SWOT ANALYSIS OF NGO

One of the most valuable tools in management is a SWOT analysis. In this process, we identify factors in four areas: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The first two factors are internal. The latter two are external to the organization. We generally run SWOTs on our own organizations, but they’re also used to analyze competitors. A small business will benefit greatly from a wellexecuted SWOT.

Nonprofits
A SWOT analysis for a nonprofit organization (also known as a non-government organization, an NGO or a public charity) is similar to the analysis for a for-profit, commercial business. Analysis for the nonprofit has no investors or return on investment to consider, but it has to weigh factors such as fundraising, volunteer staff and goodwill that a commercial firm does not. SWOTS are used to develop a company's marketing strategy. A small nonprofit organization should use it to plan financial development (fundraising) as well.

Strengths
NGOs have some strengths that commercial companies don’t. For one, NGOs usually are tax exempt. They can offer products at a discount since they don’t have the expense of taxes, and sometimes they can offer products to buyers who pay no sales tax on the purchase. NGOs often have a volunteer staff in many roles – artists, canvassers, attorneys. Volunteers can mean an enormous savings to the business, which is particularly important to a small nonprofit. The board of directors must by law be composed of volunteers, which can an be advantage to the company.

Weaknesses
Most small nonprofits barely cover their expenses with revenue. They can't match the salaries of their for-profit competitors. Nonprofit professionals typically are more focused on job satisfaction as compensation, particularly in small companies. An entrepreneur will have no opportunity for return on investment and often can expect a minimal salary. The budget problem also may be evident in purchasing from suppliers. Small NGOs are especially vulnerable to budgetary deficits and need to husband their endowments.

Opportunities
Any grant that a charity may be eligible for is an opportunity. A grant may be from a government or private agency or group. There are many grants being offered even during a recession. Finding them and applying for them is a considerable task. Nonprofits often enjoy alliances with other organizations – commercial business or other NGOs. Cause marketing, for example, is a system in which a portion of the purchase price charged by a commercial business is donated to a specific charity. Ideally, it offers benefits to both organizations, as well as to the buyer, whose charitable giving is facilitated.

Threats
Nonprofits are very vulnerable to economic crises. Unfortunately, charitable giving is one of the first cash outflows that consumers cut back on when money is tight. Public charities are held to a higher standard than for-profits. Since they depend on contributions, nonprofits need to avoid the perception of impropriety. Even a small scandal can be damaging.

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That social media marketing is important for reaching out to people is an accepted fact today. It is the networking and reference generating culture of this millennium. As the time goes by it will become even more important as the newer generations are growing up with the social media culture and look for anything and everything via the social media. Businesses are also realizing its importance and are eagerly incorporating social media as part of their strategic marketing plans. For most of the people, social media marketing is an overwhelming notion. Many understand it as a way to increase their professional or personal network (LinkedIn and Facebook) or just be connected for keeping abreast with the latest happening around the world in every sphere of life (Twitter). Nothing beyond that. They fail to understand how they can effectively utilise the social media as a marketing tool for increasing their businesses. If you want to integrate social media tools with other marketing strategies, then it is advisable to first understand the social media tools and chalk out a clear plan of action that best suits your business type. 1. Classify Social Media Marketing Tools Based on the objectives with which they were built, social media tools can be broadly classified into following categories: Category: Networking Purpose: Increase personal and professional network; seek business prospects; build business communities and engage like-minded people Examples: LinkedIn, Facebook Category: Content Sharing Purpose: Sharing Opinions and knowledge Examples: SlideShare, YouTube, Scribd Category: Bookmarking

