Funding Civil Society? Bilateral Government Support for Development NGOs

Research on the determinants of foreign aid tends to focus on the relationship between donor country priorities and recipient state characteristics, but donors also make decisions about which organizations and programs within countries will receive assistance. Although NGOs increasingly have been recipients of foreign aid, few data are available to investigate which organizations within a given country receive that funding. Donors may prioritize structural characteristics of NGOs or their local ties—or they may seek a combination that blends concern about efficiency and accountability with an interest in developing national civil society. We use original data from Cambodia to explore whether aid is likely to go to managerial organizations (professionalized NGOs and NGOs that utilize modern management tools) or to organizations that are embedded in the domestic context. We argue that managerialism provides legitimacy for NGOs by signaling capacity and accountability to donors, increasing the likelihood of government funding. We argue that local embeddedness also confers legitimacy by aligning community ties and networks to rights-based development, increasing the likelihood of government funding. We find general support for the managerialism argument, but donor agencies do not prioritize direct funding for “indigenous” NGOs—not even among those with high levels of managerialism.     

Strategic Responses to Resource Dependence Among Transnational NGOs Registered in the United States

Many of the world’s largest and most impactful transnational NGOs are registered in the United States where they engage in significant fundraising activities to support their global operations. Their reliance on the external environment for financial support exposes them to resource dependence and the possibility of external control. However, as civil society organizations organized as firms, transnational NGOs attempt to maintain operational independence from the donors upon which they rely for funding. This article contributes to resource dependence theory by identifying the strategies that transnational NGOs employ in response to resource dependence, explaining the emergence of strategic response, and exploring the conditions under which NGOs are capacitated to preserve organizational autonomy. The responses transnational NGOs employ include alignment, subcontracting, perseverance, diversification, commercialization, funding liberation, geostrategic arbitrage, specialization, selectivity, donor education, and compromise. Elements of this strategic repertoire empower NGOs to resist external control, even circumventing and influencing donor preferences. Findings are based on in-depth, face-to-face interviews with top organizational leaders from a diverse sample of transnational NGOs registered in the United States.     

Growing Down Like a Banana: Solomon Islands Village Women Changing Gender Norms

This article presents Solomon Islands village women’s opinions about gender norms. It explores their perceptions of their ability to be involved in leadership roles and decision-making, and their analysis of how they conceive of their abilities changing. It attempts to unravel the ‘push-pull’ experience for Solomon Islands rural women—a push towards modernity equated with gender equity and development, and the pull of traditional gender roles for women embedded in notions of what it means to be a good Solomon Islander woman. It concludes that women’s empowerment must be viewed as a journey that encompasses women’s strategic and practical interests relating to agency in a variety of locations. This article contributes to understanding some aspects to women’s empowerment and how international NGOs and other development entities may have a role in creating space for women’s self-reflection, public commentary and visibility in secular social space.     

Discourse Failures and the NGO Sector: How Campaigning Can Undermine Advocacy

Within academic research, more and more scholars reveal the ambivalence of NGOs—the sometimes constructive, sometimes destructive role they play in solving societal problems. In this paper, we present a discourse analysis that illustrates how NGOs’ campaigning may undermine their reputation and advocacy function. We conclude that such discourse failures are frequently not merely an accidental by-product, but rather a not-intended consequence of deliberate NGOs’ campaigns. By applying ideas from political economy, we make particular note of probable discourse failures when campaigns attempt to deal with complex issues in an environment rife with wide-spread prejudices and where the NGO’s work is transparent. We present collectively institutionalized commitments for NGOs and commitment services enforced by political organizations as instruments that are suitable for increasing public accountability of the NGO sector. In conclusion, we argue that further research can benefit from systematically analyzing the interdependencies between discourses and institutions.     

Anxiety and Ambivalence: NGO–Activist Partnership in China’s Environmental Protests, 2007–2016

This article examines how partnership between social organizations and popular protests is affected by the state in the field of environmental activism. Drawing upon content analysis and in-depth interviews, we study non-governmental organization (NGO) engagement with 22 grassroots environmental protests in China, 2007–2016. We find that NGOs and grassroots protesters were mostly distant from each other to avoid state repression and retribution, but NGOs occasionally collaborated with protesters in an ambivalent manner because state control was contradictory, fragmented, and varying. NGOs either used institutional means to support the protesters or were informally and invisibly involved in those protests. Our research contributes to studies of the triangular relationship between the state, NGOs, and social movements. Specifically, we find that when NGOs lack the institutional access to policy making but are not fully controlled by the state, they have both incentives and spaces to make joint actions with grassroots activists.

