Strengthening our foundation to quickly deliver higher quality aid
In recent years, NPOs/NGOs have been recognized as important agents in solving social issues, and the number of subsidies that support their work is increasing. Panasonic Corporation established such a support fund in 2001 and has been supporting NPOs/NGOs that are active in Japan and overseas ever since.
The philosophy behind the ‘Panasonic NPO / NGO Support Fund for SDGs’ is that their projects (cargo) will develop only if there is a solid organizational foundation (ship). They provide support to NPOs/NGOs to tackle global poverty in a sustainable manner by helping them strengthen their organizational foundation.
To deliver high quality aid promptly
This year, HOPE’s grant application for this Panasonic support fund was approved. We had three reasons for applying for this grant. The first is to reaffirm HOPE's vision and mission within the organization, the second is to improve the quality and speed of implementation of our projects to those in need, and the third is to improve our accountability to our supporters. For these purposes, we felt that an organizational analysis to strengthen our foundation was necessary.
As times change, so do the requirements
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become necessary to take on new challenges, such as shifting from in-person fundraising meetings and events to remote online venues. At about the same time, we celebrated HOPE's 20th anniversary and the new appointment of our current Executive Director. This seemed a good time to review the port (goal) where we aim to reach and the amount of cargo (project) that can be loaded on the ship, with the help of an expert to guide us at several milestones on our journey.
What we have been up to!
In January this year, we welcomed Masao Kawai, a consultant from Office Musubime who has catalyzed our organizational analysis. Once a month, we hold a workshop at our office in Nagoya to identify issues in our organization and discuss various matters such as determining the causes of the issues.
By looking at the organization from the eyes of an outsider, we noticed our strengths and areas needing improvements that we had never thought of before, and every workshop has been an eye-opening experience. In addition to the workshops, we had the opportunity to have meaningful discussions with all the staff, sharing each of our ideas, such as new discoveries, excitement, and what kind of organization we want to create.
Strengthening the foundation of the organization and creating goals
Sometimes, there are voices that question whether we should prioritize providing aid over strengthening the foundation of the organization.
Instead of thinking in terms of ‘providing aid vs. organizational improvement’, we would like to build an organization that can continue to provide aid and receive continued support from our partners by strengthening our organization.
