Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)
A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) is a non-profit organization that is not a governmental organization.
- AKA: Non-Profit Civil Society Organization.
- Context:
- It can range from being a Local Non-Governmental Organization, to being a National Non-Governmental Organization, to being an International Non-Governmental Organization.
- It can range from being a Charitable-Orientation Organization, to being a Service-Orientation Organization, to being a Participatory-Orientation Organization, to being an Empowering-Orientation Organization.
- Example(s):
- Counter-Example(s):
- a Governmental Organization.
- an Inter-Governmental Organization, such as UNICEF (a UN Agency) and WTO.
- a Nation.
- See: Governmental Organization.
References
2016
- (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-governmental_organization Retrieved:2016-10-16.
- A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a not-for-profit organization that is independent from states and international governmental organizations. They are usually funded by donations but some avoid formal funding altogether and are run primarily by volunteers. NGOs are highly diverse groups of organizations engaged in a wide range of activities, and take different forms in different parts of the world. Some may have charitable status, while others may be registered for tax exemption based on recognition of social purposes. Others may be fronts for political, religious, or other interests.
The number of NGOs in the world wide is estimated at 3.7 million. Russia has 277,000 NGOs. India is estimated to have had around 2 million NGOs in 2009, just over one NGO per 600 Indians, and many times the number of primary schools and primary health centres in India. NGOs are difficult to define, and the term 'NGO' is not always used consistently. In some countries the term NGO is applied to an organization that in another country would be called an NPO (nonprofit organization), and vice versa. There are many different classifications of NGO in use. The most common focus is on "orientation" and "level of operation". An NGO's orientation refers to the type of activities it takes on. These activities might include human rights, environmental, improving health, or development work. An NGO's level of operation indicates the scale at which an organization works, such as local, regional, national, or international. The term "non-governmental organization" was first coined in 1945, when the United Nations (UN) was created. The UN, itself an inter-governmental organization, made it possible for certain approved specialized international non-state agencies — i.e., non-governmental organizations — to be awarded observer status at its assemblies and some of its meetings. Later the term became used more widely. Today, according to the UN, any kind of private organization that is independent from government control can be termed an "NGO", provided it is not-for-profit, nonprevention, and not simply an opposition political party. One characteristic these diverse organizations share is that their non-profit status means they are not hindered by short-term financial objectives. Accordingly, they are able to devote themselves to issues which occur across longer time horizons, such as climate change, malaria prevention, or a global ban on landmines. Public surveys reveal that NGOs often enjoy a high degree of public trust, which can make them a useful – but not always sufficient – proxy for the concerns of society and stakeholders.
- A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a not-for-profit organization that is independent from states and international governmental organizations. They are usually funded by donations but some avoid formal funding altogether and are run primarily by volunteers. NGOs are highly diverse groups of organizations engaged in a wide range of activities, and take different forms in different parts of the world. Some may have charitable status, while others may be registered for tax exemption based on recognition of social purposes. Others may be fronts for political, religious, or other interests.
- (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-governmental_organization#By_orientation Retrieved:2016-10-16.
- Charitable orientation often involves a top-down paternalistic effort with little participation by the "beneficiaries". It includes NGOs with activities directed toward meeting the needs of the poor peoples.
- Service orientation includes NGOs with activities such as the provision of health, family planning or education services in which the programme is designed by the NGO and people are expected to participate in its implementation and in receiving the service.
- Participatory orientation is characterized by self-help projects where local people are involved particularly in the implementation of a project by contributing cash, tools, land, materials, labour etc. In the classical community development project, participation begins with the need definition and continues into the planning and implementation stages.
- Empowering orientation aims to help poor people develop a clearer understanding of the social, political and economic factors affecting their lives, and to strengthen their awareness of their own potential power to control their lives. There is maximum involvement of the beneficiaries with NGOs acting as facilitators.[1]
- (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-governmental_organization#By_level_of_operation Retrieved:2016-10-16.
