A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an organization that is not part of a government and was not founded by states. NGOs are therefore typically independent of governments. Although the definition can technically include for-profit corporations, the term is generally restricted to social, cultural, legal, and environmental advocacy groups having goals that are primarily noncommercial. NGOs are usually non-profit organizations that gain at least a portion of their funding from private sources. Current usage of the term is generally associated with the United Nations and authentic NGOs are those that are so designated by the UN. An organization (U.S. spelling) or organisation (U.K. spelling) is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals. ... A corporation is a legal entity (distinct from a natural person) that often has similar rights in law to those of a Civil law systems may refer to corporations as moral persons; they may also go by the name AS (anonymous society) or something similar, depending on language (see below). ... A special interest is a person or political organization established to influence governmental policy or legislators in a specific area of policy. ... A non-profit organization (often called non-profit org or simply non-profit or not-for-profit) can be seen as an organization that doesnt have a goal to make a profit. ...

Greenpeace activists climbing a wall in protest against Esso/Exxon Mobil in March 2003.

Because the label "NGO" is considered too broad by some, as it might cover anything that is non-governmental, many NGOs now prefer the term private voluntary organization (PVO). Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Greenpeace is an international environmental organisation founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1971. ... Demonstrators march in the street while protesting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005. ... An Esso Station in Toronto Esso in Higashi-Osaka Esso is an international trade name used by ExxonMobil and its related companies. ... Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), headquartered in Irving, Texas, is an oil producer and distributor formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. ... March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... USAID defines private voluntary organizations as tax-exempt, non-profit organizations working in, or intending to become engaged in, international development activities. ...

A 1995 UN report on global governance estimated that there are nearly 29,000 international NGOs. National numbers are even higher: The United States has an estimated 2 million NGOs, most of them formed in the past 30 years. Russia has 65,000 NGOs. Dozens are created daily. In Kenya alone, some 240 NGOs come into existence every year. ⁵ This article is about the United Nations, for other uses of UN see UN (disambiguation) Official languages English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic Secretary-General Kofi Annan (since 1997) Established October 24, 1945 Member states 191 Headquarters New York City, NY, USA Official site http://www. ... Global governance refers to a system-wide structure that both allows and constrains the behavior of actors in interdependent relationships in the absence of an overarching political authority. ...

History

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the world's largest group of humanitarian NGO's.

Though voluntary associations of citizens have existed throughout history, NGOs along the lines seen today, especially on the international level, have developed in the past two centuries. One of the first such organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, was founded in 1863. Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 759 KB)Red Cross logos at the museum in Geneve File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 759 KB)Red Cross logos at the museum in Geneve File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Red Cross and the Red Crescent emblems, the symbols from which the Movement derives its name The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement consists of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Federation), and the 181 national... Humanitarian aid is assistance given to people in distress by individuals, organisations, or governments to relieve suffering. ... Association is the following: A voluntary association (also sometimes called an association) is a group of individuals who voluntarily enter into an agreement, explicit or implicit, to form or act as a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose. ... One of the most famous quotations about history and the value of studying history by Spanish philosopher, George Santayana, reads: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. ... The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a committee of Swiss nationals and probably will be so as long as the ICRC exists. ... 1863 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

The phrase non-governmental organization came into use with the establishment of the United Nations in 1945 with provisions in Article 71 of Chapter 10 of the United Nations Charter ^[1] for a consultative role for organizations that neither are governments nor member states – see Consultative Status. The definition of international NGO (INGO) is first given in resolution 288 (X) of ECOSOC on February 27, 1950: it is defined as 'any international organisation that is not founded by an international treaty'. The vital role of NGOs and other "major groups" in sustainable development was recognized in Chapter 27^[2] of Agenda 21, leading to revised arrangements for consultative relationship between the United Nations and non-governmental organizations.^[3] The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945. ... Consultative Status is a phrase whose use can be traced to the founding of the United Nations and is used within the UN community to refer to Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic & Social Council. ... Sustainable development is a process of developing (land, cities) that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs according to the Brundtland Report, a 1987 report from the United Nations. ... Agenda 21 is a programme of the United Nations (UN) related to sustainable development. ...

