Larry D. Lauer

Search NGO on Google and you find the following definition: “A non-governmental organization (NGO) is neither a part of government nor a conventional for-profit business. Usually set up by ordinary citizens, NGOs may be funded  by governments, foundations, businesses, or private persons.”

The term NGO, however, is used in different ways by different people. It’s true that many  simply see them as non-profit organizations. But most accounts suggest that the term was first used when the United Nations first appeared in the 1940’s and enabled the creation of certain international non-governmental organizations which focused on human rights, health, environment, development, and other organizations with more of an international mission than traditional U.S. nonprofits.

The number of NGOs in the world therefore depends on how you define the term. But a staggering number of them exist… and they all share a service mission, a separation from government, and a nonprofit status.

From a communication perspective, governments all have credibility problems with many of their audiences. They all have domestic and foreign policies defined by special interests. And many of their audiences are predetermined to misunderstand or disagree. NGOs on the other hand have an independence which enables  a bit more credibility and increases their likelihood of having some success solving complex problems.

This past year I learned about an organization called Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP). I was amazed to learn that it has thousands of members world-wide, and most of them do not work directly for governments. They work for NGOs. And they think of themselves as working everyday on foreign policy.

Because of their independence from government, their credibility, and their vast number, the potential of NGO’s to solve the world’s problems is enormous. Therefore, they are a very good career option for service-minded students, and for volunteers to give their support.