changerepublic.org marketing research report

ChangeRepublic.Org Let Us Make A Better World Together

Top Problems that NGOs face

Market Research Project

By

Amit Mewar

Keyur Munot

Surabhi Vashisht

Varun Tejwani

SIBM, Pune

Acknowledgement

We, the team of Research and Scholastic development team of SIBM, Pune would like to thank

Change Republic for giving us a chance to carry out this project. We would also like to thank

Miss. Annie James (MBA Marketing) for providing us with her invaluable guidance and

comments. Last but not the least, we would like to thank Mithi Software Private Limited for

giving us access to their infrastructure for conducting the Focused Group Discussion.

ChangeRepublic.Org Market Research Project

ii

Summary - Marketing Research

Objective: To find out the ‘Top 5 problems NGOs face’.

Findings: Sample size for this research was 18 NGOs, working in the Pune, Maharashtra

region. NGOs were from varied sectors such as women welfare, rural development, child

welfare and others. Since our primary objective was to find top problems that NGOs

face, research tools such as questionnaires and focused group discussion were centered

on that. The market research yielded following list of top problems:

Funds: Both availability of funds for operations and continuity of these funds

had a direct impact on sustainability of NGOs.

Employee Shortage: Lack of availability of permanent and qualified employees.

Visibility: NGOs, considering the nature of their work, are facing problems in

creating awareness about their initiatives among masses.

Volunteer Participation: NGOs rely immensely on volunteer engagement. Lack

commitment and availability of volunteers are areas where NGOs face problems

Lack of Information: NGOs and their stakeholders are unaware about

legislatures, and governance policies that directly impact these NGOs

The Solution: ChangeRepublic.Org intends provide NGOs with a feature rich platform

that would aim at solving the above mentioned problems that NGOs face. To accomplish

this we will take up the following four projects:

Online network of Volunteers, NGOs and CSRs: By creating a network of

volunteers, NGOs and CSRs ChangeRepublic.Org aims to provide ample

opportunity to NGOs to succeed in carrying out any initiatives, whether this

means gathering resources, support, volunteers or collaborating with other

NGOs and CSRs.

Online Donations and Rating System: By providing online donations, the

world becomes the funding source of initiatives. People from any part of the

country or the world can contribute to initiatives monetarily in any amount

possible. We also believe that the NGOs must be held accountable for the money

that the get as donations. We will develop a rating system that will rate NGOs and

also other users based on the impact that they create through their initiatives.


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Online Promotion Tools for NGOs: Online promotion tools target visibility by

promoting initiatives across multiple social media websites and thereby

gathering momentum for initiatives.

E-commerce Platform for NGOs: ChangeRepublic.Org will develop an e-

commerce platform that will allow NGOs to sell their products worldwide. This

platform will help NGOs to generate revenues and thus giving a way to become

self-reliant.

Conclusion: Through ChangeRepublic.Org, all stakeholders be it volunteers, corporate

and individual philanthropists and NGOs themselves, can come together on a common

platform not just to solve problems NGOs face but also to bring about a social change

that our country needs.


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Contents Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................................................................. i

Summary - Marketing Research ................................................................................................................................. ii

Contents .............................................................................................................................................................................. iv

List of Tables .......................................................................................................................................................................v

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................ 1

Management Question.................................................................................................................................................... 2

Research Objective........................................................................................................................................................... 2

Research Methodology ................................................................................................................................................... 3

Data collection and Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Statistical Analysis of Data Collected ................................................................................................................... 7

Correlation Analysis ................................................................................................................................................ 13

Conclusions and Findings ........................................................................................................................................... 21

How will ChangeRepublic.Org help?....................................................................................................................... 23

1.1. Online network of Volunteers, NGOs and CSRs ............................................................................. 23

1.2. Online Donations and Rating System ................................................................................................. 24

1.3. Online Promotion and Task Management Tools for NGOs ....................................................... 24

1.4. E-commerce for NGOs .............................................................................................................................. 25

Appendix A : The Questionnaire Used for Survey ............................................................................................. 27

INFORMATION ................................................................................................................................................................ 27

VOLUNTEERS ................................................................................................................................................................... 27

FUNDS ................................................................................................................................................................................. 28

PROCESSES: ...................................................................................................................................................................... 28