Globalization during the 20th century gave rise to the importance of NGOs. Many problems could not be solved within a nation. International treaties and international organizations such as the World Trade Organization were perceived as being too centered on the interests of capitalist enterprises. In an attempt to counterbalance this trend, NGOs have developed to emphasize humanitarian issues, developmental aid and sustainable development. A prominent example of this is the World Social Forum which is a rival convention to the World Economic Forum held annually in January in Davos, Switzerland. The fifth World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in January 2005 was attended by representatives from more than 1,000 NGOs. ^[4] Globalisation (or globalization) is a modern term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that result from dramatically increased international trade and cultural exchange. ... A treaty is a binding agreement under international law concluded by subjects of international law, namely states and international organizations. ... WTO Logo The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international organization which oversees a large number of agreements defining the rules of trade between its member states (WTO, 2004a). ... Look up Trend on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Trend The word trend has a number of possible meanings: In statistics, a trend is a long-term movement in time series data after other components have been accounted for. ... Humanitarianism is the view that all people should be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve as human beings, and that advancing the well-being of humanity is a noble goal. ... OECD Statistics on Public Foreign Aid by country Development aid (also development assistance, international aid, overseas aid or foreign aid) is aid given by developed countries to support economic development in developing countries. ... Sustainable development is a process of developing (land, cities) that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs according to the Brundtland Report, a 1987 report from the United Nations. ... Noam Chomsky at World Social Forum 2003. ... The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Geneva-based foundation whose Annual Meeting of chief executives of the worlds richest corporations, some national political leaders (presidents, prime ministers and others), and selected intellectuals and journalists, about 2000 people in all, is usually held in Davos, Switzerland. ... Public library of Porto Alegre Igreja da Dores Sunset over Porto Alegre Porto Alegre, one of the largest cities in southern Brazil, is the capital of Rio Grande do Sul State. ...

Types of NGOs

There are numerous possibilities to classify NGOs. The following is the typology the World Bank uses ¹: Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means...

Operational NGOs

Their primary purpose is the design and implementation of development-related projects. One categorization that is frequently used is the division into relief-oriented or development-oriented organizations; they can also be classified according to whether they stress service delivery or participation; or whether they are religious and secular; and whether they are more public or private-oriented. Operational NGOs can be community-based, national or international. A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. ... In economics and marketing, a service is the non-material equivalent of a good. ... ...

Advocacy NGOs

Their primary purpose is to defend or promote a specific cause. As opposed to operational project management, these organizations typically try to raise awareness, acceptance and knowledge by lobbying, press work and activist events.

Acronyms

Nongovernmental organizations are an heterogenous group. A long list of acronyms has developed around the term 'NGO'.

These include:

• INGO stands for international NGO, such as CARE;
• BINGO is short for business-oriented international NGO;
• RINGO is an abbreviation of religious international NGO such as Catholic Relief Services;
• ENGO, short for environmental NGO, such as Global 2000;
• GONGOs are government-operated NGOs, which may have been set up by governments to look like NGOs in order to qualify for outside aid;
• QUANGOs are quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations, such as the W3C and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which is actually not purely an NGO, since it's membership is by nation, and each nation is represented by what the ISO Council determines to be the "most broadly representative" standardization body of a nation. Now, such a body might in fact be a nongovernmental organization--for example, the United States is represented in ISO by the American National Standards Institute, which is independent of the federal government. However, other countries can be represented by natinal governmental agencies--this is the trend in Europe.

CARE may refer to Community database on Accidents on the Roads in Europe [1] Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere This article consisting of a 4-letter acronym or initialism is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Catholic Relief Services is a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which attempts to assist the poor and disadvantaged ([1]). It is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, while operating numerours field offices on 5 continentsince 1943, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has held the privilege of serving poor and disadvantaged people overseas. ... GLOBAL 2000 On May 23, 1977, President Jimmy Carter asked the Council on Environmental Quality and the U.S. State Department to prepare a one-year study of population and environmental issues facing the world through the year 2000 to serve as a guide for long-term decision making. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is a consortium that produces standards—recommendations, as they call them—for the World Wide Web. ... Logo of the International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO or iso) is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from national standards bodies. ...

