Violence

IMPORTANT NOTICE

EOI for Empanelment of Expert Resources, Professionals, &
Individual Consultants (Short Term) for National
e-Governance Plan and Digital India Projects (Valid till 31.12.2015)

https://negp.gov.in/pdfs/eoieh.pdf

Final announcement for Registrations on NPO Governance programme-Sixth Batch

Dear Friends,

Greetings from FMSF!

We are pleased to inform you that the online programme on NPO Governance which began in 2012 has successfully graduated four batches, while the fifth batch is in progress. The registration for the sixth batch is open and interested participants can register.

NPOs are a noted component of civil society in the various fields of social development. The emergence of NGOs as formalized, structured institutions has been relatively recent. Further, with the introduction of CSR, the opportunity for the NGO sector has increased in terms of work, outreach, funding, sustainability etc. as most of the CSR activities are being administered through private NGOs. This has also resulted to the proliferation of NGOs which are often informally organized, unaudited, and operate with little governance. One of the areas on which the NGOs are assessed is its governance structure. Thus, governance is one of the key focus areas for an organization.

With this background, we wish to inform you that the NPO Governance Programme would provide an overview of the major issues involved in NGO Governance such as;

· Various Governance mechanism in NPOs

· Governance Structures & Processes

· Roles and Responsibilities of the Board Members

· Governance Controls required for an NPO

· Common myths and misconceptions in the Governance of NPOs

The course is web-based and comprises of four modules. The course materials on all four modules can be accessed online by the students. Further the program is open to participants across the globe.

Who should apply?

o Personnel working in mid-level, senior management level positions in NGOs, resource sharing
agencies or any other development organization

o CEOs, CFOs or Executive Director of NGOs

o Individual serving in Board of NGOs, resource sharing agencies

o Consultants involved in the review and evaluations of NGOs

To register, please go to our website www.fmsflearningsystems.org

Please note that the last date to register for this Batch is 25th February, 2015. Hurry!

Best wishes,

Sanjay Patra
Executive Director
FMSF

Comparative State-wise analysis of FCRA receipts for FY 2013-14

Based on data available at FCRA site, SRRF has undertaken an analysis of FCRA returns. This shows following state-wise position of Foreign Contribution received. Total contribution received is Rs 12,930 crores for FY 2013-14. This compares to Rs 11,066 crores for FY 12-13, indicating an increase of 16.8%.

State-wise data of FCRA funds received for FY 2013-14 and FY 2012-13 with data for number of organisations who have not filed their annual return. Key findings are:
Top 5 states constitute around 66% of overall FCRA funds rec’d during FY 2013-14. Details and comparison with previous year are as follows:
Delhi : Rs 2828 crores (22% of total FCRA funds rec’d during FY 2013-14), Increase in funds over FY 2012-13 : 25%.
Tamilnadu : Rs 1752 crores (13.5%), increase in funds rec’d during FY 2012-13 : 6.6%
Andhra Pradesh (undivided) : Rs 1338 crores (10.3%), increase over FY 2012-13 : 15%
Karnataka : Rs 1323 crores (10.2%), increase over FY 2012-13: 17%
Maharashtra : Rs 1293 crores (10.0%), increase over FY 2012-13: 22.6%
However what is a matter of concern that a large number of NGOs are still not filing annual return. It is observed that of 39087 entities registered with the FCRA Dept only 16868 NGOs have filed their annual return (FC6) with the Dept, in other words almost57% have not filed the annual returns.
This is really serious since this could result in further tightening by the FCRA Dept. putting a number of genuine organisations who otherwise follow the procedures at backfoot too.
It may be noted that the above analysis is for only those organisations which are registered with FCRA Dept and does not cover organisations which have prior permission. Thus it is quite likely that the amount of FCRA funds received could increase further.

Apply for FCRA Renewal Now!

FCRA registration of old organisations will expire on 30-April-2016. They should file their renewal application in FC-5. This should be filed one year in advance.

The last date for filing this is 30-April-2015.

Those who are receiving small amounts of foreign contribution can file FC-5 by 31-Oct-Oct-2015.

Ref:

· AccountAble 27: FCRA Renewal at www.AccountAid.net.

