"Self esteem"
We always read
"Instead of Giving a fish to a man to eat,
teach a man how to fish".

Giving fish till you teach the person how to fish is mnytimes required. But it should have time limit. Else, its is lifetime giving., which is not right.

Read more about the concept of NGO Shopping Mall and how it can help NGOs as well as Marketing departments of corporates.

Benefits
1) It helps communities to earn their living, rather than depend on others.

2) In case the NGO funding is reduced like in covid case, then the funding support is reduced for some time. So the NGOs should have money left to serve community for at least a year, without finances from others. Else community support which is the focus of NGOs reduces.

3) It gives donors like funding agencies, an opportunity to exit yout NGO to help other NGOs in other locations or same location. (Because donors may have time limit of supporting a particular NGO for 3 years or 5 years or 10 years, not lifetime funding).


4) It helps corporate marketing teams to reach to communities like slums or villages or group of hostels for disabled or senior citizens because for these people, NGO is taking care like parents.

For premium brands, this may not be a right audience.

Infact, corporates can have separate low cost products for communities (maybe be medium quality or less volume like instead of 250 gms, it can be 100 gmes, so the price is reduced or reduced size in case of soaps ... or instead of high quality packing, it may be low quality packing or can be whole sale say 100 Kg instead of 100 packes of 1 Kg ...

Its not bad quality. It can be medium quality or corporates investment in advertising is less.

It helps corporates, NGOs, consumers.

And NGOs which can share services can find corporates a good market. Its not "saling services" but "offering services at low cost"

NGOs may not give you quality products. But they help communities by selling the products they make.

Its inward help not outward help.

Its emotional as well as practical decision and we will not say buy all the products all the time from NGOs

But manytimes, quality of products made by communities can be higher like crafts by tribes or lower than what corporate machines and employees make like makeup.

Of course, NGOs can sell products made by corporates to their communities as selling agents.

Typically in areas where its not economical for corporates to reach out like villages, slums or with groups like disabled or orphans or senior citizens

After studying Corporates & NGOs across the world and going through the Corona related sustainability & responsibility issues related to NGOs, we thought NGOs must think beyond helping communities.

They must earn and be sustainable.

Not earn and be rich but earn and be sustainable to help communities without at least a year of "No funding availability".

Its time NGOs market the products communities make or services they offer to corporates & people at large. This gives income to disabled, orphans, widows and of course great local artists and tribals, self help groups .. earn income.

On the other side, NGOs can market products made by corporates to communities as Mini Shopping Mall and earn income which is good for their sustainability.

CSRidentity.com is social enterprise
Our first social enterprise on NGOs in India was in 1999 with shareholding from Mahindra Group & Bobby Sista.

Founder had an almost fatal accident on 28.08.2013 where sustainability of his organisation was a big question. But right from school friends, MBA friends, corporates, philanthropists ... all helped in financial as well as emotional terms and his father Bhau was the first person to postpone his death, maybe because Bhau thought that founder has not served the community enough to exit world.

And his elder son Rohan, is his 24 hour example because he is disabled and cant do anything on his own, but NGO came forward on 28.08.2013

Aum, his other son is a medical doctor and he finished his MBBS during corona crisis, and he donated all his first intership income to get masks to hospital staff and enunches and helped corona affected community during intership.

Rohini, his wife is a Yog instructor which helps people live meaningful life and not live life till they leave the world.

So charity begins at home is right.
But the bigger thing is charitable nature should go beyond biological field. And serving world is not possible to any one individual or organisation. So founder, who did engineering and MBA decided to become Driver. Sometimes Brand Driver, sometimes helping unknown brands grow to become brands and leave once they become brands to help others become brands.