There is a growing need for nonprofit and non-governmental organizations NGOs throughout the world to be more effective and productive.

One the many ways they are achieving this is by broadening and strengthening the constitution of their Boards.

An increase in the effectiveness of NGO board itself has been achieved by bringing together organizations and leaders with a shared interest in the work of boards; building capacity by training, and developing management and governance tools. Having a good and effective NGO Board provides a basis for successful management of its organization; familiarizes its target constituents with the activities of the NGO; help in better understanding the organizational structure of the NGO, and also assists in distributing responsibilities among the team members within the NGO. An NGO Board gives the financial assistance for ngo that may be called by different names – ‘Board of Directors; ‘Steering Committee’ ‘Advisory Group’ etc. The term ‘Board’ is used collectively and interchangeably to mean all these names.

non government organizations in india

non-government organizations in India

The main object of this standard is to provide clarity about the induction, role, and function of Trustees / Board Members. It should also help in assessing and enhancing the quality and accountability of trusteeship and governance. NGOs deal in public money for public utility purposes, however, for legal and practical purposes the ownership of all funds lies with a group of people. A good NGO should exemplify openness and transparency by having desirable criteria for the selection and rotation of trustees. The NGO law normally varies from country to country and normally within the country also there are various kinds of NGO which permit different board and trustee structure. For instance, a public charitable trust can be formed with one or two trustees who are permanent in nature. Such law belongs to an era when charities were entirely based on the funds/assets bequeathed by a particular donor/ author.

But when such trust is registered for fundraising and donor-based projects, it raises a serious question mark on the public ownership of the NGO. Similarly, various other forms &  ngo registration also provide the possibility of the ownership being in the hands of a private group of persons.

The board should not have members who are permanent in nature except the case of institutional nomination.

In case of trust normally a clause regarding permanent trustees is found, In such instances, it is desirable that the total voting right of the founder trustees is less than 50%.