Community-based organizations, or CBOs, are local non-profit groups
that works to generate improvements within a community on the local
level. They are basically the community development process in the form of
a formal organization. They are usually locally formed, locally staffed, and
their actions are specific to the location they operate in. Most CBOs are
mainly volunteer organizations, with few paid positions as most of their
funding is delegated towards completing the group's objectives. Their local
status also means that they may be limited in what resources they have
access to, depending on the geographical location of the CBO and the
community it serves.
Characteristics of community based organization
Others have identified five key characteristics of community-based
organizations, indicating they must be:
1) Organized (i.e., institutionalized to some degree);
2) Separate from government (i.e., private organizations in the sense that
they are not run or overseen by a government agency and therefore not part
of the public sector);
3) Non-profit distributing;
4) Self-governing; and
5) Voluntary (i.e., some meaningful degree of voluntary participation in the
organization’s affairs)
What Role Do CBOS Play In Community Development?
Within community development, CBOs tend to serve primarily as the
middleman for resources and actions. Many larger groups, like non-profits,
and intersecting communities use CBOs as a way of interacting with those
who are already at work on issues within the community.
A CBO is often how volunteers find public service projects that they can
participate in, as CBOs tend to be in the thick of things within the
community. In a way, an established CBO can attract and filter resources
necessary for the community development process.
CBOs also have a role in community development as the public voice of the
community. One of the best features of a CBO, due to their localized focus,
is that it is a wealth of information regarding the issues it is focused on
within the community. They highlight issues that need to be addressed and
then include every relevant piece of data regarding those issues for those
that will be working on them. This includes details about what is wrong in
the community, what should be done to remedy the situation, what needs to
be done, the resources available, and the effects the issue is having on the
community. For anyone who is attempting to instigate the community
development process in their community, including a CBO in the process can
help make things go smoothly.
Importance of community based organizations in communities
A CBO offers a lot of advantages in the community development process
when one is included. Since a CBO is a type of non-profit organization, and
the two will often be associated with one another, several of the following
are advantages that are also applicable to the inclusion of a non-profit.
Tax-Exempt Status
CBOs are legally defined as a nonprofit organization, and thus have a similar
legal standing. Not having to pay taxes for the actions taken by the group
can actually help if there is limited funding in the first place. Any money that
the CBO earns on its own-e.g. through fundraising-can be used to fund its
efforts in full. Tax-exemption status also as additional financial advantages,
such as access to public service announcements (a.k.a. PSAs), advertising
discounts, and reduced mail rates.
Direct Benefits
A CBO is designed specifically for the community it operates in, thus
ensuring that any benefits the organization offers goes to those it is intended
for. Because the CBO's efforts are not going to those that don't necessarily
need it or are being divided in any way, the community is getting help in full.
It makes it easier to make sure that the issues in the community are getting
as much attention as they need in order to find and administer a solution.
Perpetuity
Since a CBO is an established organization, it is separate from any one
individual and is eligible for organizational perpetuity. Even if the person who
initially began and operates the CBO leaves for whatever reason-quits,
retires, dies, etc.-the organization isn't going to necessarily end because
they are gone. It's a kind of immortality that allows it to continue so long as
it has a purpose.
Liability Protection
The separation that CBOs have from individuals as organizations means that
they have some built-in liability protection in place. If a member's personal
actions lead to consequences like fines or lawsuits, the CBO isn't going to be
impacted on a legal standpoint. Should a CBO be sued directly or have any
kind of legal consequences for its actions, they it is able to have its own
liability insurance coverage to protect it as it is considered a type of non-
profit.
Challenges faced by community based organization
Starting a CBO is generally much easier than sustaining it (Shredhar and
Colaco, 1995) This explains why many CBOs have been established and
many have withered lost energy and disappeared (Joint United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS, 1997). Like other development actors CBO face
challenges and these may stem from within the CBO itself such as weak
leadership skills and inadequate resources while others may result from
relationships with local or external organisations or from political-economic
forces (Grown et al, 2005)
Despite the fact that advocacy for women empowerment has been around
for some time now, there are still myths and misunderstandings about it that
are rooted in cultural, traditional and religious beliefs and these may hinder
collective action and reciprocity (Joint United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS, 1997 :4). Women empowerment remains a largely misunderstood
phenomenon among people especially in Africa. This not only exacerbates
suspicion, mistrust, fear and stigmatisation, but also complicates community
initiatives that are meant to address gender inequality (UN-OSAA 2003).
