|
The concept of non-Profit capital being a natural human disposition towards cooperation on the basis of common standards and values is broadly used in today’s understanding of a “civil society”. The value of non-profit capital lies in the formation of intermediary social structures including NGOs, which differ from natural social structures, for example the family and from formal structures, created by government initiatives. The significance of non-profit capital increases in periods of transformation to the socio-economic and political systems of the government because the need to activate processes of self-organisation and self-management of society arises. Our understanding of the non-profit sector as an alternative to the state sector is a broadening of opportunities for the population, via forming an active culture of thinking.
The non-profit sector is embedded in civil-legal relations and is always connected with the legal system to which it is subject. NGOs, in their attempts to meet the needs of certain socio-economic groups, adapt their activity to the socio-economic and political situation of the country in which they exist. This has a direct effect on the content, form, methods and principles of their work. NGOs are based primarily on legal regulations the state. For this reason, what an NGO can and cannot do is defined by the government. Legal regulation of NGO activity does not lead to the establishment of legal status. Instead, it leads to problems that are inherent in the way people interact with the government, each other and non-profit sector support structures etc. For interaction to work, the parties must strive towards common-ground. The search for this is often hindered by conflicting goals, mutual distrust, stereotypes etc.
According to the data from the Belarusian Ministry of Justice on 1st January, 2004, 2214 NGOs (international, national and local) and 16 NGO unions had been registered. The work of most of NGOs in Belarus is diverse. An analysis of the Belarusian National NGO database “United Way” has enabled us to draw certain conclusions as to the basic fields of work Belarusian NGOs undertake. Approximately a quarter of Belarusian NGOs concern themselves with social protection and rehabilitation of certain socio-economic groups. 19.35% of Belarusian NGOs are sport-based. The work of 17.44% of NGOs has an educational leaning and 17.19% are oriented towards charitable work. According to information from the Belarusian Ministry of Justice, more than half of the NGOs have a cultural/educational/sport-based orientation.
The level of NGO activity is a fairly serious issue. In Belarusian society, there is a lack of motivation to get involved with activities based on social-awareness and taking responsibility for one’s actions. Individual and group-based initiatives do not arise automatically as a result of an organised appearance, but depend on the level of trust in society. The level of activity of a population, i.e. its capacity for activity and progress via “third (non-profit) sector” structures, is dependent on deeply-rooted traditions and social norms. Information technology, especially the internet plays a special role in the developing social activity in Belarus in as much as via the Internet, the most active and educated people of the nation are drawn together. (These are those who are also the most receptive to innovation).
The extent to which both an individual NGO and the whole non-profit sector is effective in many respects depends on availability of resources. The constituent elements of any activity, including non-profit activities, are material resources, human resources and modern communication resources. The most important condition underlying the NGO sector’s efficient functioning is, aside from adequate provision of resources, is the ability of the population to organise itself at a sufficiently high level. Such levels of interaction can be reached in more ways than one. The simplest way is enough information is exchanged to give another party an adequate idea of a given situation and an evaluation of its prospects. Application of the newest of information technologies, including internet resources, allows us to receive and make use of such information on-the-fly.
The search for resources must be continuous process – this is a further condition underlying NGO sector effectiveness. Support to NGOs can be offered by various funds (both Belarusian and foreign), state organisations, businesses, mass media organisations etc. Knowledge of NGO processes and technology, of NGO management and of NGO marketing is becoming increasingly important in our information-saturated society. To handle the escalating competition for grants, donations and social demands, suspicious public opinion towards the non-profit sector and a lack of both trust and skills in running dialogue between NGOs and between NGOs and non-profit support structures, require non-profit managers to possess the following skills:
-an ability to precisely define the position of their organisation within its specific “market”;
-an understanding of the demands of clients and donors;
-an ability to formulate tactical and strategic goals for their NGO;
-an ability to spread their views and gather supporters etc.
Furthermore, if an NGO wants “to survive” in the changing socio-economic climate, they must themselves be able to generate income. The citizen’s code of the Republic of Belarus stipulates the terms under which income generated by NGO may be used to fulfill an NGO’s chartered aims.
A peculiarity specific to the non-profit sector of all post-soviet countries, including Belarus, is the fact the NGOs are set up not as a result of interaction between people but as a result of isolated individual gain. Competition between NGOs is not so much as for people or for winning areas of influence as it is for ideas. The latest phase of the development of Belarus, complete with complications and contradictions, poses the problem of scientific analysis of social structures, of institutes and of processes which allow political, social, economic and other issues to be solved.
Kusmenkova Tatsiana
|