Context: NGO activities, Social enterprise activities.
Manish Shanbhag, 07th July 2022 (3 min read)
“I’d love to support this initiative”
“Please tell me how much funds are needed and I’ll make the necessary arrangements”
“I’ll definitely share this on my network. Wish this project loads of success”.
These are responses I get often since years. These are great responses indeed and show genuine interest and willingness of people to help and I’m ever thankful to be surrounded by people who like to support certain causes that are, in their own capacity, making a positive impact in society.
Then I’ve noticed another scenario wrt active participation and volunteering in such activities. There is a slightly less enthusiastic response in this case. It could be the difference between
‘being a part of the Outcome’ vs ‘being a part of the Process’
Over the years, I’ve seen and met tons of people who are very keen to be a part of the Outcome but when asked if they’d like to be a part of the process, there is a bit of commitment-hesitancy. Fair enough. To each his own. Most people have their priorities sorted out and have good clarity on their ‘outcome-actions’ vs their ‘process-actions’.
I’ve (along with hundreds of others I know) done the classical Outcome-based-support for projects around the world. eg: donating to an orphanage or old-age home, sponsoring a child’s education, supporting dozens of crowd-sourcing initiatives on Ketto, Milaap and the likes, etc. These are classical. These are easy. These are satisfying. These are all outcome-based. One needn’t be involved in the process-actions but get good satisfaction when the outcomes are successful. Here, time and effort isn’t what is necessarily required but all one needs is an ‘Input’ that’ll get into the process and transform itself into an ‘Output’. This Input is usually ‘Financial support’. And in today’s times, financial support can be provided by plenty of means without any technical and geographical restrictions.
But what does it take to get involved in ‘Process-based’ actions ? The process-actions require mostly time and effort. Everyone has limited amount of time to manage their activities. But giving Time (and subsequently effort) means that one reduces proportionately the time allocated to other activities. And that’s where the biggest challenge lies. People hesitate to compromise on their time more than they do on their disposable financial resources.
Personally, I believe there could be a good balance maintained between an individual’s outcome-based contributions and process-based contributions. Outside of one’s daily work, one could try and find a balance between these two. See if you could start by allocating 30 mins of your week to be involved ‘IN THE PROCESS’. If you are passionate about the initiative, you won’t realize when those 30 mins will become 1 hr and then 2 hrs and then a bit more.. eg: if you wish to donate to an old-age home, spend 30 mins per week online with the people and speak with them about anything under the sun. If you support a child’s education, speak to the child and teach him/her yourself for a bit. Try it once, just once :).
Today, there are a few people involved in process-based support compared to the outcome-based support in NGO activities and Social entrepreneurship. I just hope more and more people come forward and become a part of the process. Personally, I’d strive a bit more to do that as well.
I’d be nicer to hear:
“I’d love to support this initiative” :”I’d love to support this initiative and be a part of it”
“Please tell me how much funds are needed and I’ll make the necessary arrangements” : “Please tell me how much time is needed and I’ll make the necessary adjustments and reset some priorities”
“I’ll definitely share this idea in my network. Wish this project loads of success”: “I’ll certainly sell this idea in my network. Wish this project loads of success”
Pandemic assistance
Manish Shanbhag, 13th June 2021 (3 min read)
We are living through an unprecedented time. When the pandemic took us by surprise at the beginning of 2020, not many imagined that after 18 months, we’d still be struggling to cope up with its devastating effects. The pandemic has affected people in more ways than one. Some sectors and people who could transition quickly into remote working, building their online offers and capabilities, could absorb the shock of the economic downturn. Some others weren’t as lucky. Sectors where people worked on the field and didn’t depend on technology were the ones to bear the brunt. Eg: Construction industry, manufacturing industry (shopfloor workers), agriculture and similar others.
We, at Pankh, have seen the impact on our staff as well. Our fabrication unit and office were both shut for a while during the strict lockdown. While our staff wanted to work and not take any unpaid leaves (we covered for that later as well), it showed a situation where continuous income generation was absolutely vital for families.
During (and even before) this time, Pankh came up with a variety of initiatives like the Gyan Vardhini Yojna (supporting childrens’ education), Pankh PaaThshaala (online pro-bono classes), happy and safe periods (reusable sanitary pads distribution) and many others (you can see details here).
While there were tough times for millions of families all over the world, we did our best, in our capacity, to contribute to alleviate some problems of a few families and we are happy that we could help. Surely, we will continue to do so. On the occasion of the launch of our website on 19th June 2021, we’ve committed to distribute to 100 needy families in around Chikodi, some food and health amenities that’ll last for some weeks. For this, we thank profusely our donors and volunteers on and off the field. It’s our endeavor that we continue such activities and appeal to people to assist some unlucky and unfortunate families in one’s own capacity. If you wish to collaborate with Pankh, we’d be extremely pleased.
Let’s make lives better.
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