MEDIA AND ENVIRONMENT BARRIERS .............................................................................................................. 29


v

List of Tables

Table 1 : Relation between Visibility and Availability of Funds ................................................................. 14

Table 2 : Problems Faced By NGOs ........................................................................................................................ 15

Table 3 : Estimating efficacy of Change Republic in Getting Funds .......................................................... 16

Table 4 : Organizations benefitted by Change Republic ................................................................................ 16

Table 5 : Relation between visibility of NGOs and Volunteer Participation ......................................... 17

Table 6 : Volunteer Participation ............................................................................................................................ 18

Table 7 : Estimating efficacy of Change Republic in Getting Volunteers ................................................ 19

Table 8 : Organizations Benefitted by Change Republic ............................................................................... 20

Introduction

A study commissioned by government put the number of NGOs in India at 33 Lakhs in

2009. According to this study larger chunk of the NGOs are registered in Maharashtra

(Around 4.8 lakh). NGOs are working in the areas of child welfare, women

empowerment, education and literacy, shelter for poor, welfare of sex workers,

renewable energy, environment and forest, animal welfare etc. While government has

been the biggest donor followed by foreign contributors, individual donors are

emerging as a prominent source of funds. In spite of this, there are many NGOs which

close down because of the lack of funds and/or are barely able to survive. Apart from

lack of funds there are many other problems that NGOs face, due to both extrinsic and

intrinsic factors.

India is a country of two extremes. It is the world's eleventh largest economy, boasts a

Rs. 10,000 crore space programme and is itself an aid donor to other countries.

However, India is also host to a third of the world's poor. Indians gave Rs. 33,750 Crores

to charities, about 0.6% of India's GDP. Although the number of millionaires has

doubled in India, the philanthropic level has not showed much of an increment. India

has a fast-growing list of new billionaires and yet the country faces a growing divide

between the rich and the poor, more strikingly between urban and rural areas. To

bridge this gap, we need to look for avenues that would make directing funds in the

most needed places easier.

The other question that comes to mind is of the credibility of these institutions. How

does one know whether aid reaches the needy or does it get stuck with intermediaries?

Such are the doubts in the mind of donors. This paper tries to find out the major

problems that NGOs in India face such that these problems can be targeted and the gap

between the donors and NGOs can be effectively bridged.

http://www.bain.com/bainweb/PDFs/cms/Public/India_Sheth_Speech.pdf


2

Management Question

How should Change Republic move ahead to take cognizance of the top problems faced

by NGOs and other non-profit organizations and find solutions for these problems?

From left to right.

Yash Lohiya, Head

Sales and Marketing

Gaurishankar

Todkari. Software

Developer

Malavika Oak,

Graphics Designer

Yash Sharma. Team

Lead

The Change Republic Team

Research Objective

The research objectives were:

Primary Objectives:

To find out the ‘Top 5 problems NGOs’ face.

Statistical understanding of different factors like age of NGOs, qualification of

volunteers, visibility of NGOs and factor their impact on the effectiveness of

NGOs

Correlation between demographic details of Target Group and the collected data.

For example, the availability of funds and visibility of the NGOs or ease of getting

volunteers and market reach of the NGOs

Secondary Objective:

Determining the efficacy of Change Republic in solving the major problems of

the NGOs


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Research Methodology

The research method followed in this project is a combination of Causal Research

methodology and Exploratory Research Methodology.

Causal research is used to obtain evidence of the cause-and-effect relationships. The

main method of this type of research is experimentation. In causal research, the

emphasis is on specific hypotheses about the effects of changes of one variable on

another variable. It involves experiment where an independent variable is changed or

manipulated to see how it affects a dependent variable by controlling the effects of

extraneous variables.

Exploratory research has the goal of formulating problems more precisely, clarifying

concepts, gathering explanations, gaining insight, eliminating impractical ideas and

forming hypothesis. It often relies on secondary research such as reviewing available

literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as informal discussions with

consumers, employees, management or competitors, and more formal approaches

through in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective methods, case studies or pilot

studies, as in the case of this research.

