How to successfully start an NGO

With the rate of unemployment escalating than reducing, little hope is left on the side of new graduates. However if you have always been passionate about something and want to contribute in its growth, setting up a non-profit oriented organization would be ideal. In today’s edition, we share with you some of the basic steps you will have to follow to set up your NGO.

• Step 1: Test the waters.

  Many new activists are ready to commit their lives to “the cause.” Some are even willing to die for it. Most of these enthusiastic newbies are nowhere to be found a few months later.There’s no need to turn down the volume of your enthusiasm, but before starting your own NGO, consider joining one that does similar work for a while.

  Step 2: Start on the right foot.

  “The leader’s main job is to make themselves obsolete.” — Lao Tsu

  Becoming obsolete should be the fundamental goal of all NGOs. You must constantly strive to work yourself out of a job.Becoming obsolete works on two levels. In terms of your personal involvement, you should build the NGO to the point where it can function independently of your leadership. The long term goal of your NGO should be to solve a problem and thereby become unnecessary.

• Step 3: Clarify your goals.

  Set clear and achievable goals for yourself and the NGO.“Ending world hunger” is a great goal and looks good on your NGO’s t-shirt, but it’s not a problem you can seriously hope to solve.Finding a niche is good place to start. Positive change usually comes from picking something small, doing it well and following through.

• Step 4: Make an action plan.

  A plan of action is your chance to make an NGO effective, address any potential negative impacts and make sure your NGO will attract donors and volunteers.Make sure you are able to follow through with what you start. Think hard about your action plan. Hard work is important, but hard work without a good plan is a waste of time and money.

• Step 5: Network, network, network.

  Make friends with people and organizations doing similar work so that you can learn from their successes and mistakes. Networking also helps you to know when to team up and when to divide your efforts for maximum effectiveness.