Rejuvenation of non- profits through idealism

Non profit organizations are having their roots into the Latin word “Caritas”. It means being dear and valuable. This value still percolates to grass root level. NPOs are the cornerstones of a good life for most of the world. The nature of the offerings may differ but they tend to be indispensable. The evolution of NPOs can be traced back to Vedic times. Some of the portion of Rig-Veda elucidates the concept of collective/ social realization of the grief of fellow human beings. Hence donating was thought to be a noble concept those days. Maurya and Gupta reigns during fourth and fifth century witnessed deeper countryside social activities. Gradually this took the shape of “Philanthropy”. It has been transformed into much more an organized sector as NPOs currently.

But the other side (which is perhaps troublesome too) of the coin is that NPOs are suffering from challenges/ problems some of which are drastic and have already happened to be with unwanted, negative aftermaths. Inadequate funds, inconsistency in fund raising, unorganized and unprofessional ways of functioning, absence of electrifying/ charismatic leadership, narrow networks and the allied reach, detachment from some segments, unskilled and untrained employees, null value addition, frauds, corruption, getting influenced by specific ideologies, below average infrastructure, failure in scanning/ grasping details of both micro and macro environments, dilemmas about strategic approach, no vision acting as a lighthouse, generalized and unrealistic objectives to be accomplished, oversight of the competitive analysis considering it irrelevant, negligent SCOT analysis, half thought segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies. These problems can be rectified through bringing fundamental changes in the ways non profits are being managed. The superficiality of technology know- how can be eliminated by adopting the inputs backed by experience of some exemplars.