Purpose: Seeking most popular information/knowledge regarding any topic of interest Examples: Delicious, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon 2. Develop A Multi-pronged Strategy Once you understand the type of visibility that a social media tool provides, you can chalk out a strategy for your business. Ideally it makes sense to develop a multi-pronged customized messaging approach to reach out to a wide expanse of prospects. For example if your business is about making mobile apps for the software developers then in you need to build a Facebook page which encourages visitors (techies) to engage in quizzes or any other contest which involves submitting codes. You could offer some handsome rewards for the winners. Another example is, suppose you run cuisine classes. For this too, you can develop a Facebook page with an impressive landing page which should invite people to engage in recipe games and be rewarded with some exclusive pack of organic food ingredients or maybe some world famous recipe book. Both the above type of small businesses should simultaneously try to publish knowledge based articles in Scribd or SlideShare and submit in Digg or Reddit too. There should be a Twitter account which supports these efforts. Through Twitter you can share the latest happenings in these two worlds. You should also upload a video on YouTube explaining some lines of codes or some technical concepts or demonstrate a recipe cooking (in case of the second business case) which the viewers can see and appreciate. 3. Build a blog Another way to engage your prospects is to engage them through maintaining your own official blog with all the sharing widgets. You could publish business specific content or you could even publish generic content with a trace of humour. Remember humour sells. An engaging blog will spread word of mouth. Sharing widgets will allow the visitors to share the posts within their networks at different social media websites. 4. Be Creative Creativity is the king. Your social media marketing results will depend largely on how creatively you are able to engage the customers. Creative engagement will decide how big a community will form. Naturally, bigger the community, the better it is as it will help spread the word-ofmouth faster. 5. Get Listed In Local Search Engines Make sure that, as a part of your social media strategy, you do not ignore the traditional way of getting listed in local business searches. Integrate social media marketing strategy with the rest of the traditional marketing plans. Showing up in the local business searches, such as Google

Maps and JustDial, creates a sense of authenticity to the existence of a business. This is especially true for the SMEs who have to build a trust factor.

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________________ ________________ ________________

________________ ______________

1 NGO Resource Centre

Jad-e-Maiwand, Kabul Afghanistaninfo@ ngorc.org.af mail:E,http://www.ngo rc.org.af

NGO Resource Centre AfghanistanJad-eMaiwand, Kabul AfghanistanCell: +93 786

218478info@ngorc. org.af mail:-E

Introductio n to

Proposal Writing
A proposal is an essential marketing and document that

helps cultivate an initial professionalrelatio nship between an organization and a donor over a project to be

implemented. The proposaloutlines the plan of the implementing organization about the project, giving

extensiveinformati on about the intention, for implementing it, the ways to manage it and the results to

bedelivered from it.A proposal is a very important document. In some cases, a concept note precedes a

proposal, briefing the basic facts of the project idea. However, the project idea faces a considerablechalle

nge when it has to be presented in a framework. The proposal has a framework thatestablishes ideas formally for

a clear understanding of the project for the donor. Besides, unlessthe ideas are not documented in

writing, they do not exist. Hence, a proposal facilitatesappropri ate words for the conception of an idea.Proposals

have recently become more sophisticated. This reflects the increased competitivenessan d larger resources

existing in the NGO sector. The trend of inviting proposals for contractingdevelo pment programmes

began with the allotment of substantial resources for development thattriggered off the mushrooming

of NGOs around the world.Enormous opportunities existing in the sector has led to the trend of

making proposal writing a profession. Proposal writing poses many challenges, especially for

small and unskilled NGOs.Here, we discuss some basic and necessary information required for

developing a proposal.Before we start learning about proposal writing, it will serve our purpose if we outline the

exactdifficulties we face working on the proposal. The following are the common problems we

facewhile trying to write a proposal:

Confused about the format?

There are as many proposal formats as they are

number of donors and each donor as a differentformat. Although the basic information requested by the donor through the

format is generallysame, yet we often encounter snags that make the entire process confusing.

Planning problems?

Although a good idea exists, yet when we try to plan it out extensively, we

face manyunexpected challenges.

Fear of proposal rejections?

No matter how much of an expert

we are in writing proposals, the underlying fear of proposalrejection hovers over us while writing it.

Tight deadlines of the Proposal Submission?

This is perhaps the most universal problem for all proposal writers.

For some reason or the other,we are expected to complete the proposals under a very tight deadline.

Solicited and unsolicited proposal?

Solicited and unsolicited proposals are quite confusing.

Many NGOs work hard and submit proposals to donors, who have never solicited proposals.

________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ______________

NGO Resource Centre Jad-e-Maiwand, Kabul Afghanistaninfo@ ngorc.org.af mail:-

E,http://www.ngo rc.org.af
NGO Resource Centre AfghanistanJad-eMaiwand, Kabul

AfghanistanCell: +93 786 218478info@ngorc. org.af mail:-E

Before we start writing a proposal, it is important to

do some research. No matter how small or big the project is, some kind of references to existing literature or data

should be made. Usually,it is expected that the NGO has enough information at hand about the problem or

project beforewriting the proposal. Yet, NGOs have to gather all related information about the issue they

areworking on and the sit down to write the proposal. In some cases, donors sponsor preproposalresearch

so that organizations have enough evidence, both at field and in literature, beforedeveloping the actual

proposal.While planning the proposal, it is ideally believed that all stakeholders have been consulted or

involved in the process. There are generally three main categories of stakeholders involved in the process of writing

the proposal. They are:1.

