How Healthcare Services can make NGOs financially sustainable

-By Development Network(www.developmentnetwork.co.nr/)-

One of the core objectives of fundsforngos.org is to assist organizations with
information about various sustainable strategies for long-term organizational
development. As local NGOs in developing countries persistently face fundraising
problems, it becomes necessary to empower them with new information tools that
will help them meet the challenges of their own financial sustainability.
Continuous submission of proposals and seeking of donors can create a
stereotypical image of your organization, but it can also lead to frustration
and pessimism, leading to loss of confidence in your own good work when you are
unable to raise funds for your organization. However, it is also a fact that
fundraising most of the times is not within our control. Let us not forget that
decisions are mostly made by donor agencies, if they want they will offer the
grant, not the other way round where you think it is necessary to have a grant
for a community development project and you get it.
Nevertheless, as we are attached to our roots, we continue with our work to
serve the poor and the needy. To overcome the challenges of financial
sustainability for an NGO, one of the proven ideas is to offer micro-level
healthcare services in a limited manner to the community.
Healthcare is a need everywhere and it is known to all of us that knowledge can
prevent a lot of health problems and if this knowledge is offered to communities
for a small cost, it can lead to a win-win situation. Of course, the revenue
may not be as big as the grants we are all used to, but it will definitely
contribute towards long-term sustainability of the organization and it will
also add extra power to our joy of doing what we always love to do: serve the
poor and the needy.
Here are some ideas that can be implemented with some investment of money and
skills. If your organization has previously implemented a health project, then
you have an added advantage. If you are in the process of implementing such a
project, you can take these ideas as long-term sustainable strategy that will
not only continue providing services to the community, but also help your
organization grow financially even when the donor agency has withdrawn support.
Besides, if implementation of these ideas meets with some success, there is
strong likelihood of attracting donor agencies in the future.
Click on the links below one by one to read on:
Get some Community Health Training First: Community health is nothing more than
the health of the communities with whom we work. Although it is a part of
public health, it has more emphasis on…(click here to read more)

Link: http://www.fundsforngos.org/community-healthcare/community-health-training

After training, do some Community Health Research: An effective community
healthcare project will work only when one's own knowledge meets with the
existing health problems of the community. It is important to identify
community health problems…(click here to read more)
Link:
http://www.fundsforngos.org/community-healthcare/training-community-health-research

A Village Health Center at your NGO office: Now it is time to arrange some
space that will work as the village health center where people can come and
seek basic healthcare services. The health center needs to have clean place
with basic…(click here to read more)
Link:
http://www.fundsforngos.org/community-healthcare/village-health-center-ngo-office

Health Microinsurance Schemes for the Poor: One of the most practical problems
one can face while implementing a user fee-based healthcare service to the
community is that many poor people would seek healthcare in credit
because…(click here to read more)
Link:http://www.fundsforngos.org/community-healthcare/health-microinsurance-schemes-poor

Global Leadership Development: Why It's Important to Your Business

by Bettina Chang | Talent Management

A recent study by the American Management Association (AMA) showed that global
leadership development programs are correlated with success at companies around
the world. Competition was the main driver behind these programs, and almost
half of the companies surveyed said that they had already implemented such
programs or were currently developing them.

The survey included more than 900 organizations, 40 percent of which are
headquartered outside the U.S.

"Whether or not you are only located in one country, you're competing all over
the world with your products and services," said Sandi Edwards, senior vice
president of AMA Corporate Learning Solutions. "[It's important] to have people
all over the globe who understand what the [business] is about and how to
compete successfully."

These leadership competencies, though not completely different from typical
domestic leadership programs, emphasize certain global nuances. Important
aspects include branding in other parts of the world, being agile and
understanding cultures, and effectively working across cultures and remotely.

To implement an effective global leadership development program, an
organization must first set business goals and determine the metrics through
which they will be measured. "The most effective global leadership initiatives
are tightly linked to the achievement of critical business goals," Edwards
said.

Once the business goals are developed, it's imperative for senior-level
executives to communicate why being a strong global leader has important
business impact on the organization. "That can be stressed most effectively by
senior leaders," Edwards said. "[The initiatives] are not successful if there
isn't some component of executive sponsorship and senior leadership
involvement."

Other ways for senior leaders to be involved are to be a part of the program
and to contribute by co-teaching. They must also monitor the metrics to
determine the return on investment of the program.

The study showed that organizations with successful programs can expect to see
increased revenue, shareholder value and customer satisfaction. These programs
also improve the bench strength of an organization. Of the targeted employees
who participate in these programs, about 20 to 25 percent are upwardly mobile
and able to take on higher positions. After the training, up to 40 percent will
have the capability to take on higher positions and more responsibility.

