Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)

Attributes of NGOs

In coining the term nongovernmental organization in 1945, the UN Charter sought to formalize the relations between the United Nations and private entities during consultation and/or deliberations. According to the Yearbook of International Organizations, an NGO is “a legally constituted organization created by private persons or organizations with no participation or representation of any government. It is usually nonprofit. Examples include Amnesty International, the Peace Corps, and the Royal Society for Protection and Care to Animals (RSPCA). NGOs can be organized on a local, national, or international level (INGO).” The term NGO has thus assumed a life of its own beyond UN assemblies and debates to refer to a voluntary, independent, nonprofit, and legal association or network of people that seeks to influence global or national public policies by nonviolent means, or provide nonpolitical relief, assistance, or humanitarian aid. While the UN designation explicitly referred only to those organizations with international membership or policy objectives, the current use of the term also describes organizations with a local membership and/or agenda, usually referred to as grassroots organizations.

As social networks go, NGOs are voluntary in the sense that their membership has to be voluntary, but their workforce can be otherwise. Early NGOs depended almost exclusively on the work of volunteers, as the beginning of the International Red Cross demonstrates. [Page 660]With the increasing formal status of these social networks as “recognized” organizations, a tendency to recruit and hire new, paid talents has grown over the last few decades. The professionalization of these networks—that is, creating and recruiting permanent staff—ensures a level of stability and continuity of the organization. A stable flow of talent is likely to lead to remarkably savvy fundraising efforts as well as effective collaboration with other social networks beyond like-minded NGOs. At present, NGOs' employees may be paid or may work pro bono, although NGOs still rely on volunteers to expand their activities and membership, mobilize public opinion, and other goals.

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