Information You Can Use: A Bi-monthly Service for the UN and Civil Society
Volume 1, Issue 4, August-September 2004

Stop Competing, Start Co-operating!

June 2004
Source: New Strait Times (Malaysia)
Author: Kasmiah Mustapha

Non-governmental organisations in developing countries tend to be fragmented and territorial. They need to come together if they want to change things effectively.

WORK together and become one voice, says a British-based activist to NGOs here. Neelam Makhijani, programme director for London-based Resource Alliance, an international NGO and charitable organisation, says NGOs must co-operate with one another as this would make them a force to be reckoned with. With that comes the ability to effect changes, if need be, in government policies.

"To make an impact on the government and its policies, NGOs need to work together and become one voice, regardless of their different agendas. If they look at each other as competitors, how can they influence the policy makers?" Unfortunately, Makhijani laments that NGOs in developing countries are individualistic, fragmented and instead of collaborating, they seem to compete with each other even if they share the same aims and goals.

"What is lacking is the common civil society which brings all the NGOs together. Together they would become stronger because if they are fragmented, they may not be able to make an impact on anything," she says.

Makhijani, who has been involved with Resource Alliance since 2003, is responsible for the organisation's global programme. Part of her job is to support capacity building of not-for-profits organisations in developing countries to mobilise funds and local resources for their causes.

She was in Kuala Lumpur recently to conduct a training programme for NGOs, organised by the Citigroup Foundation. From her experience, she says that one of the biggest challenges faced by NGOs in Malaysia is the lack of funds for advocacy purposes.

"Based on the feedback I received at the training programme, I found that the NGOs here are still at the premature stage of fund raising. Most of them are not trained to be fund raisers. "NGOs must realise that having adequate funds is important because advocating is a long process and this requires a lot of money. And the way they are doing it is not touching even the tip of the iceberg." According to Makhijani, NGOs usually use the old approach to raise funds through events such as dinners, walkathons or jogathons. Unfortunately, she notes that these are not the most money-making activities; they are mainly profile-building activities.
Greater fund-raising potential lies in big corporations and the public, she says.

"Malaysia has 23 million people and with the exception of children, each citizen is a donor. But of course, you cannot just ask for money from the public. In order to get people to donate, you would have to make them aware of your causes. "Educate the public on their rights and the issues which should benefit them. In this case, the media need to work closely with NGOs to highlight the issues and their causes." She adds that NGOs should know that fund raising is a career in itself. In Britain, seven per cent of the population work for charities because it is their profession. Makhijani points out that NGOs should never rely on the government to provide funds for their causes.

"If they keep turning to the government for funds, then being an NGO would be pointless because if the government has all the resources they do not need NGOs." She adds that NGOs should also move away from their roles of providing service and welfare to the public to a social investment organisation.
"If you look at Oxfam and Action Aid, for example; their roles have changed from charity to philanthropy to social investment. Now most of their funds have gone into advocacy and campaigning rather than service providing." Despite the difficulties and having to work in a challenging environment, she observes that NGOs here are passionate about their work.

"They are doing the best they can with whatever that's available, but they need to open their eyes and minds to so many other things. They can be effective in their roles provided they are committed towards capacity building. You have to invest in something to get back something. Investing in capacity building is important.
"In return, they will become more professional and could efficiently play their role in changing and setting policies for the public."

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