- Community-based organizations (CBOs) arise out of people's own initiatives. They can be responsible for raising the consciousness of the urban poor, helping them to understand their rights in accessing needed services, and providing such services.
- City-wide organizations include organizations such as chambers of commerce and industry, coalitions of business, ethnic or educational groups, and associations of community organizations.
- 'National NGOs include national organizations such as the YMCAs/YWCAs, professional associations and similar groups. Some have state and city branches and assist local NGOs.
- "International NGOs range from secular agencies such as Ducere Foundation and Save the Children organizations, OXFAM, CARE, Ford Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation to religiously motivated groups. They can be responsible for funding local NGOs, institutions and projects and implementing projects.[1]
- Apart from "NGO", there are alternative or overlapping terms in use, including: third sector organization (TSO), non-profit organization (NPO), voluntary organization (VO), civil society organization (CSO), grassroots organization (GO), social movement organization (SMO), private voluntary organization (PVO), self-help organization (SHO) and non-state actors (NSAs).
In Spanish, French, Italian and other Romance languages, the 'mirrored' abbreviation "ONG" is in use, which has the same meaning as "NGO" (for example Organización no gubernamental in Spanish or Organizzazione non governativa in Italian).
Governmental related organizations / non-governmental organizations are a heterogeneous group. As a result, a long list of additional acronyms has developed, including:
- BINGO: 'Business-friendly international NGO' or 'Big international NGO'
- SBO: 'Social Benefit Organization,' a positive, goal-oriented designation as an substitute for the negative, "Non-" designations
- TANGO: 'Technical assistance NGO'
- TSO: 'Third-sector organization'
- GONGO: 'government-organized non-governmental organization' or 'government-operated NGOs' (set up by governments to look like NGOs in order to qualify for outside aid or promote the interests of government)
- DONGO: 'Donor organized NGO'
- INGO: 'International NGO'
- QUANGO: 'Quasi-autonomous NGO,' such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). (The ISO is actually not purely an NGO, since its membership is by nation, and each nation is represented by what the ISO Council determines to be the 'most broadly representative' standardization body of a nation. That body might itself be a nongovernmental organization; for example, the United States is represented in ISO by the American National Standards Institute, which is independent of the federal government. However, other countries can be represented by national governmental agencies; this is the trend in Europe.)
- National NGO: A non-governmental organization that exists only in one country. This term is rare due to the globalization of non-governmental organizations, which causes an NGO to exist in more than one country.
- CSO: 'Civil Society Organization'
- ENGO: 'Environmental NGO,' such as Greenpeace and WWF.
- NNGO: 'Northern NGO'
- PANGO: 'Party NGO,' set up by parties and disguised as NGOs to serve their political matters.
- SNGO: 'Southern NGO'
- SCO: 'Social change organization'
- TNGO: 'Transnational NGO.' The term emerged during the 1970s due to the increase of environmental and economic issues in the global community. TNGO includes non-governmental organizations that are not confined to only one country, but exist in two or more countries.
- GSO: Grassroots Support Organization.
- MANGO: 'Market advocacy NGO'
- NGDO: 'Non-governmental development organization'
- USAID refers to NGOs as private voluntary organizations. However, many scholars have argued that this definition is highly problematic as many NGOs are in fact state- or corporate-funded and -managed projects and have professional staff.GRO/NGOs exist for a variety of reasons, usually to further the political or social goals of their members or founders. Examples include improving the state of the natural environment, encouraging the observance of human rights, improving the welfare of the disadvantaged, or representing a corporate agenda. However, there are a huge number of such organizations and their goals cover a broad range of political and philosophical positions. This can also easily be applied to private schools and athletic organizations.
- Community-based organizations (CBOs) arise out of people's own initiatives. They can be responsible for raising the consciousness of the urban poor, helping them to understand their rights in accessing needed services, and providing such services.