Nimbly governed organizations (NGO) are the need of the hour

And that NGO stands not just for non-governmental organizations who are supposed to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to social development. It is equally relevant to every organized body, including those for profit.

The pandemic has delivered humanity a big blow. Among other things, it has taught us that “I” alone is meaningless unless “we” get together to protect and pick all of us up.

However, it is a challenge to convert an individual’s noble intention into sustainable action that benefits thousands of people day after day. For charity to work well, it must borrow some good principles from what is generally considered its antithesis—business. We need some nimble collaboration to pick ourselves up.

Empathize, engage

A video clip of Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna went viral recently because he told a BBC News anchor that his “sense of hunger” came not from India (as the anchor suggested) but from New York. While the community kitchen in Amritsar never let him or his family go hungry, his early days in New York were challenging.

He had also worked with institutions that helped and fed the needy. He knew those kitchens would not run without dry rations. He used the power of Twitter to find where help was needed. He roped in big brands to provide support in exchange for ample social media coverage. The events were huge and one day his initiative fed half a million people across India. So far, the Feed India initiative has fed 13 million people.

Yes, it helped he is a celebrity. But he could empathize with the plight of the people he served, and he knew exactly what was needed (he also shared recipes to ensure the cooked food did not spoil easily). And he engaged with people and brands in a win-win quid pro quo.

Get to the root, scale up for maximum impact

It was during a webinar that I learnt more corporate tips about the business of charity from Shishir Joshi of Project Mumbai.

The first task is to understand the problem. Do not go by assumptions and presumptions. Get to the root. What is the beneficiary’s real issue? Once you know that, it is easier to think of a solution. Large gunny bags of grains are of no use to a person who has barely enough room to sleep.

Now that you know what the solution is, how can you scale up procurement and delivery to maximize impact? Who (persons or organizations) can act as a catalyst to achieve the most at minimum cost? Even serving a packet of bananas and biscuits can involve six to seven units to ensure something tasty and nutritious reaches the children where and when they need it most.

Try and convert a request for help into a partnership. Ask how help can be delivered. Who can be a volunteer or a donor? It was such a chain of conversation that resulted in the conversion of several vanity vans (in some Mumbai localities) into temporary toilets for the use of women cops on lockdown duty.

Never dilute the objective. When you deliver food to senior citizens who live alone, pause to ask questions if the door is opened by someone not so senior and there is a request for an increase in the number of food packets. Misplaced sympathy, even in isolated cases, can derail the entire project.

We all need to be nimble, responsible

We are all fighting to cope with an unprecedented situation. This is the time for all organizations (NGOs and corporate bodies) to come forward, barter ideas and resources, and step out to help.

Over a year ago, I made the point that CSR was good for both society and business. It is truer today than ever before. Without happy, healthy people to serve, no corporate entity can survive. It is everyone’s responsibility to serve society to survive and to bounce back. And the corporate citizen has the best tips to do it right.