     

Confronting or Complementing? A Case Study on NGO–State Relations from Kerala, India

NGOs have, of late, found some of their traditional domains, such as provision of micro-credit and participatory development, coinciding with or being taken away by the state. How do they position themselves and retain relevance vis-a-vis the state in the changed scenario? Tracing the trajectory of interventions of a local NGO in Kerala, India, this article shows that NGOs exhibit ‘multiple identities’—selective collaboration, gap-filling and posing alternatives—in the process of engagement with the state. The ‘strategizing’ of such identities may hold the key to their relevance vis-a-vis the state.     

Philanthropists,Professionals and Feminists: Refugee NGOs and the Empowerment of Syrian Women in Gaziantep,Turkey

The diversification of gender‐based priorities and the necessities of refugees have led refugee NGOs to launch activities specifically for women, or urged women‐only NGOs to take action particularly for refugee women in Turkey. Drawing upon a qualitative research in Gaziantep in Turkey, which host a large population of Syrian refugees, this study seeks to answer the question “How effective are NGOs in empowering Syrian refugee women in Turkey?” It is argued that NGOs working in the provision of assistance to refugees cannot be treated as a homogeneous group in terms of the degree and form of their influences on the empowerment of refugee women, and the individual NGO’s standpoints may shape their effects. Data from interviews with NGO representatives and Syrian women who have received support from NGOs indicate that the NGOs’ perceptions of women’s issues and their contribution to the empowerment of women are closely linked to their type.     

Inter-organizational Coordination in the Wild: Trust Building and Collaboration Among Field-Level ICT Workers in Humanitarian Relief Organizations

As many NGOs find themselves responding to the same crises, they have realized the potential benefits of coordinating their information and communication technology (ICT) activities—sharing satellite communications and internet access, sharing disaster assessment information—and have created cross-organizational coordination bodies. Coordination at the headquarters level across organizations has proven to be insufficient, and some bodies are now engaging ICT personnel in their field offices in coordination efforts. This case study presents the findings of one body’s field office coordination efforts among its ICT workers, where trust building through collaborative activities is revealed to be essential elements in successful coordination across organizations.     

Women's NGOs at UN Conferences: The 1992 Rio Conference on the Environment as a Watershed Event

SUMMARY

Before the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) was held in Brazil in 1992, the involvement of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in UN conferences was limited. NGOs participate in UN conferences in two ways, at a non-governmental forum usually convened simultaneously with an official UN conference, or as accredited observers to the official conference where government delegations meet and make decisions. Only 200 NGOs were granted access to the official portion of the Decade for Women Conference held in Nairobi in 1985, whereas 1,400 organizations were accredited to attend UNCED in Rio in 1992. And while only a small portion, about 5 percent, of those were women-oriented NGOs, they had a significant impact on the outcome. An entire chapter on women and environmental issues was added to the official conference document, and cross-cutting references to women were included throughout the document. This achievement reflects the work of several uniquely placed women, in and outside governments and the United Nations system, working together to build an international network of women and bring their voices to the table. Moreover, the techniques they developed have been used by women at every major UN conference held since 1992.     

Non-governmental organizations, democracy, and HIV prevalence: a cross-national analysis

Despite the scale, reach, and global impact of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), its study has remained largely at the purview of various micro-level analyses (e.g., Gutmann 2007; Levi and Vitória 2002). However, differences in prevalence rates at the national level suggest that other forces might be at work. Following the work of McIntosh and Thomas (2004), the only cross-national study of HIV/AIDS published to our knowledge, we conduct a cross-national analysis that examines world polity ideas that higher levels of health and women’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should be associated with lower levels of HIV prevalence. Initially, we find no support for these hypotheses. However, we respecify our models to test a political opportunity structure hypothesis that democracy enhances the ability of health and women’s NGOs to deal with HIV. We test this line of reasoning by including an interaction term between democracy and the health and women’s NGO variables. In doing so, we find that health and women’s NGOs are associated with lower levels of HIV prevalence in democratic rather than repressive nations.     

