To help solve the problems of the problem solvers!
Koushik Yanamandram
Climate, Environment and Commons | Mobilising Climate Adaptation Capacity in Andhra Pradesh
My flatmate like on other days, made me a cup of chai in the morning. I was ready to leave for work and while waiting for the cab I asked, "How is your day looking like?" A casual question we ask each other more or less everyday. "Have an interview with this candidate and this is the 3rd round. Only one that we want to engage for next few months and see how she would fit to be our COO", said my friend appearing a little tense and also hopeful in his tone. I have been hearing about how he can engage himself actively in growing his NGO by delegating operations to an able and efficient person/leader.
The same evening, another friend who runs his NGO in Sukma (Chattisgarh - Check the wikipedia page for some idea) comes over to catch up. "I'm getting candidates who expect a salary that I'm not even able to pay myself at Sukma, and these people are talented. So I tell them that I can pay them more if they are able to make my operations role redundant. That way I can focus more on bringing more funds to run my NGO. It is tougher to get funded when you are in Sukma, a conflict affected area", shares my friend with a grin on his face.
Between these two encounters in a day, I get to work to meet leaders of around 20 NGOs in one room, attending a training program for their Organisational Development. Women supporting children with Autism, youngsters reaching out to communities as part of Community Based Rehabilitation, team of middle aged professionals supporting farmers, women, children etc., all of them coming from all rural corners of Karnataka. Dhwani Foundation, where I work now, supports these NGO leaders with human resource (Operations Managers) that is deployed at their locations to help them become efficient, compliant, better governed, nicely marketed, greatly planned and superbly visible NGOs. Through this journey, the belief is that these NGOs become sustainable and can do what they do even more better.
Founders need to be actively fundraising and be the strategist for the next move and keep scaling up or bringing new ideas into implementation or keep correcting the course. This had also been my personal experience as an amateur social startup guy. But If the focus goes totally into operations (read fire-fighting), when are the founders or the leadership going to focus on outward work of fundraising and bringing ideas into life? Even if the COO/Operations Head takes over, how are the NGOs going to pay for their high expected salaries? Are funders ready to acknowledge this and support the NGO in talent infusion, apart from just funding the program/project? Are there any funds that just support the Organisation's growth so that these NGOs can do their good work at scale with more efficiency?
These are the questions, trust me, remain unanswered while we keep reading the reports/news on how there is another XXX crores remained unspent with CSRs and how the other funders (incl. Government) are not able to find "right" NGOs to partner with.
PS: Reading this, if you relate to what I just shared, speak to me, I will be happy to chat and listen to your ideas and experiences. After all, it is very important to help solve the problems of the problem solvers. Don't you agree?
Resource Mobilization Expert | Fundraising, Partnerships, Strategy
5 年There is a niche set of funders working on talent management and org development. ATE Chandra Foundation, APPI, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, Lal Family Foundation, IIT-IIT are among a few. Yet the truth of the matter is it isn't enough. Orgs like Greenpeace and Amnesty solved this through going retail totally. In real life, social action and change is a very tough choice to make and in a world with constraints, one has to choose which ones to work with. Happy to chat as much as you want on this.