BNHS selected to train eNGOs in India

Updated on: Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The US government under the Fulbright Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund has selected the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) through a worldwide competition to train eNGOs that will benefit the environmental NGOs in India (eNGOs). USD 25,000 will be disbursed under the year long programme that will train 250 employees from 125 eNGOs across the country.

Elaborating on the reasons for the specific focus on eNGOs, Atul Sathe, manager - communications, BNHS, says, “There are around 2342 eNGOs in India. As they work in the field of wildlife and environment, it becomes difficult for them to provide a human face for their work. Thus, they fail to appeal to the donors leading to paucity of funds. Moreover, in the broader NGO sector, eNGOs get least funding as their work is not directly related to people. Therefore, these organisations constantly grapple with their own sustainability issues.”

Fund raising, grant writing, project management, team management, volunteer management, networking and PR, marketing management, leadership styles, developing business plans and strategic planning will be covered in the programme. The programme includes three-day management workshops followed by a mentoring phase and a two-day follow-up workshop. All participating eNGOs will be enrolled on a network that will provide continued technical support by the regional Fulbright Alumni to the participants. The first in the series of workshops is scheduled to be held in Mumbai, followed by Imphal, Chennai and Delhi.

“There are four important management factors that limit an eNGO from becoming financially sustainable i.e fiscal management, human resource management, marketing management and networking and public relations. If the mid-level employees of eNGOs are equipped with these skills, they can aim to become sustainable and grow progressively. These skills are, however, not easily available for eNGOs as they cannot afford management professionals. Therefore, the aim of this project is to develop master trainers among eNGOs who will conduct these management trainings on regular basis within as well as outside their organisations,” adds Sathe.

The workshop in Mumbai is open to employees of eNGOs from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa. An eNGO in operation for more than five years with a good track record can apply. The head of an eNGO can nominate any two mid-level employees who will be trained into management master trainers for the organisation. The participants should have a work experience of minimum five years in the organisation. All participants need to fill a common application form which can be obtained by sending an email to [email protected] or [email protected]. All applications will be scrutinised for the above criteria and selected participants will be sent a confirmation. The last date of application is August 1, 2012.

BNHS selected to train eNGOs in India

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