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In the last few years, I have conducted sessions on fundraising at about 20 workshops in 14 “developing” countries — in Latin America, Africa and Asia. I’ve met amazing people and come across many examples of successful local-resource mobilization.
There’s some very sophisticated fundraising happening in Latin America and Asia. Much of the cutting-edge work is being done by international NGOs like UNICEF and Greenpeace, but there’s also a growing band of indigenous nonprofits that are using professional fundraising techniques.
If you’re surprised reading this, that’s understandable. The environment for fundraising in these countries isn’t easy. Challenges include issues of credibility and culture, practical difficulties, unhelpful legal systems, and a shortage of people with the necessary skills. Yet despite this, a growing number of organisations across the world are demonstrating that fundraising in developing countries is possible.
One of the biggest challenges these fundraisers face is that the nonprofit sector suffers from a lack of credibility or, worse, is seen as unreliable and even corrupt. There’s good reason for this. For example, in India it seems to be established practice for retired government officials to set up dubious NGOs, which then attract state funds — one of the ways generous government spending on social programmes fails to reach the poor. There’s even a local saying, “NGO is good business.” (In case you missed it, that’s sarcasm.) Unscrupulous opportunists also take advantage of public generosity during times of disaster to solicit funds, which they then simply pocket.
With no effective regulation of the rapidly expanding nonprofit sector in these countries, opportunities for corruption are rife. Standards of transparency and accountability are poor, with few nonprofits disclosing information on funds received or how they were used. The media regularly carries stories of charity scams.
But despite the general public scepticism, nonprofits with solid reputations based on real track records are attracting support. Donors can tell the good nonprofits from the bad.
Overcoming obstacles
Traditions of philanthropy vary widely. In Latin America, there is no real culture of giving to social and environmental causes. In Asia, while almost everyone “gives,” they tend to do so to the extended family, poorer relatives or poor people in the neighbourhood. They also give to local temples and mosques. In Africa, strong patterns of kinship and community support also dominate over giving to nonprofits. In most of these countries, family and kinship still play major roles in people’s lives, and people personally know people in need — unlike the situation for many donors in the U.S. today. But this situation is changing with a growing middle class and increasingly smaller families. Improved levels of education also contribute to a rising number of people prepared to part with goods or cash to assist nonprofits they trust.
There’s some very sophisticated fundraising happening in Latin America and Asia. Much of the cutting-edge work is being done by international NGOs like UNICEF and Greenpeace, but there’s also a growing band of indigenous nonprofits that are using professional fundraising techniques.
If you’re surprised reading this, that’s understandable. The environment for fundraising in these countries isn’t easy. Challenges include issues of credibility and culture, practical difficulties, unhelpful legal systems, and a shortage of people with the necessary skills. Yet despite this, a growing number of organisations across the world are demonstrating that fundraising in developing countries is possible.
One of the biggest challenges these fundraisers face is that the nonprofit sector suffers from a lack of credibility or, worse, is seen as unreliable and even corrupt. There’s good reason for this. For example, in India it seems to be established practice for retired government officials to set up dubious NGOs, which then attract state funds — one of the ways generous government spending on social programmes fails to reach the poor. There’s even a local saying, “NGO is good business.” (In case you missed it, that’s sarcasm.) Unscrupulous opportunists also take advantage of public generosity during times of disaster to solicit funds, which they then simply pocket.
With no effective regulation of the rapidly expanding nonprofit sector in these countries, opportunities for corruption are rife. Standards of transparency and accountability are poor, with few nonprofits disclosing information on funds received or how they were used. The media regularly carries stories of charity scams.
But despite the general public scepticism, nonprofits with solid reputations based on real track records are attracting support. Donors can tell the good nonprofits from the bad.
Overcoming obstacles
Traditions of philanthropy vary widely. In Latin America, there is no real culture of giving to social and environmental causes. In Asia, while almost everyone “gives,” they tend to do so to the extended family, poorer relatives or poor people in the neighbourhood. They also give to local temples and mosques. In Africa, strong patterns of kinship and community support also dominate over giving to nonprofits. In most of these countries, family and kinship still play major roles in people’s lives, and people personally know people in need — unlike the situation for many donors in the U.S. today. But this situation is changing with a growing middle class and increasingly smaller families. Improved levels of education also contribute to a rising number of people prepared to part with goods or cash to assist nonprofits they trust.
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