Political Science in the Age of the Internet and Digital Revolution
The Digital Revolution and Powershift Ever since the first personal computers began to make their presence felt in the late 1970s, a silent revolution in the way nations, politics, business, culture and society conduct themselves began to be apparent. Futuristic thinkers like Alvin Toffler wrote about the changing contours of business in the information age […]
Decision Makers and the Zero Sum Game
Decision making need not necessarily be a zero sum game where one party benefits at the expense of the other. For instance, it is common in many organizations for decision makers to favor one group over the other which results in a situation where one group wins and the other group loses. This is the […]
Models of Public Relations
Models of public relations were proposed by James E. Grunig, a noted public relations theorist who has to his credit several books, articles, chapters and awards in the field of public relations. According to James E.Grunig, there are four models of public Relations: Press Agentry/Publicity Press Agentry Publicity model is also called P.T Barnum model. […]
The Known-Unknown Classification of Risk
The entire subject of risk management is based on the ability of the manager to identify, value, and then mitigate the correct risks. Classification of risks is a vital step in this process. It is important to realize that there is no standard framework for classifying risks. Different people use different frameworks. One such framework […]
Critical Competencies of Virtual Team Members
Virtual team environment is characterized by uncertainty, fluid membership and task complexity. It is not easy for everyone to be productive and efficient in the specific demands of virtual environment. Those, whose performance is dependent on the significant workplace structure, are unable to deliver at their full potential in virtual settings. For a successful virtual […]
Non-profits across the world are divided into those that are advocacy oriented and those that volunteer their services for the public good. Advocacy groups often promote views and opinions of like-minded citizens regarding public policy and suggest specific courses of action that can be actualized. On the other hand, the non-profits that are volunteerism oriented actually get their hands dirty by participating in ground level work and grassroots mobilization.
The difference between advocacy and volunteerism is that whereas the former is theoretical in approach and concentrates on pressure as a means of goading the policymakers to adopt specific courses of action, the latter is more grassroots based with practical actions aimed at changing or influencing the public discourse.
In other words, whereas advocacy groups are urban based and are largely content with meetings, conferences, publishing reports, and focusing on measures that work with the policymakers, the volunteer based nonprofits are spread across the countryside and involve taking actionable steps to influence the public discourse.
Having said that, there are some commonalities between the advocacy groups and the volunteerism groups as both seek to influence the public discourse towards the realization of goals that promote social justice and public welfare.
Moreover, the lines between advocacy and volunteerism are blurred often since advocacy groups also have volunteers and rely on grassroots activists for inputs and the volunteerism groups also play advocacy roles.
The point here is that in the non-profits sector, the organizations working for the public good have an umbrella of activities that comprise of both advocacy and volunteerism and they cannot draw a hard and fast line between these activities. The net result is that many non-profits end up doing both advocacy and grassroots campaigns.
As mentioned above, the non-profits often have a mix of strategies to promote public welfare. However, it needs to be mentioned that non-profits have to define the objectives and goals for which they are in existence or to use a phrase, raison d’être of existence, wherein they formulate their bottom line goals.
There is no point in non-profits spreading themselves too thin because they are doing everything at once. Further, there is also no gain in espousing too many causes and ending up not doing justice to any of them. Hence, the non-profits have to first draw up a charter of what they would do and what they would not do and even though they might cross the line sometimes, it helps if they define their core principles clearly.
The complex world that we live in needs non-linear thinking to solve problems and hence, the non-profits too have to work within uncertainty and chaos. For this reason alone, the non-profits have to ensure that whether they are advocating a particular stance or mobilizing volunteers at the grassroots, they do not stray too far from their stated objectives and remain true to their basic goals and objectives.
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The Corporatization of the NGOs and How It Impacts Funders, Beneficiaries, and Others
February 12, 2025