Sampling

The sample size used in this survey is 18. The population set is stratified based on the

sectors in which the NGOs function and the sample contains NGOs from the most

populous NGO sectors in Pune city. The sampling technique used is Stratified Random

sampling, a method of sampling that involves the division of a population into smaller

groups known as strata. In stratified random sampling, the strata are formed based

on members' shared attributes or characteristics. A random sample from each stratum

is taken in a number proportional to the stratum's size when compared to the

population. These subsets of the strata are then pooled to form a random sample, which

is how it is done in the case of this research because the various NGOs work in different

spheres of causes (women empowerment, underprivileged children, aids workers, etc)

and it is essential to cover most of these spheres to able to get a better understanding of

the aspects that come into play with the work of these NGOs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_research

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_group

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_studies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_studies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_studies


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Data Collection Methodology

The data is collected by using a combination of three approaches, namely:

1. Focussed Group Discussion (FGD)

An FGD is a qualitative market research technique wherein people from similar

backgrounds or experiences are brought together to discuss a specific topic to be

able to give more insight through their experiences. The purpose of an FGD is

To explore the range of opinions/views on a topic of interest

To explore meanings of survey findings that cannot be explained

statistically

2. Face to Face Interview

3. Surveys using questionnaire


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Data collection and Analysis

First, on the basis of secondary research, a questionnaire was prepared. The

questionnaire contained a total of 32 questions divided into 4 parts: Volunteers, Funds,

Market Reach and Miscellaneous. The questionnaire had subjective questions and

objective questions and questions which were a mix of both subjective and objective

questions. This questionnaire was then presented to various NGOs.

The other approach followed in this research was the FGD approach. In this, a small

group of people representing NGOs across sectors were brought together and guided by

a moderator through an unstructured, spontaneous discussion for the purpose of

gaining information relevant to the research problem. The information generated from

this discussion was used to design the questionnaire in a more pointed direction

keeping the subjectivity in measurable limits.

Niwant, is an NGO

that helps visually

challenged students

in pursuing higher

education after the

age of 18. While the

NGO can pay its

employees almost at

par with corporate

organizations.

Niwant is not able to

find the qualified

people it needs to

administer the NGO.

World Cup Celebrations at Niwant Andha Mukta Vikasalaya

The FGD we conducted for the research was attended by 6 representatives from NGOs

and CSR communities of a well known Indian IT company. The primary objective of the

research was to be able to explore various hurdles experienced by an NGO during its

operations and also to find the causes of these hurdles, The FGD provided insight into

the problems and depth into the understanding of the problems with inputs from each

of the participants who contributed and even complemented each others’ opinions.

With minimal interference from the moderator, who allowed the FGD to take its own


6

flow at the same time not deviating from our objective, the FGD was useful for gaining

insight into various aspects that assisted the research.

Finally, to reduce the sampling error, Face to Face interviews were conducted to

correctly understand the problems NGOs face. The advantage of conducting these

interviews is that the interviewee correctly understands the question and gives answers

in a detailed fashion.


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Statistical Analysis of Data Collected

Our Sample Details

1. Pie Chart Depicting Age Of NGOs (in Years)

Inference: Our sample has maximum NGOs in the age group 0-5 Years.

2. Pie Chart Depicting Sectors Of NGOs

Inference: Our sample has maximum NGOs operating in the area of Child Welfare

50%

17%

22%

11%0 to 5

5 to 10

10 to 15

15 and above

22%

5%

11%

5%11%

6%

6%

17%

11%6%

Child welfare

Rural welfare

Women welfare

HIV +ve

Health

Physically handicapped

Mentally handicapped

Diverse causes

Aid to poor

Spiritual education


8

Questionnaire Analysis

1. Pie Chart Depicting Audit of NGOs

Inference: Almost all NGOs had their financial statements audited in house or by a third

part except 2 which were in their nascent stage of operations.

2. Pie Chart Depicting Qualification of Volunteers

Inference: Most of the NGOs take graduates as their volunteers.

89%

11%

Audits done

Audits not done

28%

39%

11%

22%

School going

Graduate

Working professional

Others


9

3. Pie Chart Depicting Number of Volunteers

Inference: The organizations which are in their nascent stages function with less

volunteers. Since most of the organizations in our sample are between 0 to 5 yrs of age,

our analysis shows maximum NGOs functioning with fewer volunteers.

4. Pie Chart Depicting Operating Annual Funds

Inference: Most of the organizations operate with annual funds of Rs 1-5 Lakhs.

