quasi
Autonomous NGO or QUANGO – e.g. ISO, (5) Religious International NGO or RINGO –
e.g. Catholic Relief Services, (5) Donor Organized NGO or DONGO, (6) Technical
Assistance NGO or TANGO, (7) Market Advocacy NGO or MANGO
NGO
Full Form – Additional Information
NGO
holds greater relevance, especially when these organizations have started
playing major roles in the promotion and development of many goals directed at
various issues of the society such as child labor, freedom of speech, gay
rights, and other issues. Before we discuss various facets of the
non-governmental organizations, hereinafter will be referred to as NGOs, we
shall begin with the introductory segment on the same.
Introduction
to NGO
As
the name is itself quite evident, an NGO does not function as a government body
or for-profit business. It is an independent organization, largely free from
State control. These organizations are generally established by citizens, but
there are many NGOs that obtain their funding from corporations, governments,
other foundations, and even private persons. These organizations are usually
run by volunteers. As mentioned before, these organizations are some of the
most diverse organizations in the world, taking up a myriad of issues relevant
to the society at large. There are NGOs, which are established for charitable
purposes whereas many NGOs become registered for tax exemption depending upon
the social cause the organization is pursuing.
There
are millions of NGOs currently functioning from across different parts of the
world, with the United States of America alone having approximately 1.5 million
of NGOs. In Russia, there are more than 300,000 NGOs active. As far as India is
concerned, there are more than two million NGOs in the country, with one NGO
for every 600 people and this number clearly exceeds the number of primary
schools and health centers in the country. There is no definite definition of
the word ‘NGO’ and the word is understood in varying senses.
For
example, in many countries, the word NGO is often used to refer to an
organization, which in any other country would be called Non-profit
Organization (abbreviated as NPO). NGOs have many classifications and the focus
is made on the stage of operation and orientation of an NGO to subject it to
classification. The word orientation refers to the kind of activities that an
NGO undertakes such as labor, women’s rights, gay rights, etc. The stage or
level of operation refers to the scale at which the NGO undertakes its
functions such as whether the functions of an NGO are regional or national or
international.
The
first time the word NGO was used was in the year 1945, at the time of the
foundation of the United Nations. (abbreviated as UN). The UN is originally a
non-governmental organization and has come up with certain resolutions that
give certain specialized NGOs observer status. Now it has become general
understanding that an organization without any governmental control can be
called as NGO. This, however, comes with a proviso and that is the organization
must be non-profit, and non-prevention. Now that we have finished off with the
introductory segment, it is time we dealt with other facets of an NGO. We shall
begin with the classification of an NGO.
Classification
of an NGO
As
mentioned in the introduction segment, an NGO is classified on the basis of
orientation and level of operation. Both of these classifying heads shall be
discussed under this segment.
- Orientation as a basis of
classification
The
following are some of the examples that show classification of the NGOS on the
basis of their respective orientations:
- Charitable organization: The NGOs which are engaged in collection and use of
charitable funds to discharge their functions come under this head. These
NGOs are usually directed towards meeting the requirements of the needy
people.
- Empowering Orientation: It is yet another classification on the basis of
orientation. NGOs with such orientation are aimed at helping poor people
in a manner so as to develop a better understanding of them on various
economic, social, and political factors that affect them. These NGOs
endeavor to make poor persons aware of their rights and various ways to
control their life.
- Service Orientation: AN NGO with this category of orientation engages in
activities such as family planning, health management, and education. NGOs
conduct various programs to facilitate participation of needy persons.
- Participatory Orientation: The NGO with a participatory orientation are defined
by various self-help programs conducted by them. In such programs, local
people participate in its implementation by pooling in resources such as
labor, money, land materials, etc.
- Level of Operation as a basis
of classification
As
mentioned before, the level of operation refers to the scale with which an
organization organizes its programs and discharges many of its functions. Under
this head, we shall discuss various types of categories under the Level of
Operation Classification.
- International NGOs: The name is in itself clear about the scale. These
NGOs function at an International level and have their operations expanded
to various international jurisdictions. Some of the examples of such NGOs
include Greenpeace, Save the Children, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller
Foundation, and OXFAM International, etc.
- National NGOs: These NGOs have limited their functions and programs
within the domestic boundaries. They have a prominent presence in the
country, with many offices and branches in different cities and towns.
Some of the examples, of such organizations, are CRY, etc.
- City-wide NGOs: The area of functioning reduces to a particular city.
These NGOs include small ethnic groups, educational groups, community
organizations, etc.
