By Elisa Peter Until recently, branding was a dirty word in many nonprofit organizations. Not anymore. Branding used to conjure up images of profit-driven marketing executives sitting in high-rise offices of the likes of Coca-Cola and MacDonald’s. The few nonprofits that adopted branding early on were suspected by others to compromise their ethical values and [...]

By Steven Lawry and Elisa Peter The trial of 43 people including 16 Americans on criminal charges of working in nonregistered nonprofit organizations and receiving foreign funding began on February 26 in Cairo. The charges against the NGO workers, including 16 Americans, has ignited a deep crisis in US-Egyptian relations, including threats from members of [...]

By Elisa Peter In a time when NGO leaders are increasingly looking at engaging with grassroots movements, it is crucial that they spend the time necessary to build relationships based on mutual trust, respect and understanding. This is particularly important when engaging with indigenous peoples movements. “’Red-washing’ is not uncommon”, says Carol Kalafatic, Associate Director [...]

By Elisa Peter The women are sitting in a circle on the ground under a tree. They were brought together by an international development NGO. An NGO staffer is facilitating the discussion and drawing lines on a large sheet of paper. This could be in Bangladesh, Mali or Peru. All of us working in international development [...]

By Elisa Peter On September 17, former carpenter Robert Daros arrived at the New York Stock Exchange from Florida to participate in the occupation of Wall Street. Since that day, several thousands of people have joined a growing protest movement based on non-violent civil disobedience, which has spread to all major U.S. cities and to [...]

By Elisa Peter International NGOs are the verge of facing irrelevance, if not extinction. This is one of the main messages of CIVICUS’ latest report, which warns that many well-established non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become disconnected from people’s aspirations and concerns.  The report argues that citizens are increasingly coming together in new and informal forms [...]

By Elisa Peter This week, government delegates are discussing international policy options to address climate change at a meeting in Panama ahead of UNFCC COP16 in South Africa later this year. Many NGOs are participating in the meeting, advocating for legally binding commitments by governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.   Today, the Massachusetts [...]