Caring for Your Local Voluntary Organisation - Essay Example

Caring for your Local Voluntary Organisation of Presenter] of Introduction Local Voluntary Organisations play a very important role in modern management of the State in all parts of the world. This is due to the fact that administration of a state is as much a function of its citizens as it is of the government. An increasing number of people are today aware of this paradigm and are cooperating either with funds or physical efforts to improve the condition of living in large parts of their states. This is an international phenomenon and is not restricted to some particular country. The major difference is that in developed countries such voluntary organisations work with local or inland funds and in developing countries, a large part of the fund comes from abroad or overseas governments or supporting organisations. Whatever be the source of the funds, all governments today stress the need for efficient Non-governmental bodies to transform the life of the people. In the UK, they form a part of the government's planning process n local administration as well. Today, the role of an NGO is not debated, only their efficiency is. Organisations such as the UN have now shifted their focus from working with governments in the developing world to NGOs who have a massive contact with the people and work with them for consistent local benefits. NGO's impart a huge service to every nation in terms of its socio-economic development while governments in most cases are restricted to setting up the rules and the supporting infrastructure. Voluntary organisations work closely with the people and are more efficient in bringing out any sustainable benefits to the locality in terms of health care and education. Since the NGO draws a large number of volunteers, who are more committed to the cause they are working on, the efficiency levels of these bodies are very much on the higher side - they are more focussed and committed than many governmental organisations. A large number of these volunteers have different educational degrees and are mostly overqualified for their work. The organisation will also have a large pool of ideas to address any particular problem than a body in the public sector. Mostly all voluntary organisations are run by local members of the society and this means that they have more contact with the people and more information about the problems they face. Networking of the LVOs is a much simpler method to achieve social change than very expensive and cumbersome state run mechanisms. While managing Voluntary associations was considered an easy job in the sixties, it has become more complicated today. The governments in various countries have various rules and regulations that govern the formation and functioning of Voluntary Organisations. Besides these, management of Voluntary organisations also have become a task that is highly specialised in nature. They call for management skills and vitality in time management apartment from monitoring and re-orienting the efforts of the volunteers. The local voluntary organisation is a company registered under the companies act as a charity registered under the charities act. This heterogeneity means that it is both a company and a charity organisation. The guarantors of the organisation are the board members of charity. The Companies Act demands that the board is liable to the company and so the guarantors of the Local Voluntary Organisation is also liable to a sum of money that is limited to their memorandum and articles of association. The guarantors comprise the board of directors and form the executive committee. Registration also places the LVO under the Charities Act and hence the regulatory commission has specified that the board of trustees should have no pecuniary interest in the charity and their primary objectives should be only social good. The legal frame works apart, a local voluntary organisation should have a good governance system that will help it deliver the goodies to the masses. This can take a long time though. The LVO is financed by the masses who get a tax exemption for making such donations. But most people donate money to only those organisations who work very well and are efficient and who can produce results. The rest of the LVOs exist only on paper. Performance therefore is a key aspect in the administration of LVOs. Another factor is administrative efficiency and transparency. People appreciate only those LVOs who have an efficient administrative as well as management capacity. Otherwise, the activities of its volunteers will not be co-ordinated and may lead to inefficiency. Demoralised volunteers are as much a problem with LVOs as it is with a commercial company. Much of managing an LVO is like managing a functional business house. It calls for good management skills. Apart from the management skills, you require in-depth legal knowledge to comply with the various provisions of the Companies Act and the Charities Act. So How Do you manage your LVO successfully The most important part of the LVO is its Board of trustees re its members of the executive committee. Every successful LVO should be controlled by an efficient Board of Trustees which collectively controls its processes and ensures that the objectives of the LVO are achieved. It should also uphold its strategic value and its direction. Besides these, the board is largely responsible along the following categories: They must accept the responsibility for the direction of the organisation Evaluate and streamline the activities of the organisation Ensure that the LVO remains solvent Ensure that the processes are audited and the efficiency is maintained Ensure that the LVO is complying with the rules and regulations The outcomes or objectives set out in the articles of association are achieved Trustees should focus their energy on evaluating the activities of the organisation rather than muddle up neck down in the functioning of the organisation. This task should be left to the rank and file of the organisation whose activities the trustees have to monitor on a regular basis. In cases where the trustees have to make day-to-day decisions, they should distinguish between their strategic objectives and their operational roles. The trustees as a board should ensure that they are collectively responsible for ensuring that the organisation is maintained in good health and efficiency. They should ensure the solvency and financial viability of the various activities