The Proposing Organization/s

:This could be just one NGO or a group of NGOs

applying for the project to the donor.2.

The Community

:The most important stakeholder for

whom the project is conceived. Community members or beneficiaries or the target group has to be involved

in the proposal planning process so that the project reflects strong qualities of participation and

community ownership.3.
The Donor

:Wherever possible, it will be useful to take inputs from the

donor. In formal invitations for proposals, the donor may discourage any contact with the proposing

organizations. However, inother situations where donor has requested for a one-to-one proposals, it will

be a good idea tohave several meetings with this stakeholder and note down information. It will also

helpresearching the donor priorities while conceiving the proposal. It will also be a useful activity togo

through the following information about the donor:-Aid priorities and issues-Country Strategy/Policy

Paper -Proposal guidelinesPreviously-funded programmes New individuals working on proposals in a

particular NGO may face problems in writing aboutorganization al background. They prefer to just

copy previous information into this particular section of the proposal. However, this information may

be outdated. Besides, many times, thereare fact about our organization which we ourselves are

unaware of. We do quite a lot of researchon the beneficiaries and the donor while writing the proposal, but we

hardly see the necessity of researching our own organization to present the best picture of ours to

the donor.To ensure that there is thorough knowledge about the NGO in the proposal, it is important notonly

to copy information from previous documents, but also carry out discussions withcolleagues

about the project. The SWOT tool comes handy here when we sit with our colleaguesand find out the Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the organization. Once thisframework is ready, it will be quite easy for us

to write the proposal and answer the sharpquestions of any proposal format.

________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ______________

NGO Resource Centre Jad-e-Maiwand, Kabul Afghanistaninfo@ ngorc.org.af mail:-

E,http://www.ngo rc.org.af
NGO Resource Centre AfghanistanJad-eMaiwand, Kabul

AfghanistanCell: +93 786 218478info@ngorc. org.af mail:-E

A general format of the proposal consists of the following parts:

1. Problem Statement2. Rationale or Justification for implementing the Project3. Project Goal &

Objectives4. Strategy & Activities5. Results: Outputs and Outcomes6. BudgetThis basic format of a

proposal has expanded covering many concepts and issues, confronting project funding and project

implementation. As new experiences are gathered by donors in project implementation and funding

processes, new explanations are sought from the applicantthrough the proposal.

Writing Problem Statement/ Project

Rationale in a Proposal
The Problem Statement/Project Rationale gives an explanation about

the issue that is beingaddressed by the project. It also argues in favour of implementing the project in the proposedarea in

the existing conditions. It is very critical that we give evidence to what we are writing inthis section of the

proposal. Evidence can be in form of other research, existing literature or datacollected by the organization itself.

The following are some important points that need to beremembered while developing the Problem Statement/Project

Rationale:Problem Statement/Project Rationale is a brief analysis or summary of the problems

identifiedrelating to the project or issue to be addressed by the project.- It has to be precise and point-to-point

basis.- Use of quotes, live examples, references, research data and press articles would be very

helpful.- It has to be very specific to donor issues and priorities.- Giving references to other NGOs, Governmental

work in the area working against the same problem would be useful.Some common information we

use in this section includes: Country, region, area details (location in region, government, population etc);

Poverty information, including information on the state of the economy;

Employment/une mployment; Gender issues; HIV/ AIDS situation;

Health and education

Explaining the Problem Statement

in the Proposal
Sometimes, we may find difficulties in writing the exact

problem we intend to address in the proposed project. It happens this way that the problem we are mentioning in the

proposal is not a problem at all, but is actually an effect of another problem. Suppose there is high child mortalityrate in

our project area and we wish to put up a proposal on it, we cannot mention this as a problem because this is an effect of

a problem, while the problem is something else. For example, in this case, it could be the prevalence of diarrhoea that

is leading to high child mortality. So the problem here is the prevalence of diarrhoea.

________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ______________

NGO Resource Centre Jad-e-Maiwand, Kabul Afghanistaninfo@ ngorc.org.af mail:-

E,http://www.ngo rc.org.af
NGO Resource Centre AfghanistanJad-eMaiwand, Kabul

AfghanistanCell: +93 786 218478info@ngorc. org.af mail:-E

It is also necessary to mention the cause of the

problem because it is an integral part of the project implementation. In this scenario, the cause of the problem for the

prevalence of diarrhoeacould be the poor knowledge of the community on hygiene and sanitation.

