Report on Management Workshops for Environmental NGOs in Mumbai

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR ENVIRONMENTAL NGOs

REPORT ON MUMBAI WORKSHOP

10-12 SEPTEMBER 2012

Introduction

A three day workshop on management tools for environmental nonprofits was organized by BNHS-India at its Conservation Education Centre (CEC) from 10 to 12 September 2012 for the Western Zone. The workshop is first of the series to be held during the AEIF project.

Workshop Announcement

The workshop was announced through press releases, BNHS website, e-groups and Facebook. The call for application was sent to 165 NGO across the Western zone of India. Altogether 28 NGOs from remote areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat responded. We received 38 applications of 32 were shortlisted.

Workshop Registration

Of the 32 candidates, due to last minute cancellations 19 candidates from 14 NGOs registered to the workshop by paying a fee of Rs.500/-. The participants were provided with 185- page workshop manual, refreshments, meals and local travel.

Workshop Proceedings

Day 1: 10 September 2012

The first day of the workshop covered three modules; Know Your Organization, Project Management and Grant writing. The workshop began with a quick tour of CEC by the BNHS-India Education Officer Mr. Kaustubh Bhagat. This was followed by session on ice breaker, where the participants were divided into groups by calling out for each other using the calls of animals assigned to them.

The participants were introduced to the workshop and explained the usage of “the Training Manual” by Dr. V. Shubhalaxmi, Deputy Director, BNHS- India. The sessions on “Know you organization” and “Project Management” were conducted by Dr. Bala Krishnamoorthy of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS).

During the course of the sessions the participants learnt about the different styles of managements through case studies as well as working environment of the organisation through PESTLE Analysis. The PESTLE activity using flip chart helped participants to create a roadmap for future development.

By noon, the workshop was inaugurated by Mr. Sunil Limaye, IFS, Chief Conservator of Forest- Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Mr. Limaye addressed the participants and brought forward the need for the NGOs and the Government agencies to work together despite their differences.

The post lunch session on Grant Writing, conducted by Dr. Shubhalaxmi, pointed out the fact that Grant Writing is the ability to tell a good story. The session highlighted need for good communication skills and transparency in budget for a successful grant.

Day 2: 11 September 2012

The second day covered four modules; Public Relations and Networking, Leadership, Team Management and Volunteer Management. The day began with a presentation by Mr. Jadgish Rattannani, Business Editor at Free Press Journal about media as a powerful tool for NGO. This was followed by panel discussion with media panel consisting of Mr. Rattannani , Ms. Narghis Soonawala, Journalist at Time Out magazine and Mr. Mrityunjay Bose, Journalist at Sakal Times.

During the discussion the NGO representatives could understand the need to cultivate media contacts as well as the needs of media personnel to follow the story. The session on “Public Relation (PR)” conducted by Mr. Isaac Kehimkar, General Manager, BNHSa emphasized the idea of importance of PR for NGOs. The session also emphasized upon the alternate mode of publicity like Social Networking sites, blogs, websites and Youtube as mode of PR.

 

The post lunch session on “Leadership Skills” conducted by Mr. Raju Arumughum explored the various leadership styles as well as the various types of individuals in an Organisation. The exercise on difference between Managers and Leaders helped participants understand their role in the organisation. The “Team Building” began with game on “Making Tower using drinking straws” The competition for tallest towers brought out the leaders and their leadership qualities. The participants also learnt about the elements of team.

The  evening session of the day was “Volunteer Management” by Dr. V. Shubhalaxmi. The session emphasized the need of Volunteers for sustaining organisation. The brainstorming brought forward the various help available from volunteers and the problems which could arise due to volunteers. The session also covered on the ways of retaining the volunteers through small actions like appreciation.

Day 3: 12 September 2012

The third and last day covered two modules; Marketing Management and Fund Raising. It began with the session on “Marketing of Products and Services” By Dr. Balakrishnamoorthy. The session emphasized on the importance of marketing. The session dwelled on the process of Marketing through demand-supply chain and management. It also emphasized need for innovation and scaling up for marketing of product and services. The participants tried their hand at developing their marketing plan.

The last session of the workshop was on “Art of Fund Raising” by Dr. V. Shubhalaxmi. The session involved the brainstorming on ideas Fund raising. It also helped the participants understand the need for financial planning by planning a Fundraising calendar. 

