Do NGOs in India Really Work for Others OR Work for their Own Vested Interests?

This in response of comment of Amar Deep Tiwari,

Let us look at NGOs as a complimentary and support system of the government We must appreciate that fact that government Alone will not be able to do every thing on its own, every welfare scheme and plans does have have an 'NGO element' in them.

We cannot rule out NGOs existence. Coming to your statement "Behind these organisations people make only their life better instead of poor people" Please note that today's NGos are much more or rather very professional. The staff invests years of professional education and mind you a professional social work degree from a premier institute in India is expensive. However, even the senior most staff members in the organisations do not get paid closer to 15-20% of salary if he/she works in a corporate entity. So it is generalization that that 'they make their life better'.

Social work today is not about living a life of renunciation like a Sadhu or a Nun, it is a profession and like in any other profession, only if staff is paid decently will they be in a better condition to serve others. At the end each one of us has a family to take care of. How does one save for his/her old age? Health costs are rising, children's education in a decent school is getting difficult to pay for. I have seen my colleagues in NGO working for paltry salaries, and getting huge salaries when they moved to a company or abroad (huge by even western standards).

Going by the logic, so many people choose govt services, which are today very highly paid, and mind you each govt staff is paid out taxes. Who pays these taxes? You and me. Govt's work is also not a business but a 'service', and going by this logic why should the govt. Servants have very high salaries, govt benefits, housing, vehicles and what not depending on their job profiles. They are doing 'service' and should not have air conditioned cars, offices, cabins, leave travel concession (LTC) , or concessional travel for govt. Airline of railways. "Why" should they? Railways is not a profit making venture but a public service company. However, even they are human beings, they deserve to be getting what is due to them, they are entitled to all these, because only when your needs are satisfied, will you be in the capacity to do for others, they have their families to take care of.

So, let us not get into this. Yes, there will always be exceptions where some of the NGOs who may have done malpractice or broken the law at some level, but most NGOs are formed with a positive intention to 'serve a particular need/cause'.

Tax deductions are provided for donations to encourage people to do charity. No one can create an NGO to save taxes, mind you there are so many compliance and rules today that it is difficult to create an NGO to 'save taxes. '.

By the way how many of us simply donate when visiting a holy shrine or a place of worship, without questioning the utility of these anonymous donation boxes? We trust that it has gone to safe hands, and will be used for betterment of the shrine, facilities of that place etc. And other service activities.

Let us not generalize our singular experiences. If you want to contribute to an NGO, internet is at your disposal. Check the website, speak to the staff, representatives, speak to the beneficiaries, look at all the valid registrations, documents importantly, ask for their 'Annual Report'. Please Google for leads to their history of any untoward event/happening. But do not go to a non-profit organisation with an 'attitude of doubt or skepticism'.

Most NGOs are so very professional today, as such they have ways to look at their own efficiency, may be by way of being conscious of cost per beneficiary, maintaining a healthy ratio of administrative and programme related expenditures, measuring 'Social Return on Investment' (SROI) , maintaining staff-beneficiary ratio, maintaining a reasonable 'Cost of Fund raising', conducting impact studies, practices such as having well defined Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and Key Result Areas (KRA) KRAs, drawing up operation plans, internal and external reporting systems. Hence, to ensure that a maximum no. Of people benefit with the limited resources available, you need a 'Professional and qualified Social Worker' who does not come for free, s/he has brains, ideas, innovations, ability to manage, lead and motivate teams, show results and efficiency. Professionals have to be paid.

An NGO's work is "People to People' and a mental and emotional draining (in addition to personal life) is inevitable. They need to be paid their due. An ambulance on call for common man, a child helpline, a suicide helpline, a distress tollfree line, these were all innovations of a 'social worker' which might have over time adopted into our admisistrative systems over time. The caller to these numbers may have been a rich child, or a well heeled woman calling for help in suicidal circumstances/distress. NGOs are for all of Us.

Volunteer with them as some one suggested, to have a better understanding of their work look at them as partners in social well being.

I worked for a NGO for couple of years. Initially I was under the impression that NGOs are doing genuine work. They were paying well since they own a Bank and Insurance Company. The thing which I noticed was that the top management was enjoying and lower management was struggling they had to go visit slum areas daily and struggle in dirt filth. And if they don't butter the top management they were sacked from the job. This NGO had a appraisal process where each one had to prove their worth. The person who is visiting slums daily and slogging was humiliated and insulted left and right during appraisal process.

But as long as you are good with the senior management and buy them gifts you are spared. So technically it was not the hardworking or sincere employee who was working it was the manipulative and opportunistic who was working with the slum kids. Many of the employees were mere young girls in for pocket money and they knew how to get it from their rich male bosses. All said and done overall the atmosphere was not conducive for decent work. The top management wasn't even bothered with lower hierarchy they were just enjoying with the trustees roaming around in cars and tours across India. Government needs to check thoroughly the work of NGOs and not take a bribe from them.

But with my experience of working with them I would say they are a shady lot RTI has to be introduced and we need to get answers about their work ethics.

NGO's are private organisation for betterment of society. NGOs are working for poor people to provide them food, shelter, education, clothes and some NGOs are to help women from women harassment, some NGOs are to help people to fight against severe diseases like cancer, HIV, heart failure, liver transplant and many more dangerous diseases. They provide needy people money for their treatment, proper guidance for their treatment and proper match of heart, liver, bone marrow, blood for their treatment. So, NGOs are really helpful for poor people and needy people. For example, NGO named PRAYAAS at Amity University Rajasthan, that NGO's member goes on weekend to the village named Achronal to teach students in their school and provide them clothes to wear and also feed them with delicious food. So, NGOs in India really works for others but as we know every coin has two sides and there are many corrupted people who can work for their own vested interests in the name of NGOs and they are the one's who are spoiling the name of NGO and a good cause in society but if everyone at NGO is going to work for needy people it will really make a better India.