28%

17%

22%

11%

22%

0-10

10-30

30-60

60-100

>100

5%17%

67%

5% 6%

Annual funds

Less than 50K

50K – 1 lakh

1-5 lakh

5 -10 lakh

10 lakh and above


10

5. Pie Chart Depicting Biggest Source of funds for NGOs

Inference: For most of the organizations surveyed, the biggest source of funds is the CSR

initiatives of companies. 72% of NGOs have this as their funding source.

6. Bar Graph Depicting Visibility Across Various Media

Inference: Only one NGO in our sample has the funds to advertise using the medium of

television. 7 out of 17 NGOs have an online presence. The Web is the primary source of

communication and visibility for most of the NGOs surveyed.

72%

28%

0%

CSR (Organizations)

Welfare Trusts

Individual donors

7

1

4

3

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Website TV ad Newspaper ad Radio ad

Nu

mb

er

of

NG

Os


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Problems Faced by NGOs

The response of 18 NGOs about problems they faced has been illustrated in the bar

chart below:

Inferences

13 out of 18 NGOS felt that availability of funds is a problem.

7 out of 18 NGOs felt that getting volunteers is a problem for them.

Most of the NGOs had multiple problems. Therefore, we asked them to rank their

problems based on their analysis of severity of the problem.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

13

15

7

9

2

10 109


12

Pie Chart Depicting Biggest Problems NGOs Face

This way, we could understand the biggest problem for each and every NGO. The same

has been illustrated in the pie chart below:

Inference: Availability of funds is the biggest problem for maximum number of NGOs.

The point to be noted here is that no NGO thought that low visibility is the biggest

problem for them. In our following analysis, we would prove that visibility as a problem

leads to other problems in the NGO space.

Interesting Bits: Why the name ChangeRepublic?

CHANGE REPUBLIC

Change Republic’s name finds its inspiration from two sources - people and

change. Republic - a system in which the supreme power lies with citizens –

serves as the guiding philosophy of Change Republic. Change - in our attitude

towards the social causes – is what Change Republic strives for. We must stand

up and work together to make our society a better place to live.

Interesting Bits Box 1

61%22%

11%6%

0%

Funds

Volunteers

Trainers

Information


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Correlation Analysis

After doing the data analysis, our objective was to find out the correlation between the

problems of the NGOs to get a better understanding of their problems and understand

how some problems of NGOs are not actual problems but symptoms of some other

problems. Whilst conducting the Qualitative research during the FGD and face to face

interviews, we found the following factors to be correlated and hence wanted to

quantify the responses to support the finding, as follows:

Relation between Visibility and Availability of Funds

The NGO intends to

construct a

meditation centre in

the village Achler.

The center will also

provide much needed

employment

opportunities to

locals. However, as

the NGO lacks

visibility, it has not

been able to raise the

required funds

through donations

AIDS awareness campaign by Amitabh Bhuddist Society in the village Achler

Availability of funds as discussed in the data analysis above is a major problem faced by

13 out of 18 NGOs. Our intention here is to find out the relation between 2 problems

that we feel are closely related. One is visibility and the other is availability of funds.

Surveyed NGOs Availability of Funds Visibility Relation

Bhoomi Y N 0

Nivant Y Y 1

CSSY Y N 0

Doorsteps Y N 0

IDEA Y Y 1


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Surveyed NGOs Availability of Funds Visibility Relation

FoC Y N 0

BlueCross N N 1

Ishwarpuram N N 1

Aasha Samajik Prathisthan Y Y 1

Prayaas Y Y 1

Sahyog Trust N Y 0

Sambhavna Society Y Y 1

Navkshitij Y N 0

Shelter Associates N N 1

Rural Foundation Y Y 1

Amitabh Buddhist Society Y Y 1

Chaitnya India N N 1

Nayee Udaan Y Y 1

Table 1 : Relation between Visibility and Availability of Funds

Pie Chart Depicting Relation between Visibility and Availability of Funds

Inferences

12 out of 17 organizations in our sample express a close relation of visibility with

availability of funds. As the visibility of NGOs increases, it becomes easier for them to

attract funds from different locations.

Close relation

71%

No relation29%


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We see that in 71% of the cases, an NGO having visibility as a problem also has

availability of funds as a problem. Hence there is a relation to the extent of 71%

between them.

There might be some other factors which also have an impact on availability of

funds. We found out that internal problems like accountability and management of

funds also resulted in problems of availability of funds. The reason for the same is

that companies do not want to invest in NGOs which do not have a clear plan of

utilisation of funds (management) and accountability (regular audits) of funds.