These conflicting perceptions are counterproductive and may dissuade
community members from taking action against gender inequality. In the
initial phase of the establishment of CBOs cultural and traditional issues
influences the level of participation in CBO activities among community
members. However, this has been overcome by intensive and continuous
sensitisation and mobilisation efforts of the volunteers.
As indicated earlier, the CBOs depend on volunteers. Most of them, like in
most other CBOs have limited formal education with a paucity of skills in
management as well as in information technology (Grown et al., 2006). This
makes it very difficult for them to understand and interpret key national
policies and strategies on women empowerment and to interpret information
on funding options, which is normally written in English. Because of their
limited literacy skills, the volunteers are not able to develop funding
proposals to the standards demanded by some donors. They also have
limited skills in documenting their activities and reporting to the standards
expected by partners and donors ((Joint United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS, 1997 :5). This means that the CBO rarely captures programming
lessons, experiences, or successes. The lack of such vital programme
information leads to re-inventing the wheel and a waste of scarce resources.
In addition, the weak skills in documentation and the lack of an effective
monitoring system further limits progression of the activities as there is no
framework to capture change.
In most cases when the CBO has to deal with information in English they
have to rely on translation and interpretation by members who have
proficient knowledge of English. This slows down the speed at which they
can respond to such information and sometimes it is misinterpreted
altogether. This has led to the CBO to miss out on various calls for funding
and potential partnerships.
In addition, there is very limited written information on the CBO because
there are no structured monitoring activities of the performance of the CBO.
Again, this is because of the poor literacy skills of most members and the
lack of technology to manage information.
Absence and lack of ability to use technology such as computers and internet
makes CBO member to function in an environment of hesitancy, wariness
and isolation from what others are doing (UN-OSAA, 2003).
As has been elaborated earlier, CBOs have limited resources. They therefore
have to develop partnerships with other organisations that can provide
resources. While external funding and support is essential among CBOs,
dependency on donor funding creates a substantial risk to the identity,
autonomy and mission of CBOs (Barker et al., 2004).
The donors and outside partners do not just give resources; they also want
to control the activities of the CBO to make sure that they are aligned with
their interests. The erosion of CBO autonomy could entail the CBO being
expected to adopt the donor’s criteria for implementing and monitoring
programmes, including using a logical framework and articulating results in
complicated formats using western languages (UN/OSAL 2003: 46) which
the CBO members are not familiar with. If this happens CBOs become more
attuned and accountable to donors’ needs than to the people they are meant
to represent and serve (Social Worker Watch, 2005).
When the donor/CBO relationship is too close for comfort, the latter risks
losing the local innovative attributes that make it an attractive alternative to
mainstream development” (Social Worker Watch, 2005; UN-OSAL, 2003:
46).
As with most CBOs, volunteers are local residents with no formal
employment and they must balance the time they spend volunteering with
the time they need to spend on domestic chores to fend for themselves and
their families. The question of maintaining their motivation levels cannot be
taken for granted particularly when the CBO offers no guarantee for
rewards. During group discussions with CBO volunteers it was reviewed that
after contributing to the CBO some volunteers expect some rewards from
resources provided by donors (tokenism). When this is not forthcoming
some feel frustrated and leave. Volunteers also drop out due to pressures to
contribute to household and livelihood chores, which sometimes require
them to engage in paid labour in order to support their families (Joint United
Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 1997). In this case the very fervent
intrinsic motivation of the volunteers may result in individual agendas that if
not well managed become detrimental to the CBO itself (Zaidi, 2005).
In most cases the formation of a CBO is spearheaded by either one person
or a small group of people. As the CBO grows, more people join in and the
demand for service increases. The pioneers usually want to continue leading
the CBO activities but do not necessarily have the skills to do so. Ideally the
pioneers have to learn the skills (which in most cases they are not able to)
or hire qualified people, or step aside for more qualified leaders to manage
the CBO. Unfortunately, the pioneers are not always willing to pass on
responsibilities to newer and more able members
Another problem is that pioneers want to be rewarded more than other
members simply because they spearheaded the formation of the CBO.
Though this is not outstanding with the CBO, discussions with some long
term volunteers reviewed that they felt they deserve allowances and that
they must have fulltime paying positions in the CBO. This has the potential
of creating conflict within the CBO and could lead to collapse of the CBO if
not well managed.