The strategies that bind: NGO coalitions and their influence

Abstract This article examines NGOs as strategic organizations that form coalitions in order to influence other actors, particularly international financial institutions. It has three primary aims: to examine NGOs as strategic organizations; to look at a particular type of NGO network, the coalition, which unlike a network involves more value and commitment; and to assess the factors that contribute to their strategies such as changes to the NGO environment. To do this, the resource dependency perspective is utilized to evaluate the influence of various resources (funding, legitimacy and information) on NGOs’ organizational strategy. Oxfam International, the NGO Working Group on the World Bank, and the Bretton Woods Project are three NGO coalitions examined. I conclude that there are differences between NGO networks and coalitions and that the coalitions strategically act and react to changing resources in their environments.     

Flirting with the enemy: Challenges faced by NGOs in development and empowerment

This article addresses the challenges faced by Mexican non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in attempting to perform their role as agents of development and empowerment among poor populations. Recently, NGOs have expanded and have gained a much greater capacity to respond to the problems of the poor populations. The issue at stake for many Mexican NGOs is that with their new-found capacities, they might reproduce a patron-client relationship with local communities. This article examines the redefiniton of NGOs goals and objectives and the changes in the relationship of NGOs with the state and the poor during the last three decades. It also discusses the effects of these changes on NGOs' methodology and approach in responding to the needs of disadvantaged communities.     

Information,Community, and Action on Sina-Weibo: How Chinese Philanthropic NGOs Use Social Media

This study explored Chinese NGOs’ behavior on domestic social media platforms. By observing 155 rural education NGOs on one of China’s most popular social media sites, Sina-Weibo for 6 months, we found that despite Internet censorship and the unique government-NGO relationship in China, the Chinese NGOs are active on Weibo. Like their Western counterparts, the Chinese NGOs use social media to share information, build community, and mobilize resources. Because the Chinese NGOs face some unique legitimacy problems, aside from using social media to attract followers, they also use social media’s powerful broadcasting function to improve organizational legitimacy. To fit into the Weibo community, the organizations use a large amount of slang and emoji, and publish a significant number of posts which cover popular topics, but are not related to their work.     

Follower or Challenger? How Chinese Non-governmental Organizations Manage Accountability Requirements from Funders

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) sometimes disagree with their funders’ accountability requirements; however, their dependence on the funders’ resources makes it difficult to express their disagreement. This dilemma for NGOs may keep funders from substantively holding NGOs to account and cause mission drift for the NGOs. This paper analyzes an in-depth case study of an understudied scenario: how a newly founded NGO engages with multiple funders with varying competence in accountability practices. By analyzing a Chinese NGO’s accountability relationships with its funders, we found that the NGO’s responses varied according to its organizational interests and how it perceived the funders’ competence. Better trust meant better compliance. Therefore, to secure compliance, it is important to enhance NGOs’ trust in funders’ competence. Based on the findings, we suggest that funders be more aware of NGOs’ agency, be ready to engage in ongoing collaborative learning with NGOs and align NGOs’ interests with the accountability requirements.

     

Financial and emotional support in close personal ties among Central Asian migrant women in Russia

This study advances research on the role of personal networks as sources of financial and emotional support in immigrants’ close personal ties beyond the immediate family. Because resource scarcity experienced by members of immigrant communities is likely to disrupt normatively expected reciprocal support, we explored multi-level predictors of exchange processes with personal network members that involve (1) only receiving support, (2) only providing support, and (3) reciprocal support exchanges. We focus on an understudied case of Central Asian migrant women in the Russian Federation using a sample of 607 women from three ethnic groups—Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek—who were surveyed in two large Russian cities-Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan. The survey collected information on respondents’ demographic, socioeconomic, and migration-related characteristics, as well as characteristics of up to five individuals with whom they had a close relationship. Multi-level multinomial regression analyses were used to account for the nested nature of the data. Our results revealed that closer social relationships (siblings and friends) and greater levels of resources (income and regularized legal status) at both ego and alter levels were positively related to providing, receiving, and reciprocally exchanging financial and emotional support. Egos were more likely to provide financial assistance to transnational alters, whereas they were more likely to engage in mutual exchanges of emotional support with their network members from other countries. Personal network size and density showed no relationship with support exchanges. These findings provide a nuanced picture of close personal ties as conduits for financial and emotional support in migrant communities in a major, yet understudied, migrant-receiving context.     