Evolutionary stages of development NGOs

Three stages or generations of NGO evolution have been identified by Korten’s (1990) Three Generations of Voluntary Development Action. First, the typical development NGO focuses on relief and welfare, and delivers relief services directly to beneficiaries. Examples are the distribution of food, shelter or health services. The NGO notices immediate needs and responds to them. NGOs in the second generation are oriented towards small-scale, self-reliant local development. At this evolutionary stage, NGOs build the capacities of local communities to meet their needs through 'self reliant local action'. Korten calls the third generation 'sustainable systems development'. At this stage, NGOs try to advance changes in policies and institutions at a local, national and international level; they move away from their operational service providing role towards a catalytic role. The NGO is starting to develop from a relief NGO to a development NGO. ¹ Welfare has four main meanings. ... In chemistry and biology, catalysis (in Greek meaning to annul) is the acceleration of the rate of a chemical reaction by means of a substance, called a catalyst, that is itself unchanged chemically by the overall reaction. ...

Purposes

NGOs exist for a variety of purposes, usually to further the political or social goals of their members. Examples include improving the state of the natural environment, encouraging the observance of human rights, improving the welfare of the disadvantaged, or representing a corporate agenda. However, there are a huge number of such organizations and their goals cover a broad range of political and philosophical positions. This can also easily be applied to private schools and athletic organizations. This article needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... Goal is a graffiti artist who is a member of the crew 1134 http://en. ...

Methods

NGOs vary in their methods. Some act primarily as lobbyists, while others conduct programs and activities primarily. For instance, such an NGO as Oxfam, concerned with poverty alleviation, might provide needy people with the equipment and skills they need to find food and clean drinking water. Oxfam International, founded in 1995, is a confederation of 12 independent, not-for-profit, secular, community-based aid and development organisations who work with local partners in over 100 countries worldwide to reduce poverty, suffering, and injustice. ... Drinking water Drinking water is water that is intended to be drunk by humans. ...

Networking

The International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX), founded in 1992, is a global network of more than 60 non-governmental organizations that promote and defend the right to freedom of expression. The International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX), founded in 1992, is a global network of more than 60 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Freedom of speech is the right to freely say what one pleases, as well as the related right to hear what others have stated. ...

Public Relations

Consulting

Many international NGOs have a consultative status with United Nations agencies relevant to their area of work. As an example, the Third World Network has a consultative status with the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). In 1946, only 41 NGOs had consultative status with the ECOSOC, but this number had risen to 2,350 in 2003. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body, UNCTAD is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment and development issues. ... The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development. ... The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development. ...

Activist events

Greenpeace protest in Brasília (Brazil) in December 2004.

Image:Greenpeace-Brasília. ... Image:Greenpeace-Brasília. ... Brasília from space, November 1990 Niemeyers Cathedral Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. ...

Project management

There is an increasing awareness that management techniques are crucial to project success in non-governmental organizations. ³

Management of non-governmental organizations

Two management trends are particularly relevant to NGOs: diversity management and participatory management. Diversity management deals with different cultures in an organization. Intercultural problems are prevalent in Northern NGOs that are engaged in developmental activities in the South. Personnel coming from a rich country are faced with a completely different approach of doing things in the target country. A participatory management style is said to be typical of NGOs. It is intricately tied to the concept of a learning organization: all people within the organization are perceived as sources for knowledge and skills. To develop the organization, individuals have to be able to contribute in the decision making process and they need to learn. Participatory management is the practice of empowering employees to participate in organizational decision making. ... A country, a land, is a geographical area that connotes an independent political entity, with its own government, administration, laws, often a constitution, police, military, tax rules, and population, who are one anothers countrymen. ... Peter Senge defined a learning organization as human beings cooperating in dynamical systems (as defined in systemics) that are in a state of continuous adaptation and improvement. ... Knowledge is the confident understanding of a subject, potentially with the ability to use it for a specific purpose. ... A skill is an ability, usually learned, to perform actions. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Relations

The relationship among businesses, governments, and NGOs can be quite complex and sometimes antagonistic. Some advocacy NGOs view opposition to the interests of Western governments and large corporations as central to their purpose. But NGOs, governments, and companies sometimes form cooperative, conciliatory partnerships as well. External links Business Articles Categories: Business | Academic disciplines | School subjects ...

