Types of Non-Governmental Organizations

NGO types can be understood by their orientation and level of cooperation.

NGO type by level of orientation:

• Charitable Orientation often involves a top-down paternalistic effort with little participation by the "beneficiaries". It includes NGOs with activities directed toward meeting the needs of the poor.
• Service Orientation includes NGOs with activities such as the provision of health, family planning or education services in which the programme is designed by the NGO and people are expected to participate in its implementation and in receiving the service.
• Participatory Orientation is characterized by self-help projects where local people are involved particularly in the implementation of a project by contributing cash, tools, land, materials, labour etc. In the classical community development project, participation begins with the need definition and continues into the planning and implementation stages.
• Empowering Orientation aims to help poor people develop a clearer understanding of the social, political and economic factors affecting their lives, and to strengthen their awareness of their own potential power to control their lives. There is maximum involvement of the beneficiaries with NGOs acting as facilitators.

NGO type by level of cooperation:

• Community-based Organizations (CBOs) arise out of people's own initiatives. They can be responsible for raising the consciousness of the urban poor, helping them to understand their rights in accessing needed services, and providing such services.
• Citywide Organizations include organizations such as chambers of commerce and industry, coalitions of business, ethnic or educational groups, and associations of community organizations.
• National NGOs include national organizations such as the Red Cross, YMCAs/YWCAs, professional associations, etc. Some have state and city branches and assist local NGOs.
• International NGOs range from secular agencies such as Redda Barna and Save the Children organizations, OXFAM, CARE, Ford Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation to religiously motivated groups. They can be responsible for funding local NGOs, institutions and projects and implementing projects.

Apart from "NGO", there are many alternative or overlapping terms in use, including: third sector organization (TSO), non-profit organization (NPO), voluntary organization (VO), civil society organization (CSO), grassroots organization (GO), social movement organization (SMO), private voluntary organization (PVO), self-help organization (SHO) and non-state actors (NSAs).

Non-governmental organizations are a heterogeneous group. As a result, a long list of additional acronyms has developed, including:

• BINGO: 'Business-friendly International NGO' or 'Big International NGO'
• TANGO: 'Technical Assistance NGO'
• TSO: 'Third Sector Organization'
• GONGO: 'Government-Operated NGOs' (set up by governments to look like NGOs in order to qualify for outside aid or promote the interests of government)
• DONGO: 'Donor Organized NGO'
• INGO: 'International NGO'
• QUANGO: 'Quasi-Autonomous NGO,' such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). (The ISO is actually not purely an NGO, since its membership is by nation, and each nation is represented by what the ISO Council determines to be the 'most broadly representative' standardization body of a nation. That body might itself be a nongovernmental organization; for example, the United States is represented in ISO by the American National Standards Institute, which is independent of the federal government. However, other countries can be represented by national governmental agencies; this is the trend in Europe.)
• National NGO: A non-governmental organization that exists only in one country. This term is rare due to the globalization of non-governmental organizations, which causes an NGO to exist in more than one country.
• CSO: 'Civil Society Organization'
• ENGO: 'Environmental NGO,' such as Greenpeace and WWF
• NNGO: 'Northern NGO'
• PANGO: 'Party NGO,' set up by parties and disguised as NGOs to serve their political matters.
• SNGO: 'Southern NGO'
• SCO: 'Social Change Organization'
• TNGO: 'Transnational NGO.' The term emerged during the 1970s due to the increase of environmental and economic issues in the global community. TNGO includes non-governmental organizations that are not confined to only one country, but exist in two or more countries.
• GSO: Grassroots Support Organization
• MANGO: 'Market Advocacy NGO'
• NGDO: 'Non-governmental Development Organization'

USAID refers to NGOs as private voluntary organizations. However, many scholars have argued that this definition is highly problematic as many NGOs are in fact state and corporate funded and managed projects with professional staff

NGOs exist for a variety of reasons, usually to further the political or social goals of their members or founders. Examples include improving the state of the natural environment, encouraging the observance of human rights, improving the welfare of the disadvantaged, or representing a corporate agenda. However, there are a huge number of such organizations and their goals cover a broad range of political and philosophical positions. This can also easily be applied to private schools and athletic organizations.