- Community-based NGOs: Such NGOs often result out of independent initiatives
of people. Most of them take up a common, regional agenda to spread. For
example, raising awareness about the shortage of water among urban
persons.
With
time, many acronyms pertaining to NGOs have surfaced. These overlapping terms
include non-profit organization (abbreviated as NPO), third-sector organization
(abbreviated as TSO), civil society organization (abbreviated as CSO), Private
Voluntary Organization (abbreviated as PVO), social movement organization (
abbreviated as SMO), non-state actors, (Abbreviated as NSAs) private voluntary
organization (abbreviated as PVO), voluntary organization (abbreviated as VO),
etc.
Activities
NGOs are engaged with
The
typology that we have discussed in the preceding segment is used by the Word
Bank. It is these typologies that are indicative of various activities
undertaken by NGOs from time to time. The role played by NGOs will differ. Some
NGOs only undertake functions pertaining to raising awareness. While many NGOs
will act as lobbyists, the other will conduct programs on various issues. Under
this segment, we shall discuss various activities typical to any NGO.
Operational
activities of the NGOs
Operational
NGOs aim to achieve small to medium scale goals with the help of projects. Such
NGOs will gather funds, volunteers, and materials for the execution of the
project within local areas. Most of such NGOs hold fundraising events prior to
the organization of the actual main event. Generally, there is a hierarchy that
runs throughout the operations of such NGOs. At the top level, there are
professionals who chalk out the roadmap to the organization of the project.
These professionals are responsible for the creation of budgets, keeping
account information, and communicating with other members working at the lower
rungs of the organizations.
Operational
NGOs deal with a myriad of issues but most of their focus is on issues such as
emergency relief, disaster management, environmental degradation, etc. Such
operational NGOs can be further classified into development operational NGOs
and relief oriented operational NGOs. The classification shall depend on whether
the operational NGO is involved in secular or religious, participatory or
service programs, etc. Generally, the operational NGOs are locally based
however, there are many such NGOs that are nationally and internationally
functional.
Campaigning
Another
set of NGOs is the campaigning NGOs. These NGOs, unlike operational NGOs, are
aimed at large scale objectives and attempt to achieve them with the use of
influence that the political system exerts. Because of the magnitude of the
goals, such NGOs are staffed by a group of professionals. These professionals
have to ensure that the other members of the organization are motivated and
inspired.
In
order to achieve their goals, these NGOs keep at their helm a large and strong
network of supporters, who can be readily mobilized for programs conducted so
that media attention is sufficiently drawn. This helps in influencing policy
changes. Campaigning NGOs generally deal with issues pertaining to human
rights, children rights, women’s rights. These NGOs are known for holding
demonstrations and protests. Unlike operational NGOs, these NGOs make the best
use of media, lobbyists, and volunteers.
Both
campaigning and operational
There
are many NGOs that exhibit both characteristics of operational NGOs and
campaigning NGOs. Since campaigning NGOs use more active methods of endorsing
issues, many operational NGOs use similar techniques to gather attention and
healthy response.
Public
relations
One
of the most fundamental requirements that must be met with is a healthy
relationship with public. This requirement is essential for the survival and
credibility of NGOs, which essentially serve the public. Many NGOs organize
public relation programs so as to strike a balanced conversation with public on
issues that affect them the most. This way, the NGOs would be able to
adequately design their tactics on influencing the policy changes.
Overhead
costs
It
is an essential aspect of the overall functioning of an NGO. Overhead cost is a
term that is used to refer to the total expenses incurred on operating an NGO
rather than on programs. Overhead Cost includes office expenses as well. It is
one of the yardsticks to determine the quality and credibility of an NGO for
example, an NGO with less than 4 percent of the overhead cost is considered as
good.
The
World Association of Non-Governmental Organization provides that a typical NGO
should spend 86 percent of the financial resources on projects and less than 20
percent of overhead costs. There are guidelines that the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has laid down. The guidelines prescribe that 5-7
percent of the financial resources should be spent on overhead costs. The Word
Bank prescribes 37 percent as overhead costs but even still, higher overhead
costs would create great difficulties for NGOs to generate funds. It will
picture the NGO in the bad light, creating an impression that the NGO operates
for profit purposes.
Legal
status enjoyed by NGOs
The
legal status of the NGOs will depend on the jurisdiction we are concerned with.
However, the legal statuses of NGOs are generally divided into four categories
such as:
- Trusts, foundations, and
charities
- Special NGOs
- Companies not for profit
- Voluntary association and
unincorporated