· Form FC-5 at www.AccountAid.net.

· This applies to all organisations who received their FCRA registration before 1-May-2011.

Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits a Workshop by Googlers & NGOBOX 26 Feb. 2015, Gurgaon

Dear Development Sector Colleague,

We are glad to announce that Team NGOBOX along with a bunch of dedicated Googlers is organising theGoogle Ad Grants; a Workshop for the NGOs

The idea is to create a learning platform to explore the abundant opportunities in the online advertising that you may capitalise on and make your organisation more visible, also explore newer ways of funding, and whats more its Free!

It's happening this month on February 26th at the Google office in Gurgaon from 2:30 to 5:00 pm.

The focused area of the workshop would be how to utilise Ad Words, a dedicated tool of Google Advertising to facilitate in your organisational objectives. The training team would comprise dedicated Googlers who have the right expertise in the Google advertising. Some of them include Shirly Nagrani who is the Account Planner for Google, Anuraag Khandelwal an Account Optimizer for Google and Munaf Kapadia who is the Analytical Lead for Google among others.

Google Ad Grants is the nonprofit edition of AdWords, Google's online advertising tool.

It empowers nonprofit organizations, through $10,000 per month in In-Kind AdWords advertising, to promote their missions and initiatives on Google search result pages.

For more information on AdWords you may check the following link:http://www.ngobox.org/events/google-ad-grants-nonprofits-workshop-googlers-brought-ngobox-free/

To register you have simply to fill the form available here , and the Team NGOBOX will get back to you about your confirmation.*

The invitation is for two people from each organisation.
At NGOBOX be firmly believe that technology can provide a great leverage to your cause, and hoping that you will take full advantage of this opportunity.

Looking forward to your active participation.

Best Regards,
Shikha Upadhayay
Lead Communication and Strategy
NGOBOX.org
shikha@ngobox.org
Mobile: +91-9971429654 (10.am to 6.30pm)

*Limited seats. Free Registration. Confirmation will be given after checking eligibility criteria for Google Ad Grants.

SAFRG ANNOUNCES A Certificate Course on Grant Proposal Writing

Early Bird discount available till 10th Feb’15

For details & Registrations contact: Shweta@safrg.org; programs@safrg.org ; 011-41489060

Many Thanks!!

Shweta Vishnoi
South Asian Fund Raising Group
J-1, Udyog Nagar, Peeragarhi, New Delhi - 110041
Tel - +91 11 4148 9060
Email:- shweta@safrg.org, programs@safrg.org
web: www.safrg.org
join us - www.facebook.com/safrg

Welcome

National Girl Child Day

Communication holds the key

Ritesh Dubey

Though people are passionate to serve society, it’s time they also understand the importance of communication and acquire necessary skills to communicate

While the number of NGOs in India vary between one and three million and several of them receive funds running into millions of rupees from the government and from abroad, not all NGOs are serving the needs of the people they are garnering funds for.

Recently, NGOs came under the Supreme Court’s scrutiny. This was the aftermath of the Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) submitting that only 10 per cent (out of 2.2 million) NGOs had filed annual income and expenditure statements.

When this correspondent met British national Murray Culshaw, an independent development worker, who has been working with NGOs in India for over two decades, he pointed that it is as important to have a lens on NGOs, as it is vital for the health of a democratic society for NGOs to thrive, communicate and advocate their cause.

Passionate about social issues, Bangalore-based Murray claims he often meets people doing amazing work desperately needed by individuals and communities. And that they manage to do it “in the very challenging situations all around us in the beautiful yet twisted and torn world we live in.”

The interview:

KHALEEJ TIMES: What exactly is your work like?

MURRAY CULSHAW: I rarely use the word ‘work’ for what I do. In the vast range of opportunities, which exist, I concentrate on encouraging NGOs to communicate their work and raise resources to improve and expand their services.

How did it all begin?

I came as a carpentry teacher to India to be in a Christian technical school for youth (without academic qualifications) to learn skills to earn a living; I became interested in the management of technical institutes and NGOs working on development subjects like education and vocational training in rural areas.