The point to be noted here is that availability of funds and continuity of funds both

are functions of 3 things:

Problems Faced By NGOs Type of Problem

Accountability of funds Internal problem

Management of funds (a proper plan) Internal problem

Visibility External problem

Table 2 : Problems Faced By NGOs

Estimating efficacy of Change Republic in Getting Funds

Change Republic cannot directly solve internal problems of NGOs like accountability

and management of funds. It can help an NGO get better visibility and thereby ensure

flow of funds into the NGO. Therefore, we next analysed the responses of NGOs again

with respect to visibility and accountability and management of funds.

1. Organizations which have internal issues of accountability and management of

funds will not gain access to funds only by gaining visibility. They need to resolve

their internal issues. These organizations will be benefitted only to a limited

extent by Change Republic.

2. Organizations which do not have internal issues but have visibility as an external

problem stand to gain a lot by gaining visibility. These organizations will be

benefitted to a large extent by Change Republic.


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Surveyed NGOs Accountability and

Management of Funds Visibility Relation

Bhoomi N N Not considered

Nivant N Y 1

CSSY N N Not considered

Doorsteps Y N Not considered

IDEA Y Y 0

FoC Y N Not considered

BlueCross N N Not considered

Ishwarpuram N N Not considered

Aasha Samajik Prathisthan N Y 1

Prayaas N Y 1

Sahyog Trust N Y 1

Sambhavna Society N Y 1

Navkshitij N N Not considered

Shelter Associates N N Not considered



Chaitnya India N N Not considered

Nayee Udaan N Y 1

Table 3 : Estimating efficacy of Change Republic in Getting Funds

The NGOs which don't have visibility as a problem have therefore not been

considered because they don't directly fall under our target group.

Now, 6 NGOs which have only visibility as a problem and not accountability of funds as

a problem will be benefitted totally by Change Republic to the extent of 100% but 3

NGOs which have both visibility and accountability as a problem will be benefitted only

to the extent of 71% by Change Republic.

Particulars Number Weightage

Organizations benefitted to a large extent 6 1

Organizations benefitted to a limited extent 3 0.71

Table 4 : Organizations benefitted by Change Republic


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Finally using expected value concept, the number of NGOs benefitted in case of funds =

6*1+3*.71= 8.13.

8.13 out of 18 NGOs surveyed comes out to be 47%. Change Republic will create a

significant impact by giving visibility to and thereby ensuring availability of funds to

47% of NGOs in the sample.

Relation between visibility of NGOs and Volunteer Participation

Similarly, we tried to determine the relation between 2 problems that we think, again

are interrelated. One is visibility and the other is volunteer participation.

Surveyed NGOs Getting Volunteers Visibility Relation

Bhoomi Y N 0

Nivant N Y 0

CSSY N N 1

Doorsteps Y N 0

IDEA Y Y 1

FoC N N 1

BlueCross N N 1

Ishwarpuram N N 1


Prayaas N Y 0

Sahyog Trust N Y 0

Sambhavna Society Y Y 1

Navkshitij Y N 0

Shelter Associates N N 1


Amitabh Buddhist Society N Y 0

Chaitnya India N N 1

Nayee Udaan Y Y 1

Table 5 : Relation between visibility of NGOs and Volunteer Participation


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Pie Chart Depicting Relation between Visibility and Volunteer Participation

Inferences:

10 out of 17 organizations in our sample express a close relation of visibility with

getting volunteers. If the NGOs are given a better platform to express what their

organization does, then it is easier to attract passionate volunteers.

We can see, there is relation to the extent of 59% between visibility and volunteer

participation.

Hence there might be some other factors also which have an impact on volunteer

participation. In the exploratory research, we found out that volunteer participation

is a function of two things.

Problem Faced by NGOs Type of Problem

Engaging volunteers continuously Internal problem

Visibility External problem

Table 6 : Volunteer Participation

Estimating efficacy of Change Republic in Getting Volunteers

1. Organizations that have internal issues of not being able to engage volunteers

continuously will not be benefitted by visibility alone. Only resolving their internal

issues, can they acquire good volunteer participation and not just by gaining

visibility. These organizations will be benefitted only to a certain extent by Change

Republic.