The participants in fact came up with a fund raising template for an event to be organized by their organisation.

The final session involved participants networking by making their services available for the other organizations. A matrix of the same was drawn. The participants were briefed about mentoring phase and the deliverables during the same. The participants were informed that they will be enrolled on eNGOs Google group which be the platform for future communication. among the members.

Feedback and Conclusion

The workshop ended with feedback and acknowledgement to AEIF and U.S. State Department for funding the project. The participants appreciated the training imparted by the project team as they felt, there was a need of such training. Everyone mentioned that they have developed a new attitude towards their profession which will help them to become sustainable. They liked the Fundraising and Grantwriting session from practical point of view and thoroughly enjoyed the Leadership and Team Management sessions. The other sessions on Know your Organization, Project Management, PR and Networking, Volunteer Management and Marketing Management proved to be an eye-opener as they had never gave a serious thought to these topics.

Documentation

The photography and video shooting of the entire workshop was carried out. Mr. Hitesh Gusani volunteered to develop the workshop videos. Once the movie is ready, it will be uploaded on Youtube.

Report: Dr. V.Shubhalaxmi, Project Leader

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Capacity Development of Environmental NGOs of India: BNHS Nonprofit Change Agent

Capacity Development of Environmental NGOs of India: BNHS Nonprofit Change Agent: Status Update By Shubhalaxmi Vaylure Laura Gassner Otting, author of “Change Your Career: Transitioning to the Non-profit Sector”...

BNHS Nonprofit Change Agent

Status Update

By Shubhalaxmi Vaylure

Laura Gassner Otting, author of “Change Your Career: Transitioning to the Non-profit Sector” lists down 10 myths about non-profit sector in United States. I personally feel, these myths are a reality in our country. Coming from a non-profit sector, I cannot agree more that jobs in non-profit sector are underpaid, unsecure, pension-less, unskilled passionate people are hired for less salaries and demand to work more for less is an unwritten rule. Our managers are more of passionate individuals than good managers, money making by nonprofits is frowned upon, and lastly nonprofits are expected to do charitable work. In spite of these challenges the non-profit professionals of our country continue to do their good in making this planet a better place to live on. They are the foot soldiers who work in silence and their actions speak for themselves, they perform what governments aspire to do and they touch lives which corporations dream to achieve. Nevertheless they still grapple with issues of sustainability and scarcity of funds is a chronic ailment. Knowing that the non-profit sector is doing social good, it is imperative to attract and retain young talent in to this field. Unlike other lucrative careers, career in non-profit sector is all about fulfilling the basic human need-of doing good for others and feeling good. There is a serious need to bring upon the change the way nonprofits operate and the way the society perceives them. To bring along this change, first time in India, a series of free management workshops have been planned across the country. A pioneering project by BNHS supported by Fulbright Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund, aims to develop master trainers among the environmental nonprofits. As a project leader I believe, if we train non-profit employees in managing their careers and organizations in a for-profit manner, the organizations then will be able to generate sufficient revenue for their survival, become techno-savvy, pay good salaries to its employees, retain and attract talent. More importantly inform the society that a non-profit is a charitable organization but it does not indulge in charity. This also challenges the mindset of people who feel nonprofits are not supposed to make profits.

The first series of these innovative workshops are scheduled to begin in Mumbai next week. More than 30 professionals from various non-profit background from Gujarat and Maharashtra have signed for this unique professional development programme. A close to 59% representation is by female professionals more than 60% participants are from the rural background. This will make a challenging experience to the trainers who are Fulbright Alumni from various fields. This unique workshop will be inaugurated by Shri. Sunil Limaye, Chief Conservator of Forests, Sanjay Gandhi National Park at BNHS Conservation Education Centre at Goregaon on 10 September 2012 at 12.00 noon. Being the protector of forests, he will truly value the contribution by nonprofits in nature conservation. With this first workshop taking off, my team and I have taken up a Herculean task of changing the face of nonprofits in India. In time to come these workshops will be held in Imphal, Chennai and Delhi and thereafter the participants will undergo six month virtual mentoring sessions then to culminate into follow up workshops by April 2013. We intend to train 250 professionals from 125 nonprofits and by end of the year we hope to establish a professional network of Indian environmental nonprofits- eNGOs. Only time will tell, how far our aspirations will come true and whether we impacted the non-profit sector of our country.