Effect -> Problem > Cause

The relationship between the three has to be outlined in the Problem Statement of the

proposal. If we have an issue, it will be a good exercise to go a step back and forth to find out its cause and

effect relationship. The best way to understand the cause of an issue is to as Why continuously.

This will help reveal the cause of the problem. A problem can have many causes and effects.
The Why of Why

Projects evolve out of identified problems It is the problem that comes before a project

The secret of solving a problem is proper identification of the problem. This requires

athorough investigation. A problem does not happen in isolation. It goes hand in hand with cause and effect.

There is a relationship between cause and effect. They are linked by the problem.

A way to analyze a problem is through analyzing the root causes and its effects.State the problem as effectively and

precisely as possible- Refer to any research data that is available, including publications, reports,

newspapers etc.Give a narration of community perception with quotes.- Check back how well it matches with the

donor guidelines or issues.- Give a thorough background information about the region, community and

resources available.- Explain the organizational strength and capacity in countering this problem and

achieving longterm results.

Project Goal
A project goal is a very general, high-

level and longterm objective of the project. It is differentfrom project objectives because the latter are very specific

and have to be addressed alone by the project. But the goal cannot be achieved by the project on its own since there will be

other forceslike the Government, other agencies etc also working to achieve it. It is a major benchmark tocompare work

between different projects. Usually there is one project goal only and it can bereflected in the title of the project.

It should ideally support the overall policy of the governmentor the donor agency.
Example:

Providing housing facilities to earthquake affected victims

This cannot be a project goal, but can be a general objective Reducing the impact of natural disaster over

communities belonging to the hilly region This can be a project goal, as you are

contributing to the problem in addition to other efforts.

________________ ________________ ________________

________________ ______________

5 NGO Resource Centre

Jad-e-Maiwand, Kabul Afghanistaninfo@ ngorc.org.af mail:E,http://www.ngo rc.org.af

NGO Resource Centre AfghanistanJad-eMaiwand, Kabul AfghanistanCell: +93 786

218478info@ngorc. org.af mail:-E

Writing Project Objectives

Project Objectives should be

SMART

:[
S

pecific,
M

easurable,
A

chievable,
R

elevant and
T

imebound].Project objectives are the specific objectives the project works to achieve within the

stipulatedtime. They should directly address the problem mentioned in the problem statement. They

should be specific: the more specific it is the better to design activities/indicator s/LFA and address the problem and

easier to convince the donor. It will helpful to mention the number of women,children benefiting from the objective; this

will be useful in measuring the outcome.Some more tips to write Project Objectives: Think about what success means for

your project and how you would show that success Refer to the results you expect from the project

Describe the focus population and the desired change among the population Include the location and time

period for each objective Reflect the intended changes in systemic conditions or

behaviors that must be achieved to accomplish the goal/strategic objective

Should have measurable indicators which show what, when, and how conditions,

behaviors, and practices will change Must be verifiable at some point during the

execution of the project

A good objective can be:

To increase the income-level of women farmers

from 5% to 15% in the district/ areawhere the project is implementing.

Some Relevant Words to be used

while writing Objectives:

Decrease Increase

Strengthen Improve Enhance

Some Inappropriate

words not to be used while writing Objectives: Train Provide

Produce Establish Create

________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ______________

NGO Resource Centre Jad-e-Maiwand, Kabul Afghanistaninfo@ ngorc.org.af mail:-

E,http://www.ngo rc.org.af
NGO Resource Centre AfghanistanJad-eMaiwand, Kabul

AfghanistanCell: +93 786 218478info@ngorc. org.af mail:-E

Strategies and Activities

Proposal are required to

outline how the objectives of the project would be achieved. Here, it will be necessary to mention the strategies and the

activities to be implemented in the project. Thereis lot of difference between strategies and

activities. Strategies are broad concepts under whichactivities are placed.Strategies

in a project can include: Capacity-building/ awareness raising Organizational development

Research & Development Advocacy Victim Support Strategy

Micro-finance and CBO development Strategy Participatory Infrastructure Development

StrategyActivities can include: Training workshops, street shows, rallies

Staff selection, staff training Baseline, PRA, FGD

Conferences, meetings, articles, publications Establishing shelter homes, counseling, legal support

Forming SHGs and cooperatives Building irrigation tanks, demo plots etcTo develop activities:

Refer back to the lessons learned from previous projects. Identify best practices from

other agencies/ projects/sources. Activities as identified by the communities

Develop activities by listing numbers, so that they can referred back easily Leave space for unplanned

activities that can be added later during projectimplement ationActivities are usually listed out in a Gantt Chart. A

Gantt Chart is a kind of a time table of all project activities given along with the role and

responsibilities of the project staff.