Close Relation

59%

No relation41%


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2. Organizations which do not have internal issues but have visibility as an external

problem stand to gain a lot by gaining visibility. These organizations will be

benefitted to a large extent by Change Republic.

Surveyed NGOs Engaging Volunteers Continuously Visibility Relation

Bhoomi Y N Not considered

Nivant N Y 1

CSSY N N Not considered

Doorsteps N N Not considered

IDEA N Y 1

FoC Y N Not considered

BlueCross Y N Not considered

Ishwarpuram N N Not considered


Prayaas N Y 1

Sahyog Trust N Y 1

Sambhavna Society N Y 1

Navkshitij Y N Not considered

Shelter Associates N N Not considered



Chaitnya India Y N Not considered

Nayee Udaan Y Y 0

Table 7 : Estimating efficacy of Change Republic in Getting Volunteers

The NGOs which do not have visibility as a problem have therefore not been considered

because they do not directly fall under our target group.

Now, 6 NGOs which have only visibility as a problem and not engaging volunteers

continuously as a problem will be benefitted totally by Change Republic to the extent of

100% but 3 NGOs which have both visibility and engaging volunteers continuously will

be benefitted only to the extent of 59% by Change Republic.


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Particulars Number Weightage

Organizations benefitted to a large extent 6 1

Organizations benefitted to a limited extent 3 0.59

Table 8 : Organizations Benefitted by Change Republic

Total NGOs that can benefit (pertaining to funds) = 6*1+3*0.71= 7.77

7.77 out of 18 NGOs comes out to be 43%

Change Republic will create a significant impact by giving visibility to them and thereby

ensuring better volunteer participation to 43% of NGOs in the sample.

Interesting Bits: What does Change Republic’s logo stand for?

Change Republic’s logo represents the values it stands for. The blue circle

denotes the Earth – a global community. The star stands for our social goal - an

ideal society. The people represent us – the citizens. All of us, around the

world, stand together to act on our common goal of creating a great society.

Interesting Bits Box 2


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Conclusions and Findings

1. The biggest problems that NGOs face:

a. Funds (Availability/Continuity)

b. Well trained staff/permanent employees

c. Visibility

d. Volunteer participation

e. Lack of information ( about other NGOs working in the same field,

government and civic laws, and general information as such that will benefit

their functioning)

2. Around 50% of the NGOs are 0-5 year old and 17% are 5-10 years old. These new

NGOs do not have proper systems in place and have visibility as a major concern.

Due to low visibility levels, they do not have the funds or the necessary volunteer

strength to carry out their initiatives.

3. 39% of NGOs want their volunteers to be graduates meaning that the quality of

volunteers required in the industry is high. The problem is to keep these volunteers

motivated to keep the model sustainable. A lot of NGOs have problems in keeping

their volunteers engaged continuously because of which they have problems of

attrition. Until the NGOs do not rectify this problem, getting visibility alone will not

make a significant difference in the volunteer space.

4. The biggest source of funds for NGOs is CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) – 72%.

Individuals donate but only in small amounts. Companies have money to donate but

they need to know how their money is getting utilised. NGOs which have a proper

plan in place get funds from CSR while others which do not have a proper plan fail to

get funds from CSR. NGOs need to show proper accountability and management of

funds to tap the funds from CSR.

5. Only one NGO has the funds to give a TV ad since it costs approximately 3 to 10

Lakhs. A TV commercial cannot give enough information about the NGO in 30

seconds hence the Return on Investment (ROI) would, in our opinion, be less for this

medium.

6. 7 out of 17 NGOs have an online presence. Websites give a lot of information in one

go and can also be enabled with a donate option which makes it easy for the donor

to donate if he/she wants to be associated with the cause. Hence online presence is

the way ahead for achieving higher levels of visibility.


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7. There is relation to the extent of 71% between visibility and availability of funds.

The percentage of NGOs that can be benefitted in the funds domain by achieving

significant level of visibility is 47%.

8. There is relation to the extent of 59% between visibility and volunteer participation.

The percentage of NGOs that can be benefitted in the volunteer domain by gaining

visibility is 43%.


23

How will ChangeRepublic.Org help?

