Tag: community service

The One Thing All Successful NGOs Have in Common: A Robust Financial Framework

 “The ‘financial framework’ is the term for the policies, procedures, regulations and standing orders we use to make sure we’re taking proper care of public money.” – Powys County Council

Similar to a business, it is imperative to establish a robust financial framework for an NGO. A financial framework provides an organised system that guides and supports the financial operations and structure of the organisation.  It includes internal financial control mechanisms to prevent financial mismanagement such as misuse or theft of funds and assets, non-compliance of an organisation or government policies and regulations, and inaccurate financial reporting. NGOs also face several problems, including inadequate resources, lack of capacity building, lack of performance measurement instruments, and inefficient management. Setting up a proper financial framework will help resolve some, if not all, of them.

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Tricks on How NGOs Can Survive Without Funding

Anne Frank once wrote, “No one has ever become poor by giving”.  But to give, you need to have. Every organisation needs funding to operate. Like any organisation, NGOs need money to cover their costs- capital costs, operation costs, overhead costs, staff costs, etc. NGOs, in particular, depend primarily on grants and donations for survival.

What happens when the organisation runs out of money? Donations are made at random, and grants are often subjected to conditions. With a limited budget and uncertain cash inflow, NGOs often have to curtail their spending at the cost of quantity and quality of their work. Under these circumstances, NGOs find it difficult to plan for the long term and ensure the longevity of their humanitarian programmes. Preemptively, NGOs should develop a stable funding source and steadily achieve autonomy from donor funds and grants.

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Who Cares?

We have been taught all our lives that to be decent human beings means that we exist on this earth to (as far as we can) make life less difficult for others, and in turn, make them less difficult for us. To feel like we have a greater purpose and to feel like we are making a difference, we need to help our fellow human beings in any way we can.

This attitude is ideally also meant to extend to monitoring our behaviour so that our impact on nature and the world, in general, is as positive as possible. However, every day, the human race fails to inspire because the world has become such an incredibly harsh place to call home.

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YUVA participates in UTM’s Community Learning and Engagement 2019 at MACOSS Regional Leadership Centre

The Mauritius Council of Social Service (MACOSS), in collaboration with the University of Technology, Mauritius (UTM), invited various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on Friday 26 April 2019 at the MACOSS Regional Leadership Centre to participate in the 2019 edition of the CLEn Programme.

YUVA responded positively to the call, along with many other NGOs, including APEDED, Befrienders, APSA and The Mauritius Scouts Association.

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YUVA participates in African Leadership College Career Fair 2019

A warm welcome and introduction to ALU and the fair was done by Mr Theodore Sutherland, the Head of College. He shared the vision of ALU, their innovative learning model and the approach to preparing work-ready talent in the 21st century. Furthermore, Mr Christopher Williams, one of our global experts in residence shared more insights on the importance of talents in an ever-changing world. He focused on what organizations have done to adapt to changing trends and the relevance of talent in adapting to these changes and believes that being versatile is important.

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YUVA participates in University of Mauritius NGO Fair 2019

On 29 March 2019, YUVA celebrated the World NGO Day 2019 with university students and NGO representatives on the campus of the University of Mauritius (UoM).

World NGO Day is a day for NGOs around the globe to share knowledge and experiences with one another. It aims to educate individuals worldwide on NGOs and their impact. The World NGO Day also provides an opportunity to honour and remember NGO founders, employees, volunteers, members and supporters.

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20 April: Volunteer Recognition Day

There are cynics out there who will say that true altruism is a myth, that it doesn’t exist, and that nobody is capable of doing anything unless they are motivated by their own self-interest in the end. But even the most embittered cynics would be hard-pressed to explain why anyone in their right mind would make the choice to travel to the poorest parts of the world, where hunger, sickness and war ravage the population and death is as commonplace as life, to help care for orphaned children. Or why a comfortable middle-class citizen would choose to spend his or her afternoons teaching neglected teenagers how to read in the dirtiest, most gang-ridden part of town. Or why any nurse would risk his or her life to care for wounded soldiers on the very front. Volunteers come in all shapes and sizes, but they are all the real-life saints and superheroes of this world. And although they don’t ask to be paid for all of their selfless work, they definitely deserve our utmost respect and appreciation, which is exactly what Volunteer Recognition Day is all about. Continue reading “20 April: Volunteer Recognition Day”

Why We Are Converting YLA Into a Social Enterprise

As austerity measures deepen, are big businesses unwittingly contributing to social injustice? If so, who will fill the gap they are leaving?

Recent political and financial events have seen businesses retrench, dig in and attempt to ride out the storm. To many, this suggests that the corporate world is being indifferent to its social responsibility. Community projects are being curtailed and cash donations to charities drying up. The impact can only be detrimental. Continue reading “Why We Are Converting YLA Into a Social Enterprise”