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ELEMENTS OF A GOOD ORGANIZATION5/21/2018 Q: How do I figure out what group or organization to be involved with and what are good pre-requisites to have?
There are many organizations, startups, enterprises working in community and global development. It is up to you to pick and choose which ones would lead you to you closer to your desired career, contribution or business pathway. As I have written in the blog, Why is passion overrated? unless you have determined your interests and skills set as part of self-discovery, this is going to be an endless task. There are no perfect organizations but a few signals about them would reveal if they are a good organization to work with either as an intern, volunteer or paid staff. -Are they self-sustainable or are they living from one grant /donation to another? Are they downsizing or on a growth spurt? If they are having difficulty retaining staff, they are not in the best shape for sure. -Do they have a good, dynamic, and effective Board/Trustees? Do they retain their Board for a long period of time but also get new Boards to take up new responsibilities and provide fresh insights? Both of these signal interest and continued commitment to the purposes of the organization. -Do they take care of their staff, volunteers and their Executive Director? How is the structure of the organization convened? Do they have a non-hierarchical and flat structure or they have an overwhelming red tape that it is cumbersome to get things done on time and with less hassle? Do they value self-care and leadership development for their staff? -Are their programs and services continuously being improved? Do you see a lot of innovation and assets-based engagement? If yes, then you will learn more from these types of organizations who are always striving to increase the effectiveness of their efforts. -Are they a learning organization? Do they carry out studies, evaluations, and assessments about how they are impacting their constituencies? How frequently do they take a stock of their achievements and the changing environment they operate in? Are they market-oriented and future-oriented? This is not an exhaustive list but I think you get the point. The more you look at the operational and strategic elements of the organization, the more you will understand where the organization is headed and if it's in the best health moving forward. Large organizations do not mean they are successful and impactful and smaller organizations do not mean that they have a smaller impact. It is not about the size but how their strategies and the resources are deployed for their intended results. Small can be way more efficient, effective, and smart about its footprint in the world. Big organizations have more complex systems, operations, and people to look after and develop. Make a choice. Try working in a small organization and a big organization (one at a time) and see the difference. In your sector, what are the elements of a good organization? Share your thoughts here.
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INTENTIONALITY BEATS ANY STRATEGY5/15/2018 A couple of weeks ago, I attended an event entitled Domestic Violence Report to Community regarding Immigrants and Refugee Populations. There were pastors, ministers, RCMPs, victim’s services, non-profits, service providers, colleges & universities, and other important stakeholders in the community that attended. What I learned from the conversations in groups is important. While the issue of domestic violence is not new, the fact that this is also prevalent amongst the immigrant and refugees needs to be addressed. This is not talked about because of the stigma attached to the issue. Under-reporting is very common. Immigrants and refugees do not talk about this for fear of being deported or threatened to be deported by their sponsoring spouse or family members. Families of immigrant tend to resolve it through informal channels that sometimes increase the risk of vulnerability and decrease their options that can potentially remove them from further risk of harm and violence. While this is not culture-specific, the pressures and tensions of immigration are one of the causes why immigrants and refugees resort to using violence in resolving their family issues. Women and children are mostly the vulnerable parties in this situation. The changing gender roles in the family is also a factor since most immigrants come from a culture where men are responsible for providing for the family while women take care of domestic responsibilities including child rearing, care for the elderly parents and other household chores. The economic strains of holding two to three jobs at a time to put food on the table for immigrant families have an impact on their emotional health and physical well-being. What can be done now? The local research showed that institutions that welcome and provide information, services, and resources to newcomers and immigrants must have an information on domestic violence and resources available from a wide variety of service providers, institutions such as churches and other religious authorities, the law enforcement agencies and the legal organizations, and immigrant-serving organizations. Involving men and boys to foster positive healthy relationships in the family is an important step towards changing the perspectives, behaviors, and attitudes towards gender roles, conflict management, and seeking professional support when necessary. Specific funding from the federal, provincial and independent sources allocated to increase supports and behavioral change programs towards positive, healthy relationships
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This is a big question that I have to pause when I heard somebody say that they don’t want to be fundraising for the rest of their life.
In a traditional NGO lifecycle, there is fundraising, and fundraising, and fundraising. It is the starting point (never-ending point) of an organization’s life and there is no end in sight. Maybe unless you hit a jackpot- a billionaire just pledged their whole wealth on your program. Then, you are freed from raising monies. If one is not fundraising, where is the money going to come from? Is there a way to detach fundraising from our work and let some platform do it for us? And how about the fees for service? Is there a machine/robot that can just do a lot of crowdsourcing for a small fee? Is there a way to run a social enterprise /income generation part of the organization to get the revenue coming? Is there a way to leverage existing partnerships to create new business opportunities? Is there a way to remove parts of the organization that have become stagnant and source of burden all the time? Is there a way to form a network for the sole purpose of fundraising for the projects? Is there a way to tell donors to stop funding those that have not shown impact/proof of impact so we can get a bigger pie? Is there a way to teach newer NGOs/non-profits to become market-driven and do not emulate the traditional ones that just ask for monies all the time? Is there a way to elevate the conversation about fundraising to fulfilling your need to give before you die? Is there a way to match money per impact, i.e. how many communities did get out from poverty? How many girls went to complete tertiary education? This is happening I know. Is there a way to create an Uber-like project from the communities in need and then get it funded by people all over the world? When the communities get back on its feet, they get to return the monies. We need more imagination to deconstruct fundraising for the future. I have many more questions than answers. I think you get the drift. What do you think about this question? Share your thoughts. |
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