Funding Sustainability of Welfare Oriented Non-Governmental Organisations: A Brief Analysis

Abstract

Today’s economy reality in Malaysia causes lack of funding, which affects Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO). The impacts of lack in funding to NGO are including interruption of service provision, changes in objectives and priorities, enhanced donors’ influence and change in organisational culture. These issues which involved local NGOs who usually depend on donors to support their operation. This paper analyses six strategies; enhancing credibility and visibility, implementing cost-efficient measure, building organisational capacity, diversifying source of income, encouraging volunteerism, and formation of collaboration and coalition. Majority of these strategies had been put into practice, but they must be accessible for improvement to fit into welfare-oriented NGOs in Malaysian context. NGOs are increasingly adopting various strategies and the mentioned ones in this article are not an exhaustive list as they do provide an overview of viable strategies in which might influencing organisation’s capability in providing services as well as financial sustainability in the long run. These strategies could provide an initial description for policymakers, organisation leaders and social workers at management level to produce a viable strategy suitable with NGO’s needs towards achieving financial sustainability according to Malaysian context.