________________ ________________ ________________

________________ ______________

7 NGO Resource Centre

Jad-e-Maiwand, Kabul Afghanistaninfo@ ngorc.org.af mail:E,http://www.ngo rc.org.af

NGO Resource Centre AfghanistanJad-eMaiwand, Kabul AfghanistanCell: +93 786

218478info@ngorc. org.af mail:-E

Performan ce Indicators

and Risks & Assumptio ns

Performance Indicators:

An Performance Indicator is a measure of the result. It gives a sense of what has

been or what isto be achieved. Eg. Number of households keeping their surroundings clean and hygienic

and Number of women participating in training programmes. There are two

types of indicators, namely, Process Indicators and Results Indicators. Process indicators

define the indicatorsfor a process or an activity like number of women participating in

the training on gender development and Results indicators refer to the indicators that indicate the result

achieved fromthe implementing the activity like number of women aware about gender rights.

Risks & Assumptions:

Risks and Assumptions are part of the concept based on the principle that

we have less and lesscontrol of the project results as we go down and down implementing the

project. For example, Government policies/ officials are supportive of the project activities or

ongoing peace andstability may get hampered by sporadic violence.

Results

Results are changes that we expect to take place after implementing the project activities. Theresults are

generally positive experiences undergone by the beneficiaries. Results are divided intothree types:

1. Outputs2. Outcomes3. Impact

Outputs are immediate results that we achieve soon after the

completion the project or anyspecific project activity. For example, if a training on human rights is carried

out in a project, theoutput or the immediate result of it is a greater understanding of human rights amongst the

participants. The outcomes are results that have been or that are to be achieved after a period of time, but not

immediate. In the above example, it could that the participants have gone further tocommunities to inform them

about human rights or carrying out policy advocacy in favour of human rights. The impact is the longer-term result

that has happened because of the activitiesundertak en in the project. The impact in the example given above could be

policies are framed by the Government to protect the human rights of the people.This information can

be outlined in the proposal using the Logical Framework.

Monitoring & Evaluation

Although it is the responsibility of

the donor to carry out monitoring and evaluation of the project, it usually seeks the plan from the implementing

NGO about it. Monitoring andevaluation enables constant check on the activities and helps review of

the progress made atevery step. Monitoring should be the integral part of project implementation; in fact, there

should be an internal mechanism to monitor the results, risks, assumptions and performance

regularlythrough meetings and submission reports. The Management Information

Systems (MIS) is often

________________ ________________

________________ ________________ ______________

8 NGO Resource Centre

Jad-e-Maiwand, Kabul Afghanistaninfo@ ngorc.org.af mail:E,http://www.ngo rc.org.af

NGO Resource Centre AfghanistanJad-eMaiwand, Kabul AfghanistanCell: +93 786

218478info@ngorc. org.af mail:-E

used as a mechanism to undertake monitoring. The baseline

information is critical to themonitoring process. Involving external entities such as donors, government

people, consultantsetc in monitoring would give a good opportunity to collect feedback, provide exposure

to thework and also explore new options. Evaluation is carried out by an external agency during themid-

term or in the end part of the project.

Budget and

Proposal Packaging
Budget

The budget has to be itemized as clearly as possible,

presented in the required format. It should be in line with the activities set in the project. It will be an additional

advantage to mentioncontributi on from other sources such as the community or other donors. Contribution

made bythe proposing organization should also be mentioned. It there is any recurring income

from the project activities, it needs to be clearly given in the budget section.
Proposal Packaging

When the proposal writing is complete, it is important to ensure that the packaging has beendone

properly before submitting it to the donor. Below are some important points to be kept inmind

while packaging the proposal. the Title Page should have Project title, name of the donor agency and name,

logo &contact info of the NGO. there should be a Table of Contents there should be one page for

explaining acronyms there should be a Project Summarynot more than one page, narrating goal,

objectives,results and activities. An Organizational overview Ensure that page numbering,

header & footer are complete. While writing, use active sentences more.

Keep in mind the limit for the total no. of pages for the proposal. Attach appendices, if necessary

Give Bibliography and references. The proposal should be signed and sealed.

Covering letter is essential

of 8

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