Collaborative article by Volunteers Ravina (FHI Surat) & Kratika (FHI Lucknow)
Charity is a moral responsibility for every individual who is capable enough to satiate their own needs and contribute to a social cause close to their hearts. Charity is intuition; it is sharing a part of our privilege with the less fortunate ones. Real contribution is when we can improve someone’s day or month, year, or entire life.
The growth of any NGO today is being retarded due to the lack of awareness among people who are seeking help and who are willing to help. Their obliviousness makes them lose some really good opportunities for amelioration. For any organization, its volunteers/team is an integral part. They hold the flambeau of their organization throughout all the challenges.
In this context they can:
- Organise educational and social events including various contests, competitions, and workshops related to the cause of an NGO.
- Partnering with Ted talks where people involved with the NGO can share their journey.
- Creating good content on their websites, being consistent, responsive, and addressing the problems quickly.
- Collaborating with other NGOs and imparting knowledge on various social issues and how they can be solved.
- Using Advertising through television, podcasts, informational pamphlets, and other means.
- Securing sponsors and organizing awareness campaigns.
- Organising fundraising events and promotional product giveaways.
- Using social media algorithms dynamically (hashtags, reels, challenge videos, etc)
- Tie up with schools, hospitals, and other institutions to spread the word about the organization and its objective.
- Helping them with verification, certification, and accreditation of NGOs by organizations such as GuideStar India, CAF India, GiveIndia, Caring Friends, and Dastra.
The more active the interaction between an NGO and the public, the better the connection. This in turn develops a deep-rooted trust in an NGO’s cause and action plan. NGOs will be able to better secure state-funded grants and contracts when people put their trust in them.
While NGOs are sometimes state-funded, the grants and contracts cover basic expenses like staff salaries and supplies and have certain rules about where and how to spend the money they provide. Individual giving is a gateway to solutions when other resources run out.
Individual giving is a great help to NGOs in being creative, keeping the communication alive between the charity and its audience, and providing high-quality services to those in need. Moreover, these donations also cover basic healthcare facilities, helping with a child’s education, transport, and documentation.
Individual giving is not just donating money, but also volunteering for the NGO, helping with building beneficial contacts, sponsoring someone’s education and healthcare directly, and providing supplies.
NGOs themselves can also encourage individual giving through creative methods such as organizing open mics, marathons, and exhibitions. One such example is Daan Utsav/Joy of Giving Week, which was started in 2009. The event saw a rise in donors from 1 million givers in 1st year to 6-7 million givers in 2019. These methods not only promote individual giving but also bring awareness among those who cannot help with donations but can help spread the word.
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