This provided opportunities to travel and work as a freelance consultant for international agencies like the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and ActionAid in countries such as Kenya, Palestine and India. Then, I was responsible for Oxfam’s work in India and was based in Delhi for five years. During this period I became aware of the plight (isolation and shortage of income) of NGOs in urban and rural areas, tied to the ‘grant system’.

What exactly is the grant system and how does it work?

The grant-system has arisen from two sources. The first source is where good-hearted people collect money from like-minded people for a cause. This is done through an organisational structure for distribution to NGOs, who have submitted ‘proposals’ or ‘projects’. Sadly, NGOs are forced to spend precious leadership time convincing a few people for grants and often little thought goes into building understanding of and support for their cause in wider society. On the other hand, thousands of people offer money by way of this system, but they do not know to which NGO it goes.

Grant making organisations prefer giving grants for specific works — like running a school or digging a well, but do not care for the NGOs need for communication. This leaves NGOs with no money to communicate their work to society. The same situation prevails wherein the second source, that is grants from the government, is concerned. So neither grant making organisations or the government provide funds to help organisations communicate their work to society, even though it is vital.

You believe things could improve for NGOs if they were able to communicate to the society?

Creating a new brand of toothpaste may not be easy; but responding to people faced with disease, disabilities, lack of shelter, clothing and food, abused and denied rights, is even harder. So, if NGOs were to communicate how they were responding to people’s needs, society would certainly respond in all sorts of practical ways and NGOs and their services would become stronger. But the hurdle is both finance and manpower.

Apart from financial crunch, isn’t a shortage of skilled staff the reason for lack of communication?

Most certainly. Though people are passionate to serve society, it’s time they also understand the importance of both communication and the necessary skills to communicate. There are a few very short training courses. However, training alone cannot solve the problem. People with right intentions and good communication skills such as listening, speaking, writing and designing, have to be recruited. Such people do exist, but they may not have heard of opportunities or the need for their skills. If the need is understood by the NGO and ‘communicated’, a steady stream of youngsters could be recruited into communication teams, even if it means an NGO having to reduce so-called ‘programme’ work, to start with. Hiring one person and gradually expanding the team does work.

Most NGOs in India are said to be corrupt. What has been your experience?

Yes, some are corrupt. But I believe most corruption in NGOs comes from the ones who seek grants from the government. For many, it is a terrible dilemma. To get a grant sanctioned and then to get it disbursed, there is very often the ‘need’ to pay a bribe. Some do, but others refuse at the cost of not getting the grant.

Sadly, there is no research and, therefore, no facts to back up these statements. But ask any NGO if it’s true and I am confident they’ll verify it.

With the Supreme Court observing that NGOs hide facts on funds and making it mandatory for them to submit annual income and expenditure, you think it will make a difference?

Not just the NGOs, everyone, including political parties, private companies and individuals hide facts, even though submission of income and expenses is already mandatory! The problem is with the regulatory institutions, which are absolutely inadequate to report and analyze information. Though it is getting better now, one hopes that with improved computerisation the issues around financial transparency and accountability will reduce.

What else is required?

There’s a need to analyse a number of aspects of NGO finances, especially the salaries of CEO’s. A sample from a recently published US report reads: “The worst offender was yet again for the 11th year in a row — UNICEF. The CEO receives $1.2 million plus use of a Rolls Royce and an ‘expense’ account. Only $0.14 per dollar goes to the UNICEF cause.” So, if we could gather such facts in India, it could trigger some debate!

Any causes that you feel people are unaware of and could support?

I am associated with an organisation that works with the deaf-blind (people who may be born both deaf and blind, born blind and subsequently lose their hearing power, or born deaf and become blind). Many people have not even heard of such a condition. Few would be aware that there are around 500,000 estimated cases of deaf-blindness in the country.

Similarly, there’s an endless list of causes: the plight of children of mothers who have been put in prison; eye cancer; leprosy still being discovered everyday; abused children, various and dangerous forms of child labour; widows with no homes and elderly with no support — that need to be made known. That’s why I emphasise the need for NGOs to communicate their cause and build a solid base of people who understand and support.

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Source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=/data/expressions/2015/January/expressions_January13.xml&section=expressions