ABSTRACT
The source of funds is as important for a non-governmental organization (NGO) as the volume of funds available. This chapter analyses the various sources of funds available to NGOs, and their pros and cons, in order to put foreign aid in perspective and to understand why it has assumed the importance it has in the NGO sector. Natural resource management, community development and livelihood support are less popular, while consumer rights, legal aid, literacy, human rights and old age care have few takers. While charity in India is still largely funded by indigenous funds, development funding by domestic private sources is taking time to mature in India. There are few authoritative statistics of the relative importance of the different sources for Indian NGOs. Anecdotal evidence suggests that for a large majority of non-profit organizations-informal movements and groupings, Self Help Groups, neighbourhood associations of all kinds and membership bodies — self-generated resources are indeed the main source of funds.