Human rights for women: battles of culture and power

In Africa, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) focussing on human rights have mushroomed during the past 10-15 years, and, with several of these organizations run by and for women, it is possible to find free legal aid for women in almost every capital city. The collapse of the extended family and, thus, the framework for customary law has meant that women are faced with problems of maintenance and widows with problems of inheritance. Customary law and the protection it afforded women and children has also been weakened by a poverty-driven shift in urban areas from a focus on community support to a focus on individual survival. The vacuum left by this change in legal and social structure is being filled by the human rights NGOs. Paradoxically, in the face of such change, a static, communal, and neutral concept of "culture" was held out by African state representatives at the 1993 UN Conference on Human Rights to justify their opposition to the acceptance of the crosscultural legitimacy of human rights, especially for women. While these arguments were being aired at the Conference, African NGOs were vigorously using examples of the marginalization of women to promote the opposite view. The most important aspect of these conflicting views is which group has the most power and resources to voice its interpretation of the situation. With most African countries governed by a dual system of laws, customary law and common or civil law (left over from colonialism), human rights groups are working to instill human rights principles into common law through the ratification of international conventions. Thus, persons in need could be viewed not as victims but as individuals entitled to enforceable and universal rights. Misuse of the term "culture" can marginalize women even as it is being promoted as a protective device for women. A more useful view of culture is as something which transcends traditional boundaries and locates people and institutions in the global community where they are protected by the acknowledgement of their human rights.     

Religious Freedoms versus Gender Equality: Faith-Based Organizations, Muslim Minorities, and Islamic Headscarves in the New Europe

The intersections of gender and civil society in the formersocialist countries of Eastern Europe have been examined primarilythrough the lens of Western Aid to support feminist nongovernmentalorganizations (NGOs). What has received less scholarly attentionis the growing number of NGOs advocating for a return to moreconservative gender roles and more restricted public roles forwomen. Many of these organizations are so-called "faith-based"organizations (FBOs), and are bound to particular religiousdenominations. In this article, I will examine the presenceof Islamic FBOs in Bulgaria and how they mobilize a liberal"rights" discourse to justify practices that could be locallyinterpreted as being oppressive to women. Their insistence onguaranteeing women's "right to choose" certain religious practicesputs feminists and women's NGOs in an increasingly difficultposition.     

Does Revenue Diversification Predict Financial Vulnerability Among Non-governmental Organizations in sub-Saharan Africa?

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) experience financial challenges that hinder efforts to promote social change and development. Revenue diversification is one adaptive response to these challenges, yet there is a lack of evidence concerning the relationship between revenue diversification and financial vulnerability among NGOs in SSA. Using data from an online survey of NGOs (N = 170), we hypothesized that a greater number of revenue sources is associated with lower probability of financial vulnerability, while a greater level of dependence on international funding is associated with higher probability of financial vulnerability. Results from probit regression models controlling for organizational characteristics indicated partial support for hypotheses. Having four or more types of revenue was associated with 87% lower probability of financial vulnerability compared to having one type of revenue (p < 0.001). Also, NGOs with up to half of their budgets covered by international sources had 17% lower probability of financial vulnerability compared to NGOs with no international funding (p < 0.05). Implications for future research to further explore these relationships are discussed.     

Community Foundations: A Growing Resource for Community Development

Like many nonprofit organizations, community development corporations (CDCs) rely on various sources of funding and support for their activities in poor and distressed neighborhoods. Funders often include the federal government, state and local government agencies, financial institutions, and philanthropic organizations. The author explains how community foundations are different from other philanthropic organizations and describes the various mechanisms that community foundations use to support community development. She suggests that there is a natural fit between the purpose of community foundations and the philosophy of community development, concluding that it is important for CDCs, as well as other nonprofit organizations, to understand how community foundations are different from other philanthropic organizations so that they may better position themselves to take advantage of the many resources that community foundations bring to their communities.     

Life Course,Gender, and Participation in Voluntary Organizations in Italy

This article investigates the gender differences in participation in voluntary organizations across the life course in Italy. It shows that three forms of engagement in voluntary organizations—donating money, attending meetings, and doing unpaid work—may depend on some stages of the life course—leaving the parental home, forming a union, and becoming a parent—as it is plausible that they may change personal resources and pose constraints or provide opportunities for involvement. Using the household survey “ISTAT Multipurpose Survey—Aspects of daily life”, the article finds that while leaving the parental home is positively associated with both men’s and women’s involvement, forming a union, and being a parent is detrimental for women’s involvement and not for men’s. This pattern indicates that gender roles may constrain more women’s than men’s probability of participation in voluntary organizations.