It is not a smart thing to do – to refuse money or pretend that you are way above real cash.
They all have the best of intentions when they try to assist our NGO with a contact that will fund our projects. In July, a relative wanted me to join her in Nagpur so that she could introduce me to important people who will be keen to sponsor. Another well-wisher, even before asking our NGO’s name, shared a name at C-level to support fund raising. When asked, why he wants to assist our NGO, one of the reasons were that he works with a political party and contributes to people like me who take responsibility of helping society. “People like me?”
At this stage, we want volunteers to own our projects, people to drive social entrepreneurship, support our initiatives, echo for us, be our ambassadors - more WITH TIME, than WITH MONEY. We focus on the “being” part of Human Being, so the labels cannot influence our journey. Just be good to do good, it works.
We need people with high integrity, character ethics and not just someone driven by superficial personality mirage. We need youth with sensitivity, whose inward journey has begun, aspiring global citizens.
We can always prepare a call script to outsource fund raising activity and have a dozen strangers do it mechanically without any sense of ownership to impact lives. As of now, we need personal ownership, not postman service – a piece of you! It is not about a maddening pursuit for money.
Will YOU write the next blog for us?
Will YOU call that sponsor and talk about what we do?
Will YOU stand in the stall with us to sell a painting by a spastic child or a handicraft to support a home?
Will YOU spend your birthday in an orphanage?
Will YOU make an effort to learn more about us?
Regardless of how much you nurture a plant, it has a time frame to bear fruits. There is no short cut to that. Try to assist a chicken that is trying to break free from the shell by an external force, to make it easy for the chicken, in all probability it will die. We draw our strengths from our struggle to change people’s mindset, thought patterns, way of life, sensitivities and sensibilities – The Shell. Money can wait. We are one and a half years old NGO and we really want to behave like one.
Next time someone remarks on world poverty with a self-sufficient mentality, “Our country has not reported any deaths due to hunger” we have a task in hand – change frame of reference! We do not need money to do that. Do we?
About the Author
Kakuli Nag is a Leaning Consultant for project needs analysis with BECKON model that advocates for outcomes. 18 years of corporate experience in Sales, Learning and Marketing. An avid writer in multiple forums.