"That's vital to the strength of the organization, to have a healthy leadership
pipeline," Edwards said.

As with most leadership programs, global leadership development can increase
engagement and retention, especially among high performers at a company.

"Top talent are high-value assets in every organization, there's no doubt about
that - and the best performers always have options," Edwards said. "In the
companies we studied, correlation was high between those organizations that
were high performers and those that had developed and implemented global
leadership curriculums."

Another finding was that almost 10 percent of companies said that they open
their global leadership programs to everyone in their organization. Edwards
said that this was unexpected, since scarce budgets for development programs
typically limit the number of employees who are able to participate in them.

For the companies that do limit the employees who enter these programs, they
often offer other development opportunities for all employees. Coaching
programs, on-the-job learning, job shadowing and rotations can give an
individual more exposure to the different parts and people in an organization.
An employee's performance during these opportunities may qualify him or her for
further development training.

Edwards stressed that while companies can do many things to ensure employees
are engaged, there must be a consistent thread of logic that links every
development program to competency expectations within the organization.

Snaptu: Response: Blame the banks and the government, not us baby boomers

Far from being selfish, we paid our taxes and passed our money to younger generations

As a baby boomer I am fed up with being blamed for our economic evils. Last month Phillip Inman said that "baby boomers have accumulated much of the nation's…

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Different target market deters foreign banks to NE

By Development Network

The different market segment served by foreign banks unlike most local banks
may be one reason that foreign banks are a little reluctant to venture into the
island's North-East, opines a senior industry official. Recently, the Governor
of the Central Bank had urged foreign banks operating in Sri Lanka to seek more
approvals to open branches in the North-East having received only a handful of
applications from them.

"Most foreign banks have a different market segment to cater to, and more
specifically it is the niche corporate customers that they generally target," a
senior

manager of Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank (HSBC) who did not wish to be quoted told
The Bottom Line.
Among the foreign banks that have opened branches in these provinces are HSBC
with a branch in Jaffna, Habib Bank in the East and the Indian Bank which is
planning to put up a branch in Jaffna.
"We do have a branch in Jaffna opened in February 2010, but we will never be a
local commercial bank with so many branches like the local banks," the manager
from HSBC said.
The HSBC manager elaborated that HSBC catered to a niche market in the
corporate sector. But they had put whatever weight in the Northern sector by
opening a branch in Jaffna not long after the war.
"Our branch has succeeded in so much as giving confidence to Jaffna investors
where HSBC was active in respect of personal banking," he said adding that in
fact "the East is on our agenda in the near future."
Meanwhile, another official from Standard Chartered Bank said that lack of
faith in borrowers in the region and other logistical challenges may also be
other reasons for the reluctance shown by foreign banks.

This manager said that Standard Chartered Bank primarily transacted overseas
dealings with customers or top clients. But where there was a strong corporate
base the bank did so cater like having opened in Hambantota which was a
potential area for banking.

The CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar said: "Standard
Chartered Bank, Sri Lanka's consumer banking business is driven by a defined
participation model catering to key segments, given our product proposition and
global footprint. Our current distribution plans do include opening of branches
outside of the Western Province; we are also at this time, optimising our
operations in Colombo through relocation, upgrading and expansion of existing
branch premises."
A spokesperson of the Indian Bank when contacted by The Bottom Line said, "We
are not hesitant. In fact, we have earmarked to open a branch in the North.
Presently, we are in the process of putting the final touches to the building".
Commenting on the issue, the secretary general of the Sri Lanka Banks
Association, Upali De Silva reasoned out that foreign banks may be satisfied
with their share of healthy Colombo customers and are, therefore, not thinking
beyond to get involved in business in those regions where the government wants
them to contribute.
Meanwhile, several other foreign banks that The Bottom Line inquired regarding
opening branches in the North-East were tight lipped and not keen on commenting
on the subject.
According to a senior Central Bank official, so far only two foreign bank
branches each had been set up in the North and East respectively.
The official also said that several applications had been received specially by
Indian and Pakistani banks to set up branches in the two provinces while there
were only a handful of applications for approval from banks headquartered in
other countries.
"However, we are optimistic that more branches would be opened this year with
the buoyancy that prevails in the economy," he concluded positively.

Author:Srian Obeyesekere

Snaptu: Next: what the analysts say

City experts are encouraged that Next is still on track to hit its financial targets, despite the impact of December's icy weather, but expect to see significant price rises in the months ahead

City experts are encouraged that Next is still on track…

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