ChangeRepublic.Org is proposing the following activities in the coming year:

Online network of Volunteers, NGOs and CSRs

Online Donations and Rating System

Online Promotion and Task Management Tools for NGOs

E-commerce for NGOs

1.1. Online network of Volunteers, NGOs and CSRs

The setting up of online networks of volunteers, NGOs and CSRs will aim to target the

issues pertaining to Funding, Visibility, Volunteer participation & Quality of volunteers.

By creating a network of volunteers, NGOs and CSRs ChangeRepublic.Org aims to

provide ample opportunity to NGOs to succeed in carrying out any initiatives, whether

this means gathering resources, support, volunteers or collaborating with other NGOs.

While ChangeRepublic.Org has a directory of Volunteer and NGOs and that users can

view the organizational profile of any NGO in its directory, we will be enhancing the

features of the directory and also those of the user profiles. Following are the features

that we will provide:

A directory of corporate CSRs (Corporate Social Responsibly) across India. This

would enable NGOs to network with CSRs and would also enable CSRs to

network with each other.

For the profiles of NGOs, Volunteers, Profiles we would be adding features such

as uploading of photographs, videos and other rich media. The users will also

have the ability to showcase their financial and operational documents.

To increase interaction and collaboration between users we will develop blogs

and discussion forums on ChangeRepublic.Org.

Users will be able to upload and showcase photographs, videos and other rich

media in the initiatives that they start. This feature would enable NGOs and other

users to show the initiatives that they are currently working on and thus allow

other users to collaborate with the NGOs to take the initiatives forward.


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1.2. Online Donations and Rating System

This system looks to target funding and quality of volunteers and initiatives. By

providing online donations, the world becomes the funding source of initiatives. People

from any part of the country or the world can contribute to initiatives monetarily in any

amount possible. The rating system will allow for genuine initiatives, volunteers and

CSRs to be part of ChangeRepublic.Org, where in feedback can be provided openly and

thereby allowing the entire ecosystem of social change to gain maturity over time.

ChangeRepublic.Org will develop an online tool that allows users to donate funds to

NGOs. As expressed in the marketing research report presented by ChangeRepublic.Org,

access to funds is the top problem that NGOs face today. By providing an online

donation platform, coupled with a large user base, ChangeRepublic.Org will provide

opportunity for funds to NGOs. ChangeRepublic.Org believes that there are 2 ways to

reach out for funds, the first is to reach out to philanthropists and corporate

organizations that can provide sizeable amount of funds, and the second way is to ask

reach out to a large number of common people to donate a very small portion of their

money thereby creating a large pool of money.

As part of this project ChangeRepublic.Org will develop an online tool that provides a

payment gateway for direct donation, a financial dashboard that shows a snapshot of

funds procured for initiatives and promote initiatives that required funding. Users will

be able to donate money to these NGOs using credit cards and internet banking.

We also believe that the NGOs must be held accountable for the money that the get as

donations. Keeping in line with this view, ChangeRepublic.Org will develop a rating

system that will rate NGOs and also other users based on the impact that they create

through their initiatives. Both volunteers and donors will rate the NGOs depending

work done by the NGOs.

1.3. Online Promotion and Task Management Tools for NGOs

Online promotion tools target visibility by promoting initiatives across multiple social

media websites and thereby gathering momentum for initiatives. People can view, join

and follow the initiatives of any NGO and CSR and this will create an open, reputable

environment for promotion of social initiatives. Task management will help organizing

people, resources and time and thereby improving the quality of work overall.


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ChangeRepublic.Org will develop tools that would allow NGOs to automate promotion

of their initiatives on social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. The

promotion tools will post details of initiatives on social media networks at regular

intervals throughout the day. The NGOs will be able to control the frequency and the

time at which the initiatives are posted on social media networks. This will help NGOs

get visibility on such social media networks without investing in social media

marketing.

Further, NGOs will also have tools to make their newsletters on ChangeRepublic.Org and

send them across their network. This tool will allow NGOs to enhance their visibility and

also the visibility of their initiatives.

We will also develop a Task Management tool for NGOs and other users that will attract

more volunteers/employees who can work from home on managing initiatives. This will

help in towards solving shortage of qualified employees or volunteers.

1.4. E-commerce for NGOs

ChangeRepublic.Org will develop an e-commerce platform that will allow NGOs to sell

their products worldwide. This platform will help NGOs to generate revenues and thus

giving a way to become self-reliant. Following will be the features that will be developed

as a part of the e-commerce platform:

Online web stores that will allow NGOs to post their products online.

