Map Insights
By Pacita “Chit” U. Juan
Is there a future for non-profits in the time of COVID-19?
Unless you are a membership organization of corporates, like Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) or Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) or simply a federation like the Association of Foundations (AF), what is the role of NGOs in this time of COVID-19? Can NGOs survive and do their philanthropic and community work or their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) other than giving food to frontliners and sending money for PPEs? What does the future hold for corporate NGOs?
With 80% of businesses looking for extra funds to stay afloat, NGOs and corporate foundations may soon find themselves with empty pockets or empty coffers. So who will do the CSO (civil society organization) work then in this new era?
The questions will be asked by many ongoing projects, such as ours — the ECHOsi Foundation with the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) and Global Affairs Canada (GAC). Though we would be extended until 2021, the plan needs to be tweaked and adjusted to now accommodate ONLINE LEARNING, no mass gatherings like before, and a lot of use of technology to deliver our services to the far-flung communities and continue the work.
For our other NGO, the Philippine Coffee Board, Inc. (PCBI), we were in the middle of doing a Coffee Pilot Farm in Marawi State University (MSU) when the lockdown started. This leaves us in a quandary on how and when we can proceed with plans to propagate coffee in Marawi as a way of propagating a crop which needs no additional market because we are under producing (another subject for yet another article on import dependence of coffee) with coffee demand at 130,000 MT and production at a dismal 35,000 MT a year.
Over in Tublay, Benguet, we (ECHOsi) are supposed to meet coffee farmers and weavers to get them to market, but with Baguio closed to visitors, this is now not possible. So everything and everyone is left hanging until such time that NGOs can pivot to delivering services in new or innovative ways.
So, how to proceed with projects in the time of a pandemic?
1. We will need to do our teaching online. This means producing relevant VIDEO training tools and webinars.
2. We will have to show the farmers new ways to market online. We can start with Facebook or Shopify to get their products in an e-commerce space.
3. Blockchain might be too soon, but it is worth knowing the ropes so we can adopt it in the near future.
4. Teach communities how to attend Zoom meetings.
5. Use Facebook to talk to farmers or beneficiaries and let them know we are still in the project together.
NGOs and small foundations can continue their work for as long as there are communities to be served. We, however, will need the help of our donors to also pivot and do something revolutionary, probably something that is not yet in the corporate policies or guidelines. CEOs must adjust their foundation’s direction of CSR to what is doable, executable and relevant to COVID-19.
What do NGOs tell their principals?
1. Find out if they will still fund your work. If so, get a budget.
2. Rework, realign, tweak your Work and Financial Plan. In the end, a plan is necessary for donors and principals to keep the juice flowing.
3. Change your mindset to that of an entrepreneur. What you invest must come back so you can be sustainable.
4. Remind them to include this in the corporate vision and mission:- “If it can be shared by all and it can help the world, it will be sustainable.”
Many years ago, we tried to convert NGO people into entrepreneurs and we were not so successful as their mindsets were used to dole-outs and using project funds. But this cannot be the same today. Even NGOs must now think of how to survive or stay relevant in these challenging times.
Do not close your foundations or non-profits — just tweak them into sustainable organizations with people who put heart over money, heart over profit, and they exist for service above all. Maybe this time, NGOs will become social enterprises. They may not make money but, at least, they will earn their own money to survive.
NGOs have a future, too.
This article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines or the MAP.
Pacita “Chit” U. Juan is the President of the Philippine Coffee Board, Inc. and runs a social enterprise called ECHOstore.
