Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization created by private organizations or people with no participation or representation of any government. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status insofar as it excludes government representatives from membership in the organization.

 

The number of internationally operating NGOs is estimated at 40,000. National numbers are even higher: Russia has 277,000 NGOs. India is estimated to have between 1 million and 2 million NGOs. International non-governmental organizations have a history dating back to at least 1914 (Rotary, later Rotary International, was founded in 1904), where there were 1083 NGO’s. They were important in the anti-slavery movement and the movement for women’s suffrage, and reached a peak at the time of the World Disarmament Conference. However, the phrase “non-governmental organization” only came into popular use with the establishment of the United Nations Organization in 1945 with provisions in Article 71 of Chapter 10 of the United Nations Charter for a consultative role for organizations which are neither 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 organization that is not founded by an international treaty”.

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Conventional Philanthropy

By the conventional definition of philanthropy, donations are dedicated to a narrowly defined cause and the donation is targeted to effectuate a recognizable change in social conditions. This often necessitates large donations and financial support sustained over time.

 

The need for a large financial commitment creates a distinction between philanthropy and charitable giving, which typically plays a supporting role in a charitable organization initiated by someone else. Thus, the conventional usage of philanthropy applies mainly to wealthy persons, and sometimes to a trust created by a wealthy person with a particular cause or objective targeted.

 

Many non-wealthy persons have dedicated – thus, donated – substantial portions of their time, effort and wealth to charitable causes. These people are not typically described as philanthropists because individual effort alone is seldom recognized as instigating significant change. These people are thought of as charitable workers but some people wish to recognize these people as philanthropists in honor of their efforts.

 

A growing trend in philanthropy is the development of giving circles, whereby individual donors — often a group of friends — pool their charitable donations and decide together how to use the money to benefit the causes they care about most. The re-emergence of philanthropy in recent years, led by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, which involves applying the techniques of business to philanthropy, has been termed philanthrocapitalism.