Inventory management tools.

Reporting tools that will allow NGOs to track their revenues.

Secure online payment options.

Customer Feedback


26

Limitations/Constraints

These are the factors that need to be kept in mind before considering the data facts and

conclusions.

The research design used for this report is "Exploratory Research". This consists of an

unstructured research that is undertaken to gain background information about the

general nature of the research problem. When little is known about the problem or

when the problem is not clearly formulated, this type of research is followed. The

results of exploratory research are not usually useful for decision-making by

themselves, but they can provide significant insight into a given situation.

Focus groups are a powerful means to evaluate services or test new ideas. Basically,

focus groups are interviews, but of 6-10 people at the same time in the same group. One

can get a great deal of information during a focus group session. But they have the

limitations subject to focus groups; most important of which is that the discussion is

subject to the judgement of the moderator. The data which results from a focus group

requires skill and experience to analyse and can prove difficult.

Although, face to face interviews were conducted to reduce the sampling error, but that

error can never be reduced to zero.


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Appendix A : The Questionnaire Used for Survey

QUESTIONNAIRE – TO UNDERSTAND PROBLEMS NGOS IN PUNE FACE?

INFORMATION:

1. Name of NGO:

2. Name of NGO representative:

3. Position of NGO Representative

4. Location of the NGO:

5. Sector in which you(NGO) function:

6. Name of Founder(of NGO):

1. Please rank your most important problem – 1 being most important, 5 being least

important

Fluctuating Funds

Lack of monetary funds

Lack of funds In Kind

Lack of volunteers

Lack of processes

Lack of permanent human resource

Feasibility of environment (Government laws, permissions, grants, etc)

Lack of Infrastructure

2. Have you considered “Shutting down” due to any problem? Yes/no. If yes, please

specify the problem.

3. What were the problems you faced when you started with your NGO?

4. Do you have accurate financial statements of the past 3 years?

VOLUNTEERS:

1. How many volunteers do you currently have?

2. What is the education level of the volunteers that you currently have?

3. Do you have awards and recognition / stipend / certificates given to your

volunteers?

4. Are the volunteers that work for you reliable and come regularly?

5. What is your volunteer recruitment model? Do you have one?

6. What would be the profile of a typical volunteer?


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a. school going

b. graduate

c. working professional

d. others, please specify

7. How many full time employees do you currently have and what is a typical profile

of a full time employee?

8. Do you need any full time employees?

9. What would be the qualification that you would be looking for in a full time

employee?

FUNDS:

1. Who is the biggest donator to your organization?

2. How is he/she related to your organization?

3. What has the biggest donation to your org been so far?

4. What is the frequency of funds that you receive?

a. Once a month

b. Every quarter

c. Bi Annually

d. Yearly

e. Lump Sum

f. Others. Please specify

5. What are the average funds that you have received in the past 2 years?

a. Less than 50K

b. 50K – 1 lakh

c. 1-5 lakh

d. 5 -10 lakh

e. 10 lakh and above

f. Others. Please specify

6. Rate the following in the order of importance of “IN KIND DONATIONS”

a. Food/Clothes/Medicines

b. Infrastructure (Shelter)

c. Technological Equipment (Computers, Phones, etc)

d. Office Equipment(Tables, Chairs)

e. Media Coverage

7. Have you ever got any CSR help in form of donations/funds/etc.?

8. If yes, from whom and how much?

9. Also, how did you approach the company for CSR help?

PROCESSES:


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1. Do you have documented policies which are being followed in your organization?

2. If yes, please specify which ones.

3. Do you have a hierarchical structure or do you follow a flat organization structure?

4. Who in your organization is responsible for communication with the government, or

who deals with the law related issues?

5. Do you have an allocation structure which is followed when you receive funds?

6. Do you have a follow up process which you use to follow up with your corporate

ties/banks/donators/etc

7. Do you have 3rd party audits that happen in your organization? If yes, please specify

who does it and what process do you follow.

MEDIA AND ENVIRONMENT BARRIERS

1. Do you face any problems from the government barriers/laws/ permissions etc? If

yes, please specify

2. Have you ever received any help from the government? If yes, please specify.

3. Do you have a website?

4. Do you market on a newspaper /TV/Radio?

changerepublic.org marketing research report

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