CSOcommunity online forum on Governance and Leadership and on Resource Mobilization and Development held

Celia de Jesus

As an offshoot of the “Strengthening the Capacities of Philippine CSOs (Civil Society Organizations)” Project of the Ayala Foundation and supported by USAID, the CSOcommunity online forum portal, (https://code-ngo.org/csocommunity/index.php/community), was developed, with CODE-NGO as the proponent. It has aimed to sustain information and resource exchange among CSO practitioners, especially on organizational development issues, to bring forward significant impact and accountability of the local organizations. Discussion groups were mainly on: Governance and Leadership; Strategic Planning and Management; Resource Mobilization and Development; Program Design, Implementation and Management, Monitoring and Evaluation; Financial Management; and Administrative and Personnel Management. 

On February 27, 2014, a 1.5-hour online forum on “Practicing Good Governance through NGO Certification” (under Governance and Leadership discussion group) was conducted with Mr. Luis Morales, Executive Director of the Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC), as the resource person. There were around 22 participants – CSOcommunity members, mentors, CODE-NGO secretariat, who either posed questions pertaining to issues and concerns on getting NGO certification, probed on ways to meet good governance standards, or simply lurked through the discussion thread. Highlights, as discussed by Mr. Morales, included:

• Purposes and advantages of PCNC certification

            –       to ensure that NGOs/Foundations applying for donee institution status are legitimate and efficient and effective organizations

–       a certification of organizational good housekeeping for successful applicants

–       donations of companies & businessmen given to NGOs/foundations that do not have donee institution status are subject to 30% donor’s tax and 12% VAT

–       a few grant making institutions use PCNC certification as one of the pre-requisites to be considered for funding

–       PCNC evaluation helps NGOs/foundations identify areas for improvement in their legitimacy and efficiency and effectiveness, thereby maximizing their outputs.

• Common problems that hinder NGOs from being PCNC certified 

–       overwhelming documentary requirements that PCNC asks for (Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, audited financial statements submitted to SEC & BIR, compliance with all BIR and SEC reportorial requirements, 3-5 year Program and Financial Plan, Minutes of Board Meetings, Operations Policies and Procedures, updated four books of accounts and financial documents and other documentations)

–       many NGOs are managed “informally”, thus, lacking in systems and procedures for better performance and compliance with government statutory requirements

–       finding the time to develop (based on consistent practices) and/or put together the needed documents, especially the Operations Manual/Guidelines.

• Recommendations to facilitate PCNC certification 

–       for organizations to have the will and staff time to pursue improvements they need

–       should organizations need some assistance, PCNC can refer them to “mentors” who can act as volunteer consultants

–       those who have questions or clarifications may call PCNC at tels. + 63 (02) 782-1568, 
+ 63 (02) 715-9594, + 63 (02) 715-2756 or visit their website at www.pcnc.com.ph.

Last April 23, 2014, another online forum titled, “Proposal Development: Challenges and Recommendations for Civil Society Organizations” (under Resource Mobilization and Development Group discussion), was organized. Ms. Vicky Garchitorena, Chief of Party of the Philippine-American Fund/Gerry Roxas Foundation served as the resource person for the forum. Around 26 participants from the CSO loop were into knowing common issues and concerns on developing proposals and getting tips on how to write effective and winning proposals. Here are some interesting points from Ms. Garchitorena:

• Common strengths of approved proposals

–       very clear statements on the problem/s they wish to address, their proposed solutions and strategies, as well as the anticipated outcomes and the indicators of success

–       good track record and proven capability to deliver

–       those which were innovative had an edge over the others

–       experienced staff to undertake the project or, where needed, can access those skills from partners or consultants

–       budget is realistic

• Common mistakes found in a proposal

–       those which did not seem to have a full grasp of the situation and the social problems they wished to address

–       approach was too general or their strategies and activities did not seem to focus on the problems

–       very general so that the outcomes were not specific

–       basic flaws, e.g., did not submit the necessary documents, did not follow instructions

–       clearly not feasible

–       “pie in the sky”

–       too small in scope to make a difference

–       no indicators of success for monitoring and evaluation

–       budget is bloated

• Problems encountered on proposal-writing

–       no full grasp of the requirements of the proposal

–       unsustainable business plans

–       the board not knowing about the proposal

• Recommendations to improve proposals

–       Follow a log frame to help in developing the proposal in a clear and logical manner: from problem to solution to strategy to activities, to outcomes, to indicators of success, to timelines and budgets. This will also help in the monitoring and evaluation later on.

–       It is important to show the funder that you are prudent – budget items should be reasonable.

–       Sometimes, you need to have a stretch goal to achieve scale and sustainability.

–       Look at your competitive advantages in the social development area you are in – is it your organization? your personnel? your track record? your financials? your networks? your creative idea? Like any other competitive process, it is important that you “stand out” among the various applicants.

The complete threads of these discussions may be accessed from these links:

https://code-ngo.org/csocommunity/index.php/community/groups/viewdiscussion/15-practicing-good-governance-through-ngo-certification?groupid=1

https://code-ngo.org/csocommunity/index.php/community/groups/viewdiscussion/16-proposal-development-challenges-and-recommendations-for-civil-society-organizations?groupid=3

Celia de Jesus is the Program Officer for Knowledge Development and Management of Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO).