Non Profit Management In an Interconnected World

NGOs require information and professionalism to actualize their objectives in such an interconnected world. They are task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest. They perform a variety of welfare services and humanitarian functions; bring citizen concerns to governments, advocate and monitor policies .They also encourage political participation through provision of information.

In Nigeria, they can play a pivotal role in the provision of grassroots economic development, health care information, Employee infrastructural development, human welfare services, environmental degradation prevention, civil rights protection and a lot of other issues left unattended to by the government.

Considering their potential roles in every economy, it is imperative for NGOs to be well informed, ethical and professional in their dealings. According to UNEP-International Environment Technology Centre, this process starts from within the organization through avenues such as; building credibility, transparency and accountability and ultimately, trust with the people and organizations that they partner with.

In order to reinforce its belief in professionalism, the team at IWFI had the privilege to participate in a training titled ‘Non-profit Management in an interconnected world’. It was organized by Intermedia consulting, and it addressed the required skills as representatives of the Institute for Work and Family Integration (IWFI) to professionally manage and increase its positive social impact. The training was attended by some other NGOs including: :
i)Fertility Care Centers of Africa (FCCAF)
ii) M. L. E. foundation
iii) Happy Home Foundation
iv)Good Living Initiative
v) ECS (Educational Cooperation Society)
VI) Nigerian Association for Family Development (NAFAD)
vii) Organization for Character Education for Teens, Singles and Married (OCETSMA)

New skills in personality and styles of leadership were taught. We got to understand that fundraising is not begging for money but a noble contribution that is made by donors to the community. As an NGO we sometimes help donors to channel their resources towards noble courses that benefits society. The session on Social Media engagement was very well received. It posed a challenge to many of the participants while trying to reconcile the fact that digital technology is part of our world and for us to move beyond our four walls, we need to utilize social media. The passionate presenter, Mrs. Faith Oyepeju, showed us the power of social media and its multiplier effect. Participants were urged not to be overwhelmed as it may have shown on the facial expressions, but to embrace social media and start incorporating it in the running of our organization. There was a practical Social Media workshop which aided many to accept the challenge and make our NGO’s social media compliant.

Managing the Media and making them our friends was a session that practically showed how NGOs can increase their reach through media. Surprisingly enough, by making ourselves news worthy, we could get media coverage without significant financial expenditure. We learnt about the qualities of news worthy items, and never to underestimate the power of relationship building and maintaining them. This session was delivered by experienced seasoned practitioners in the field.Martins Udogie, a radio presenter (Fidelity SME program on Inspiration FM) and Felix Iwuagwu, a former News producer with the NTA. They encouraged us to position ourselves in the media in order to increase the reach to our target audience and beyond. Other sessions of the training highlighted the need to master the use of persuasive communication by Dr. Eugene Ohu of the Lagos Business School, the Legal aspect of non-profit management by Barr. Sonnie Ekwowusie and Non-Profit internal and external issues by Mrs. Theresa Okafor of Qaardan.

Finally, there was a Case study that helped us learn to always keep in perspective our organization’s objectives. We also realized the need to periodically perform a SWOT analysis of our organizations and at the same time endeavor to be financially sustainable but not at the expense our main objectives. Most participants requested for this training to be an annual programme with newer modules while advancing on modules already taught.

by Anne Osezua and Callistus Dike