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What is an NGO?

Non-governmental organizations are groups that function independently of any government and are usually non-profit. They can be established on community, national, or international levels to serve a social or political goal such as humanitarian work or the protection of the environment.

You must complete a number of tasks in order to establish your own non-profit organisation (NGO) legally. If you follow the instructions below, it will be easier for you to overcome any obstacles. 

In order to construct or open an NGO, we must next take the following further steps:

STEP 1:Choose your NGO's cause and mission

The first stage in starting your own non-profit organisation (NGO) for a good cause is deciding on your organization's goals or missions, such as whether it will advocate for women's rights, children's rights, the environment, legal advice, etc.

Your work should result in positive change, and the mission, objectives, and other details should be understood clearly.

First, you are successful in deciding the NGO's cause and mission. For instance, some NGO's goals or objectives might be as follows: • Equal distribution of resources to all socially disadvantaged groups. 

• Give the community's illiterate members access to fundamental education. 

• To contribute to the development of a stable nation where everyone can obtain work, healthcare, and education. 

• Complete computerization of educational institutions for improved teacher and student evaluations that makes administrative management and supervision simple. 

• Raise local rural populations' knowledge of educational issues. 

• Promote gender equality by holding conferences, walks, and seminars with participation from members of civil society, health workers, educators, and human rights activists.

By giving the most vulnerable members of society access to basic health education and care facilities, we can lower the rate of child and maternal death.

• Assist the livestock, agriculture, and forestry industries in their growth, maintenance, sustainability, and productivity. 

STEP 2: In step two, establish the board of directors and its members 

The NGO must be governed by a board of directors and members who will assist in running the NGO in a disciplined manner. These individuals must be strong-willed, motivated, and inclined toward charitable work and social welfare. Additionally, you require the assistance of specialists, legal experts, and financial advisors.

The number of founder members or their supporters is unrestricted. A board of directors is essential to an NGO and is in charge of many distinct responsibilities. As fiduciaries, the board's primary responsibility is to direct and supervise the organization's activities. 

This picture shows the board members of the CARE INDIA organization/NGO. It serves as an illustration of how a board of directors or members should be set up in an NGO so that the job is managed by some astute, intelligent individuals.

STEP 3: Give your non-profit a name

Every NGO needs a name so that people will be aware of it. For example, if you mention COLGATE to a shopkeeper rather than toothpaste, COLGATE is a brand name that describes its features. Therefore, the name should be such that it is easy for anybody to understand what your NGO does. 

The name should reflect the cause and be brief and memorable. It can be anything you think of. However, it must not resemble any board, ministry, or authority of the government, as well as any other registered business or non-profit organisation. 

Similar to this, the name and logo of the KHUSHII NGO, which aims to spread happiness worldwide, tell us everything we need to know about their goals without more explanation. The tagline beneath the logo also succinctly expresses the moto. 

As a result, each NGO must have a name that accurately describes what the organisation does.

STEP 4: Memorandum-Articles of Incorporation/Association

Every NGO is required to create a memorandum, therefore each one must provide their details and execute a contract with the government by giving them some essential NGO information. 

Each NGO in India is obliged by law to have a trust deed, memorandum of understanding, and bylaws on file. It includes the organization's name and address; mission and goals; information on the members of the governing body; staffing and human resource data; rules and regulations; and administrative laws and processes. The memorandum must be developed and drafted in accordance with the appropriate guidelines, methods, and patterns needed for registration and other formalities. Hiring legal NGO consultants is preferable because they are more knowledgeable about the process and the regulations. It is vital to include the bylaws, which describe the rules, regulations, operation modes, working patterns, working areas, responsibilities of the NGO, and aims of an NGO, before submitting the application for registration of an NGO.

STEP 5: Register your non-profit organization

You can register your NGO under any of these acts once all the necessary paperwork is prepared and filed. 

• Society Registration Act (In a society, there must be a minimum of seven members). Any seven or more people who are associated for a literary, scientific, or charitable purpose, or for any other purpose listed in section 20 of this Act, may create a society under this Act by signing a memorandum of association and submitting it to the Registrar of Joint-Stock Companies.

• Indian Trusts Act (In a charitable trust, a minimum of two individuals is required, with no maximum number of members) - India has a law governing private trusts and trustees called the Indian Trusts Act, 1992. The Act defines what is legally referred to as a trust and specifies who is eligible to serve as its trustees. The Act was revised by the Indian Trusts Amendment Bill of 2015, which also lifted various limits on the trust's ability to invest its financial assets in particular types of investments. However, it also gave the government the ability to examine the trusts' investments whenever it wanted.

• Businesses Act (A non-profit company can be registered under section 8 of the Companies Act with the Registrar of Companies.) -- The 2019 Companies (Amendment) Bill was just approved by the Lok Sabha. The 2013 Companies Act saw some revisions as a result. It modifies the legislation governing Indian corporations.

You can learn about the key elements of the Companies Act 2013 and a comparison to the earlier Companies Act 1956 in this post.

STEP 6: Begin fundraising 

Once the non-governmental organisation (NGO) has been registered and all necessary legal paperwork has been completed, the members of the NGO will need to raise money for the NGO because NGO stands for non-governmental organisation (which works for the people and does not charge for its work or the services it provides to the people), so they must raise money for the NGO or charity so that they can take part in such shows and receive the money as a charity as many NGO's and social workers have come in.

For example, many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) support education, so they attract investors such as classmates, cello, byjus, and others.In this way, they indirectly attract sponsors for their finances. 

Fees, contributions, and subscription fees can be used to fund this. from other sources, such as donations in the form of aid from the government, businesses, or other countries.

As can be seen in the image, CARE INDIA's partners are shown here. In a similar vein, if you are starting your own NGO, you must secure sponsors, investors, or partners in the business. This is true even though some NGO employees work for other businesses and contribute a portion of their salaries to the organisation in order for it to provide services to the community.

STEP 7: Get Connected 

Create a big network. Make connections with a variety of other NGOs, professions, media outlets, governmental organisations, and corporations and keep an eye out for potential collaborations. Partnerships are largely the reason that NGOs survive and thrive. Therefore, establish contact with potential partners while standing up for the cause you believe in.