Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) refer to highly diverse groups of enterprises engaged in a wide spectrum of non-profit activities. In India, the growth of NGOs is extremely palpable. There is one NGO for every 400 people in India. It can be quite clearly observed that there has been tremendous growth of NGOs both national and international in the last two decades. However, not every NGO out there is engaged in serious social welfare work. Many are fraudulent and many are existing without much serious intent. Because of this, NGOs doing reak work face several challenges.
Credible and authentic NGOs face situations where they have to repeatedly vouch for their credibility, struggle to reach out to donors and volunteers, and have trouble collaborating with government agencies.
Below are some issues and challenges faced by NGOs In India –
The absence of strategic planning and development approaches
NGOs’ development approaches are not as flexible, sustainable, and relevant to the community as they have the potential to be. Furthermore, many NGOs suffer from the lack of a cohesive, strategic plan that would facilitate success in their activities and mission. This renders them unable to effectively raise and capitalize on financial support. Many NGOs do not maximize the use of current technologies that could facilitate better communication and networking. More effective use of technology can assist NGOs in staying abreast of important regional, national and global concerns.
Lack of Credibility
Any best NGO needs to showcase some serious work to establish its credibility. In order to generate the right quantities of funds to execute their projects, it is vital for NGOs to function like business entities. But NGOs should not become pure businesses either. This is because, at the end of the day, NGOs are not-for-profit institutions. Many NGOs in India do not like to open up about their finances and activities. This happens more so in the case of NGOs receiving foreign donations. Not only can this lead to a loss of potential donors but it can also dent their reputation. This is perhaps the most plaguing issue for NGOs operating in India.
Lack of Funds
Many NGOs find it difficult to garner sufficient and continuous funding for their work. Gaining access to appropriate donors is a major component of this challenge. They may have limited resource mobilization skills locally, so instead, they wait for international donors to approach them. Current donors may shift priorities and withdraw funding. The NGO might suffer from a general lack of project, organizational and financial sustainability.
The government scanner
With the recent Government of India crackdown on several NGOs coming under the scanner of the Indian government, it is important for NGOs to achieve and maintain a high degree of transparency in not just their work but also their financials. NGOs need to keep their income and expenditure open to public scrutiny. India is home to several organizations which under the garb of being NGOs are engaged in different inappropriate activities. Amidst this, NGOs with genuine intent can also face the heat. Therefore, any good NGO worth its salt must work with impeccable integrity. it is imperative for NGOs to maintain a healthy relationship with various government agencies – local, state-level, and Central governments. It is an extremely wrong notion that in order to do their work, NGOs need to go against the government. The truth is that NGOs need to liaison well with government entities and be a partner wherever needed.
Lack of Volunteerism/Social Work Among Youth
The present trend is that youth are choosing to pursue professional education and are not interested in working with NGOs. Their vision has been altered to include an urban lifestyle and professionalization, which, in their minds, rejects all possibilities of basing their career on working with NGOs and rural India. Consequently, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get trained personnel to work in rural societies, where most NGOs work. Earlier the NGOs were assumed, to be served by unpaid social workers imbued with the spirit of service and by those who did not require any special education or training.
Wrong people on the board
There is no denying the fact that there is a massive crunch of qualified and experienced development sector professionals in India. This is one of the major issues which NGOs face in their work. The projects devised by NGOs are quite complicated most of the time. They require them to go right amidst the most backward and marginalized communities, engage with them and work with them to craft solutions for their problems. To do all this, NGOs need people with a sound understanding of the socio-economic scenario of India.
Although several of these challenges cannot be countered easily, solutions do exist, which require patience and long-term implementation. Indian NGOs need to focus on matters of capacity building and training, which can help to provide crucial new skills.