Nongovernmental Organizations

A nongovernmental organization (NGO) is a specific type of voluntary organization characterized by its involvement in international relief and development activities. As part of the voluntary sector, NGOs are distinct from government and commercial organizations and are characterized by being formal, private, non-profit-distributing, self-governing, and possessing a degree of voluntarism.

It is possible to distinguish between NGOs based in developed countries (Northern NGOs) and those based in developing countries (Southern NGOs). Northern NGOs can be further divided according to their principal method of operation: operational NGOs, which pursue international development by working directly with beneficiaries; advocacy NGOs, which seek to facilitate change through lobbying and awareness-raising activity; and fund-raising NGOs, which gather resources that are subsequently delivered to beneficiaries through partner organizations.

These methods of operation are not mutually exclusive. Some NGOs have very broad mission statements; others restrict themselves to specific geographic areas or types of activity. In a broader sense, NGOs make a distinctive contribution to international development as a result of their independence. In particular, they are credited with an ability to reach the poorest and most marginalized groups while retaining the flexibility to respond quickly to changing environments. Conversely, they are criticized for their lack of global impact, as they often focus on community-level projects, although working alongside other types of organizations in the international development community serves to enable impact at multiple levels.

The Voluntary Sector

In simple terms, it is possible to divide organizations into three categories, or sectors: private (commercial), governmental (public), and voluntary (third). The scale and importance of the voluntary sector is vast. In the United Kingdom (UK), 2008 data on civil society showed that the sector had a workforce of 1.3 million people (around 4.5 percent of the country's working population), comprised 865,000 organizations, and had a combined income of £109 billion.

The boundaries among these sectors are becoming progressively blurred, however, with governments funding the voluntary sector to deliver public services and to pursue government objectives, and businesses entering relationships with voluntary organizations to demonstrate their social responsibility. Volvic, for example, is currently working with World Vision to develop water and sanitation resources in Africa. In its “IL for 10L” campaign, Volvic, through World Vision, will provide 10 liters of drinkable water for every one liter it sells. The project will take place in Zambia, Ghana, Malawi, and Mali through the building of wells and associated infrastructure. The UK government provides competitive grants to fund the delivery of a wide range of services, including schemes for urban regeneration; youth projects; and the refurbishment of community facilities through the Big Lottery, the Voluntary Sector Support Unit, and other funding schemes.

Voluntary Organizations

An NGO is a specific type of voluntary organization, so before focusing on NGOs, it is useful to define voluntary organizations in general. The voluntary sector is sometimes defined as comprising organizations that are neither commercial nor governmental—a so-called residual approach. By contrast, structural-operational definitions identify voluntary organizations according to key characteristics of voluntariness.

One such definition identifies five key features of voluntary organizations. They must be formal (with some degree of institutionalization), private (institutionally separate from government), non-profit-distributing (not returning profits to owners or directors), self-governing (equipped to control their own activities), and voluntary (involving some meaningful degree of voluntary participation). Although few people would disagree with the principles behind these criteria, in practice they do have limitations.

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