they engage in. The board should periodically ascertain that it remains compliant to the various legal provisions by making consultancies with legal authorities and their own rank and file to make sure that they stick to their objectives in whatever they do. They should also refresh themselves to new laws and amends to the existing ones and revise their Articles as required. The board should periodically review their internal controls system and performance reporting formats and areas. New policies should be introduced and the existing ones modified if anything is found lacking. The board must act prudently and with integrity in matters relating to property ownership and asset management. They should assure that this is utilised to deliver the objectives of the organisation. The board must regularly review issues such as risk management and assess the likely situations that are likely to come up during the immediate and long-term that may risk their non-compliance or efficiency. They should collectively make decisions to eliminate or reduce the risks involved. Assurance and upholding the principles of equality and diversity is another key component of a successful LVO. The organisation should be fair to all castes, creed and races of people and should not be seen as discriminatory or favourable to a particular group of people. They should have clear responsibilities and functions and should organise themselves to discharge their functions clearly and objectively without prejudice. They should have a statement that defines their responsibilities. The board should organise itself in to various committees and subcommittees if required and take-up the various challenges that they have to face. They should be open to invite invitations and suggestions from leading experts so that they have all the right set of considerations while they are making a decision. The nboard should also comprise of people who have a wide variety of skills and expert knowledge on a range of topics. This is needed to run the organisation efficiently. A multi-talented board can make more intelligible decision and will have a more holistic vision of the risks, challenges and opportunities. The trustees should make sure that they have got enough training, induction and ongoing support to run their organisation. The board should also make arrangements to see to it that it's the salary and compensation of its chief executive is at par with the skills he demonstrates. He should also e given all the support in his job in terms of the pursuing of the organisation's goals. The board should meet at prefixed intervals to ensure that they are making the right set of decisions and they have effectively taken all the steps to ensure that the organisation runs well. Process audits can also bring to light the lacking things in the organisation. The workings of the various sub-committees and standing committees should also be taken for evaluation. Individual trustees should be given a clear picture of all that is required of them. The recruitment of new trustees should be taken up if required. It should be with the view to creating diversity of knowledge in the board. The board should effectively delegate its responsibilities and should also take in to consideration the effectiveness of the delegation process. It should evaluate the delegation criteria and ensure that the right jobs are always matched with the right skills. These responsibilities should be given in writing. They should also take steps to authorise their personnel to make the necessary decisions to execute the tasks that have been delegated. The delegatory authority should set up clear views about the budgetary implications of the orders. The hierarchy and clearance authority for a particular task should also be mentioned in the note that authorises the delegation. The board should further make all measures to monitor the delegated tasks on a regular basis. The board members should equally ensure that they maintain high ethical standards and ensure that conflicts within the board are settled amicably. While settling conflicts the board should ensure that their primary business is charity and material wealth and assets. These should be discouraged among the members. The trustees should be encouraged toi speak out openly about the conflicts of interest among them. The board should also make sure that such conflicts should not affect the routine functioning of the board or the activities of the organisation. There should also be a strict guidance on receipt of material benefits by the board of trustees from within and outside the organisation. The board should be open to the suggestions of the members and beneficiaries of the organisation. They should communicate with other like minded organisations as well to know more about their field of activity. Transparency is the keyword in any venture of the LVO. This habit should be implied top-bottom rather than the other way around. The board members should also participate in discussions with other organisations that have similar concerns. They should join professional organisation bodies and acknowledge themselves with safe and sound management practices. If all this is ensued, the LVO will run and achieve its objectives in a smooth and efficient manner. References The report by the organisation of board trustees, UK available in their website: (www.acevo.org.uk/publications) accessed on 08th May 2006. Good Governance - A Code for the Voluntary and Community Sector First edition: June 2005 Published by ACEVO, Charity Trustee Networks, ICSA, NCVO on behalf of The National Hub of Expertise in Governance The ICSA best practice guide to the appointment and induction of charity trustees ICSA, 2005. The ICSA best practice guide to managing conflicts of interest in the not-for-profit sector ICSA 2005. Taylor, Ryan and Chait, Governance as Leadership: Reframing the work of Nonprofit boards (John Wiley & Sons) 2004. Governing with Confidence Trustee & Governance Team, NCVO, 2004. In control: the manual for voluntary board members: National Housing Federation, 2005. Sandy Adirondack, Just About Managing: Effective management for voluntary organisations and community groups Sandy Adirondack, London Voluntary Service Council, 3rd Edition 1998. Leading the organisation - the relationship between Chair and Chief Executive ACEVO, second edition 2002. Carol Wiseman and Richard Globaum, Losing your executive director without losing your way : The non-profit guide to executive turnover Read More