Best places to set up your new NGO

Solutions to broad challenges often start with small actions, and when confronted with a social need or problem, one of the ways you may consider taking action is by starting your own nongovernmental organization. But launching an NGO is by no means an easy endeavor, and you’ll need more than good intentions to make it work. It’s a long journey requiring strong vision, thorough research and long-term commitment. If you’re already at the stage where you are thinking about establishing an NGO, chances are you already have a reasonable understanding of what you want to do and how you will do it. But before diving head first into the paperwork, it is crucial that you take the time to evaluate the environment you plan on operating in. Over the past few weeks, Devex talked to various NGO founders to find out the opportunities — but also challenges — associated with their choice of location, and some of the fundamentals you should take into consideration when deciding on where to set up shop. Big city versus smaller town Unsurprisingly, major cities such as Washington, D.C., New York or London are coveted for the proximity that they offer to policy influencers and decision-makers. Because of their centrality — located at large travel hubs — they also offer access to a highly qualified and international talent pool. “Washington is the perfect place for us,” Iain Guest told Devex. His organization, The Advocacy Project, is focused on helping marginalized communities and their advocates take action by providing them with the support of various fellows and experts. “We draw recruits for our fellowships from North America and Europe [and] we’re very close to six major universities with strong international relations, international development and peace and conflict studies programs,” he explained. However proximity to stakeholders doesn’t automatically translate into higher visibility. Competition both for advocacy space and funds is often fierce, which may even drive an organization into obsolescence. In 2003, campaigner Clint Borgen decided to set up his organization, the Borgen Project, in his native city of Seattle. Since then, his NGO — which works to bring political attention to global poverty — has evolved into one of the field’s leading advocates in the United States despite not being situated near Congress. “The Borgen Project operates at the advocacy and political level, so there’s always a temptation to relocate to Washington, D.C.,” Borgen noted. “But there’s also the risk of becoming one of just another countless organizations in the city. There’s something to be said about being the ‘home team’ in a city like Seattle.” Secondary cities also offer the non-negligible advantage of lower costs of living, even if there are some obvious challenges associated with their relative “remoteness.” “As a smaller city, New Haven [in Connecticut] is great because it offers cheaper cost of living, which can be attractive to people on nonprofit salaries,” Dean Karlan, founder of Innovations for Poverty Action, explained. “The downside is that it can be hard to recruit talent — both younger people who might want to live in a bigger city or established people with families.” George Srour, who established the headquarters of his organization Building Tomorrow in Indianapolis, Indiana, shares Karlan’s enthusiasm for smaller cities, but admits that there are a few drawbacks. “There are many advantages, especially the cost of doing business and being one of the few organizations with an international focus working out of the city,” he said. “At the same time, this possesses a challenge in creating more travel for our staff to the cities where the conversations we need to be part of are taking place.” Going local Another option is to set up your organization “in the field,” close to the communities you serve. In this setting, the loss of international visibility will likely be compensated by important gains in local legitimacy and efficiency. “Over time, we've found it increasingly important to have our long-term experienced staff in our 18 country offices in Latin America, Africa and Asia,” Karlan highlighted. “Having long-term local relationships with policymakers is the best way to get the latest knowledge to the people who can use it the most.” Further, by registering as a legal entity in the countries you are operating in, your organization can gain access to international funding channeled through local governments and partners. You may also become eligible for corporate social responsibility funds that are only authorized to finance local groups. Perhaps most importantly, your decision to start your NGO in the “global south” would demonstrate your commitment to local ownership — a principle that has gained significant momentum in recent years. More and more international organizations and donors are now making the strategic shift from direct implementation to working in partnership with local organizations. How to decide? At first, determining the location of your NGO may seem like an obvious choice. You might decide to get started in your hometown, where you can rely on the initial support of friends, neighbors, colleagues and local business owners. If your work will focus on advocacy and fundraising, you might choose to get started in large cities, close to the movers and shakers of global development. Or, if you plan to focus on service delivery to vulnerable communities, you might opt to set up your organization “in the field.” While none of these options are misguided, it might be useful to delve into a more thorough decision-making process when choosing the location of your NGO — notably because of the crucial role it is likely to play in the success of your enterprise. For one, location will affect your NGO’s access to funds, volunteers and qualified professionals. Getting an NGO off the ground requires many different kinds of support, and the local environment is likely to play an important role in your organization’s financial beginnings and longer-term sustainability. “It all comes down to resources and support systems in my opinion. When you have a fledgling organization that needs all the help that it can get to grow up and support itself, you go to the places where you know that can happen,” Srour told Devex. A valuable exercise to undertake at this stage is to identify the resources offered by various locations — the people, skills, expertise and relationships you can tap into — to carefully weigh the pros and cons of each place. Also, the potential interactions and strategic alliances offered by a specific location should be examined when deciding on where to get started. Take the time to study how similar organizations and other NGOs working in a specific location manage to raise funds and deliver their work. Sources of funding largely differ from place to place, and there is great variation in the aid channeling processes, partnerships arrangements and development approaches of governments, foundations, donor agencies, companies and organizations. Just as importantly, operational considerations such as administrative or office costs, should also be factored into your decision. “In terms of location, rent and overhead [are] important. The location has to be accessible but not too expensive, because rent can become a huge, huge item in the budget,” Guest underlined. All in all, choosing a location to launch your organization doesn’t only depend on the mandate of your organization. It’s also about weighing each context against desired outcomes. “As an economist, I’m tempted to think about it in terms of inputs and outputs — what are the ingredients you need to do your work (e.g. fundraising, good staff, etc.) and what are your outputs (e.g. information, work on the ground, policy change)?” Karlan concluded. Are there any other fundamental considerations one should take into account when deciding on the location of a new NGO? How important is the location of an NGO for its work and sustainability? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below or joining our discussion on LinkedIn. Check out more insights and analysis for global development leaders like you, and sign up as an Executive Member to receive the information you need for your organization to thrive.