Hello friends,

This topic is quite a matter of discussion. Coming forward to do charitable activities for poor and needy people is a great and respectable task. We should appreciate that, NGO people take steps to return to the society that has given a lot to them.

But yes, indeed, there's a flip side of the coin where people uses it as a medium of conversion of BLACK into WHITE. People open charitable trusts, put some "DONATION BOXES", dump there Black money in that box and then buy the assets in the name of that trust.

A very common thing that I have noticed while doing Audit of a NGO, that people working on field level are the one who faces the most problems but get paid with, I will charitably say, pannys. On the other hand, people working at management level get paid quite handsomely.

Funds sent by government companies, other NGOs, foreign government are used in a manner by which almost 40% of money is absorbed by the management in the name of their salaries and overheads (indirect costs).

My personal view stands as, they do the good job but still they are not using the resources at their best.

NGO is a private institute which is helpful for the pool people as well as needy persons as we all know. But some NGO present which is working for their own vested. These types of NGO are spoiling that word"NGO". It is only possible due to some curropted people who have appointed in NGO. They are spoiling the money of the people by showing the false documents. I want to give an example. Suppose a youth club wanted to do the work for the social welfare. So they donated some money to a NGO. But that NGO used the money for their own benefit and they didn't invest the money for the social welfare and they showed a false document as a prove that they are investing the money for the society. So I am requesting to the people, before donating the money to the NGO first they should investigate is really that NGO working or not. Then they should donate the money.

But we can't say that all NGOs are doing like this. Some NGOs are working really working for the needy people. Overall I say that if the mentality of the people who are working in NGO will be change then it will must help for making a better INDIA.

Hello everyone, According to me, NGO should act like a non-charitable trust that is a non-profit organisation and contribute something meaningful to society as corporates are already providing something to society and generating profits on the same for further expansion and growth of self. NGo are often exempted from paying tax so if they start earning for themselves also deal with some fraudulent and illegal activities. Many NGOs are often recognised for their selfless service and are funded by corporates as part of CSR activities, or by HNW individuals.

For example, I worked in Vimochana which is an NGO for women's empowerment which is recognised and funded by Azim Premji who is the founder of WIPRO they empower women by providing them with employment opportunities by offering them various job roles to work with them, educating women from low economic background about various government schemes for small business ideas to be financially independent and so on. So I have closely worked with an NGO so I know how greatly it impacts society for good.

I think NGO is a business like any other business. Most of the NGO start collecting money after December because they know in few months people will fix tax returns and so they may be looking for tax exemption 80g, etc.

NGOs collect money from people then deduct their expenses like salary of people working in NGO, office supply charges, electricity charges, telephone charges, travel charges, etc like any other company and the remaining amount goes to the needy person. If you donate Rs 100 then may be 50% or more is consumed by NGO itself. However, NGO creates awareness among people that there are needy people who may benefit from the charity.

80g or any tax exemption in the name of donation is not useful in saving money from tax. Actually, donation means giving away your money so there is no saving. If you do math you will understand what I am saying. Best thing is to identify who is the needy person and directly give him help to avoid overhead cost of NGO. There is no doubt that people make their living by creating NGOs.

Hello friends, as we all known there are always a different types of people live in this society, some are good and some are bad. What I think is that there are people who works for the betterment of others who knows what that felling of satisfaction is by helping others, that type of people will only work for betterment of others and and for the society and at the same time there are people who work for ngos to get name and fame. People like those should understand that how can they do such a hineous act. God has made them human beings and it is not at all a sign of human qualities.

But the fact is, there are millions of ngos in the world if they would have worked for the welfare of people then belive me my dear frnds there would not have been so much poverty and illness prevailing in the society. There are people who are taking advantage of ngos but at the same time there are certain people who have not forgotten that they are human beings and they are working for the betterment of people and society.

I have doubt on NGOs. Sealdah Ralway station is infested with CINI staff+RPF+child women welfare ministry (Combined project for children on platform). They exist. But do not see any change in unnecessary child birth on platforms. These children also exist side by side and they increase day by day. CINI and RPF staff don't actually bother anything! I don't know why they are appointed their! CINI announces in platforms to report child abuse/lost child etc. But these children are right under their nose! No need to ask for reporting! One child with down syndrome even worked for years for platform stalls, bringing water buckets. I don't see him now. Expecting (only expecting) CINI has done something good to him, but that only after I reported them on twitter. Not before that! Some NGOs in the same place, run schools for them. But they don't even bother that their pupils are addicted to drugs/ fevicol/ dendrite. Their staffs (teacher) talk slang languages among them, and in front of children.

Hello! this is sujoy. By functional defination, a NGO is conserned with the provision of relief to poor, medical and education - an organisation which is operating without seeking any profit. They obtain sizable amount of donations from different parts of society in exchange of promise to utilise them for above stated purpose. Realising this noble work executed by the NGO, Govt grant them relief from any taxation libility. But the actual picture is completely different in the sense that some persons utilise this as a umbrella to escape from the taxation liability. How this is possible ? say, Mr. X, being promoter of NGO, received his personal income in the name of NGO and utilise them for own benefit by way of showing this as expenses incurred for general/common benefit. This mechanisim will get him escape from tax obligation.

So, in most of the cases, persons, strongly related with NGO are benefited at the cost of society's welfare.