Staffing

Not all people working for non-governmental organizations are volunteers. Paid staff members typically receive lower pay than in the commercial private sector. Employees are highly committed to the aims and principles of the organization. The reasons why people volunteer are usually not purely altruistic, but self-serving: They expect to gain skills, experience and contacts. This group of political volunteers is working to promote voter turn-out. ... You may be looking for information on: Look up staff on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the business concept; Commerce is also the name of several places in the United States. ... The private sector of a nations economy consists of those entities which are not controlled by the state - i. ... The acronym AIM may stand for a number of different things, depending on context and suffix: Abductory Inductive Mechanism Abrams Integrated Management Abridged Index Medicus Absorption Isotherm Measurement Accunet Information Manager (AT&T) Accuracy in Media (news media watchdog) Acquisition Information Management Action Item Master Active Inert Missile Ada Interactive... A principle is something, usually a rule or norm, that is part of the basis for something else. ... An organization (U.S. spelling) or organisation (U.K. spelling) is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals. ... Altruism is either a practice or habit (in the view of many, a virtue) as well as an ethical doctrine. ...

There is some dispute as to whether expatriates should be sent to developing countries. Frequently this type of personnel is employed to satisfy a donor, who wants to see the supported project managed by someone from an industrialized country. However, the expertise these employees or volunteers may have can be counterbalanced by a number of factors: the cost of foreigners is typically higher, they have no grassroot connections in the country they are sent to and local expertise is often undervalued.² An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is someone temporarily or permanently in a country and culture other than that of their upbringing and/or legal residence. ... A developed country is a nation that enjoys a relatively high standard of living through a strong high-technology diversified economy. ... A foreigner, or an alien, is a natural person who is not a citizen of the State in question. ... Grassroots democracy is the political processes which are driven by groups of ordinary citizens, as opposed to larger organisations or wealthy individuals with concentrated vested interests in particular policies. ...

The NGO-sector is an important employer in terms of numbers. For example, by the end of 1995, CONCERN worldwide, an international Northern NGO working against poverty, employed 174 expatriates and just over 5,000 national staff working in ten developing countries in Africa and Asia, and in Haiti. // Etymology World map showing Africa (geographically) The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra — land of the Afri (plural, or Afer singular) — for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day... World map showing Asia (geographically) Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia and worlds largest continent. ...

Funding

Large NGOs may have annual budgets in the millions of dollars. For instance, the budget of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) was over $540 million dollars in 1999.[5] Human Rights Watch spent and received US$21,7 million in 2003. Funding such large budgets demands significant fundraising efforts on the part of most NGOs. Major sources of NGO funding include membership dues, the sale of goods and services, grants from international institutions or national governments, and private donations. Several EU-grants provide funds accessible to NGOs. AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons) is a United States-based non-profit organization dedicated to the interests of persons over the age of 50. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) is a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization based in New York City, USA, that conducts advocacy and research on human rights issues. ... 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Good. ... A donation is a gift to a fund or cause, usually for charitable reasons. ...

Even though the term 'non-governmental organization' implies independence of governments, some NGOs depend heavily on governments for their funding. A quarter of the US$162 million income in 1998 of the famine-relief organization Oxfam was donated by the British government and the EU. The Christian relief and development organization World Vision US collected US$55 million worth of goods in 1998 from the American government. Nobel Prize winner Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) (known in English as Doctors Without Borders) gets 46 percent of its income from government sources.⁵ A famine is a phenomenon in which a large percentage of the population of a region or country are so undernourished that death by starvation becomes increasingly common. ... In the art of sculpture, a relief is an artwork where a modelled form projects out of a flat background. ... Oxfam International, founded in 1995, is a confederation of 12 independent, not-for-profit, secular, community-based aid and development organisations who work with local partners in over 100 countries worldwide to reduce poverty, suffering, and injustice. ... World Vision, founded in the United States in 1950, is an international Christian relief and development organization whose goal is working for the well being of all people, especially children. ... Sir Edward Appletons medal Photographs of Nobel Prize Medals. ... Médecins Sans Frontières (abbreviated MSF; sometimes known as Doctors Without Borders in English-speaking countries) is a nonprofit private organisation created in 1971 by a small group of French doctors led by Bernard Kouchner. ...

Legal status

NGOs are not legal entities under international law, like states are. An exception is the International Committee of the Red Cross which is considered a legal entity under international law, because it is based on the Geneva Convention. A legal entity is a legal construct through which the law allows a group of natural persons to act as if it were an individual for certain purposes. ... International law, is the body of law that regulates the activities of entities possessing international personality. Traditionally, that meant the conduct and relationships of states. ... The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a committee of Swiss nationals and probably will be so as long as the ICRC exists. ... The Geneva Conventions consist of treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland that set the standards for international law for humanitarian concerns. ...