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Non-profit, Community-Based and Grassroots Organizations: Contexts and Paradoxes
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Develops ideas presented in four articles Discusses how community-based organizations are tied to social ...... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Develops ideas presented in four articles. Discusses how community-based organizations are tied to social norms which keep them from reaching their potential as agents of liberation and change.
Paper Introduction:
Non-profit Community-Based and Grassroots Organizations Context-BasedParadoxesNonprofit community-based and grassroots organizations hereinafterreferred to as community organizations deliver help to individuals andcommunities that are in need These needs can range from the basicnecessities of food water and shelter to education legal representation protection from crime and others The needs served that these organizationsserve are outside those which governments and businesses tend to Gilmore Thus community organizations fill gaps of service that are not beingtaken care of by other formal organizations Nonetheless community organizations as
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An original term for such work is "charity." Focusing on themodern version of charity, Gilmore traces the evolution of communityorganizations in the United States from the New Deal era, during which timethe government provided extensive services to those in need-up to today'sclimate, in which the government has abdicated a portion of theseresponsibilities and left the work in the hands of community organizations.This transition is problematic for several reasons, one of which is thatthose who end up performing community organization work are typicallyvolunteers or people who are paid very little. Thewillingness to lay down the ego that is omnipresent in business andgovernment organizations and realize that the work itself is what matters,not the longevity of the organization, is crucial to engendering equality. Thus the movement ofcommunity aid away from the government leads to a problematic compensationstructure for those performing the work. Another challenge for community organizations is that they are locatedwithin hierarchical structural models and, as they grow, tend to take onthis shape themselves. INCITE! Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2 9. Smith discusses the wayfoundations can channel money from the wealthy into tax-exempt fundingorganizations that promote the goals and views of those who set up thefoundations. She looks to community organizations from the194 s-7 s for models of how organizations can support each other andleverage their financial resources. Agroup of nine women who work for a non-governmental organization (NGO) inIndia write of their struggles to attain equitable treatment for workers oftheir stature within their own NGO. Community organizations face paradoxes related to theirlanguage, discourse, philosophies, and activities that stem from theirlocation relative to other organizations within the larger society. They feel that their organization does not consider thisto be a profitable line of thought. One example of this can be found in the words theirorganization uses to classify its workers-the language employed by theSangtin Writers themselves. She describes how non-profit and grassroots groups who seekfunding from foundations may face the question of how much of theiridentity they are willing to give up to receive the funds. Women of Color Against Violence 11 -131.Smith, Andrea. The Sangtin Writers provide ample descriptions ofthe way patriarchal models can become entrenched in organizations that are,ironically, meant to empower underrepresented communities and/or women. These needs can range from the basicnecessities of food, water and shelter to education, legal representation,protection from crime and others. supports the Palestinian liberationstruggle. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2 2.Sangtin Writers and Nagar, Richa. TheWriters also find themselves wanting to locate their own and theircommunities' struggles within the larger picture of power imbalances andglobal politics. Ed. Within their NGO, these women are "village-level" or "field" workers. Women of Color Against Violence 1- 17. Joseph notes that a society's idea of "community" is melded with theidea of community organizations, writing, "In my research process, whereverI looked for community, what I found were nonprofits." Indeed, when wethink of our local community, we think of community organizations of onetype or another: religious groups, parent-teacher organizations, socialgroups and local events hosted by community organizations. As the Sangtin Writers noted, it was because they were willing to lookat the inequities in and among their own lives that they could see soclearly the paradox of their NGO's hierarchical model. One such paradox is that community organizationsrequire funds to forward their philanthropic agendas, yet they are notgenerally funded directly by those they serve, as, say, a governmentprogram is funded by taxes. One of these, theDexter Avenue Baptist Church, was the visible arm of the movement, led byMartin Luther King, Jr. Similarly, communityorganizations in general can find ways to control their destinyindependently of government and business funding and also to let of gotheir "organizational egos." Doing these things will allow them to maximizetheir positive impact on society. "Challenges of NGOization and Dreams of Sangtin." INCITE! This has led to a complex web of interrelationships amongcommunity organizations and other institutions that INCITE! "Introduction." INCITE! To be fair, it is only natural thatinequities exist within a large organization such as an NGO. 41-52.Joseph, Miranda. Against the Romance of Community. The needs served that these organizationsserve are outside those which governments and businesses tend to (Gilmore).Thus, community organizations fill "gaps" of service that are not beingtaken care of by other formal organizations. The Writers note that their own pay, perks and status are well belowthat of these other workers. Works CitedGilmore, Ruth W. Above them are those who work in theoffices. Funding of the majority of theorganizations comes from business foundations or government grants orcontracts. Nor does the NGO, apparently, think ita wise idea to make the flow of money within the organization transparent.The women whom the money is meant to help are never told how much of theoriginal donations are going to them and how much are being taken home bylayers of NGO employees above them. was in aposition analogous to this: its Ford Foundation funding fell through whenit was discovered that INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence. She explains that in Montgomery,Alabama, three community organizations worked together to help shape themovement. Higher still are the "officials" or leaders of the organization. The language and topics of discussionthat occur in the organizations derives from the same source as discussionswithin businesses and government. Very small groups canself-fund, but as an organization gets larger, it will often choose to seekout funds from government grants and foundations. In understanding the choice of this term in reference to the MilitaryIndustrial Complex, one must consider the financial dependencies of care-based organizations. When the women speak up within the NGO and askwhy certain privileges-such as riding in a first-class, air-conditionedtrain compartment-are reserved for the "higher officials," they arechastised and told that this is not an important matter to discuss. Non-profit, Community-Based and Grassroots Organizations: Context-BasedParadoxesNonprofit, community-based and grassroots organizations (hereinafterreferred to as "community organizations") deliver help to individuals andcommunities that are in need. and a number ofits writers term the "Non-Profit Industrial Complex" (NPIC). "In the Shadow of the Shadow State." The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex. INCITE! Work performed by community organizations is what was traditionallyconsidered to be "women's work," e.g., tending to the sick; caring forchildren and the elderly; providing care, comfort and nurturing to thosewho need it. They find that the same systems ofunbalanced power that exist in the Indian caste system are echoed in theirorganization. They meet with women in villages and educatethem about the opportunities available to them to better their position andfree themselves from abusive relationships. When a non-profit organization wishes to carry forwarda new project, it must secure some degree of funding. Community organizations must seek out their ownfunding. In a broader respect, the fact that much of the government's previousresponsibilities have, through phasing out of many government programs upuntil the 197 s (Gilmore), forced the public to care for the underserved insociety directly, has engendered paradoxes within the communityorganizations themselves. The other two groups, the Women's Political Counciland the Montgomery Improvement Association, played supportive roles. As the Writersaptly note, "...when the whole structure is created in the form of aladder, someone has to be higher than someone else." Gilmore envisions a scenario in which grassroots organizations keeplarger and more stable non-profit organizations grounded in the realitiesof the people they serve. Much of oursocial fabric, outside of our families, intimate friendships andworkplaces, comes from our involvement in community organizations. Nonetheless, community organizations as a whole are inextricablylinked to businesses and government. Their work is considered a low-level job within their organization. Thisbrings home a point that is often lost in the community activist movement-the idea that the work of activism is bigger than the organization.
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