Alliance news issue 7, April 2007
A monthly update of Credibility Alliance
CREDIBILITY ALLIANCE IMPROVING GOVERNANCE BUILDING TRUST

This newsletter intends to be the voice of the sector and
we want our members to use this as an organ of communication with their stakeholder as well as Alliance.
Do send us information of programs/ events at your end and we can share it with other members of the Alliance.

We Welcome Our Newly Joined Members to Credibility Alliance- A Network of Voluntary Organizations in India to promote norms of good governance and public disclosure

Our New Members

All J &K Saffron Growers & Dealers Association, Jammu & Kashmir
UPAKARR, Orissa
Society For Promotion of Rural Technology
& Education, Orissa
SURAKSHA, Orissa
Centre For Rehabilitation Services
& Research (CRSR), Orissa
The NGOs Co-ordination Federation (J&K)
Ideal Development Agency (IDA), Orissa
PARIBARTAN, Orissa
Santhigram, Kerala
PRODIGALS HOME, Nagaland

Member’s Contribution

Stri Shakti , a grass root level voluntary organization and member of credibility Alliance is proud to share its sanction of three important projects by CAPART i.e. Rural Young Professional (RYP), Rural Sanitation Programme and Nodal NGO Scheme targeted to benefit 50 rural villages in Jharkhand. By getting these newly launched schemes by CAPART, Stri Shakti has proved its credibility in the national arena.

Rural Young Professional (RYP) schemes aims to train 100 rural youths (50 male and 50 female) in vocational and life skills and convert them as “Village Social Animator” and a “Resource Person” for the village to provide them information on government schemes like Employment Guarantee Scheme, RTI Act etc, liaison between panchayat and the people or to meet any other need of the project villages in Jharkhand.

The objective of Rural Sanitation scheme is to improve the quality of life of the rural people and especially to provide privacy and dignity to rural women by contructing low cost toilet for the villagers. It also aims at reducing water borne and sanitation related diseases.

The objective of nodal NGO scheme is to establish a resourceful network of development practitioners in each district and block so that voluntary organizations would be able to have dependable representatives in the grassroots.



Dear members!

Accountability and transparency encourages organizations for efficient, useful and ethical use of resources. Annual report is one such tool which can be very effective to an organization to talk about its work and bring transparency and accountability in its reporting system. As a member of Credibility Alliance and practitioners of Credibility Alliance norms of good governance here are few guidelines as suggested by Murray Culshaw Consultancy (MCC) and as pointed by CA Norms to make your annual report more appreciable.

Enhancing accountability and transparency through Annual Reporting
  1. Decide on the content and a well planned layout design with proper placement of photograph, graphics or charts.
  2. Highlight your achievements – it is important to remember that your annual report is your achievement report and not an activity report.
  3. To consider that an achievement is verifiable and shows the impact of your work on people’s lives or their environment.
  4. A good cover page – preferably with a strong photograph or concept
  5. Incorporate stories of change, photographs and quotations from visitors, volunteers, staff, donors and beneficiaries.
  6. Include reader friendly financial information – an Abridged Balance Sheet and Income & Expenditure Account as suggested by the Alliance
  7. As your declared intention to adhere to the norms of good governance you can also demonstrate it in your annual report under separate head of  Adherence to credibility Alliance Norms
  8. Include information on the Board member’s names, position in the Board, remuneration or reimbursement, objectives and description of main activities, a review of the progress and results achieved in the year.
  9. Distribution of staff, according to salary levels and gender break-up in suitable framework provided by the Alliance
  10. An Appeal to reinforce the point that organization is looking for funds, a statement of thanks to donors and an invitation to visit the organization.
  11. Identify a good printer, ask for quotes and get your annual report sponsored.
As a credible voluntary organization it is also important that annual report is distributed and communicated to the community and others within eight months of the end of it’s financial year.

So with your coming annual report ….
Communicate Effectively ……. Raise Funds………Enhance Accountability and Transparency
BENEFITS OF CREDIBILITY ALLIANCE MEMBERSHIP
  1. Recognition as being committed to a set of norms that ensures accountability, good governance and transparency within their organization.
  2. Access to capacity-building support to meet the requirements specified in the norms.
  3. Free services rendered by the Alliance, such as listing your organization in the ‘Organizational Profile’ on the Alliance’s website. 
  4. Concession in accreditation fees, when it commences.
  5. Prospects of attracting greater financial and other forms of support, from different stakeholders, including the government and other donors.
  6. Opportunities to influence the policies and procedures of grant-making agencies including the government.
  7. Networking opportunities within a large membership base.
  8. A sense of belonging in broad and collective efforts to bring greater credibility to the sector as a whole.
LETS JOIN HANDS TO MAKE A POSITIVE CHANGE FOR A WELL GOVERNED AND TRUSTWORTHY VOLUNTARY SECTOR IN INDIA !
Click here to download membership form

Campaign Against Anti-Democratic FCR Bill 2006
Voluntary Action Network India (VANI) has initiated a national level campaign to raise voices against the Anti-Democratic FCR Bill 2006.The proposed changes in the Bill would lead us to work under the pressure of government officers and ruling political parties and leaders, which may a cause of barrier not only to our work and the organization but the overall democratic development of the country.To join the movement write to vani.maharashtra@gmail.com


Voluntary sector across the globe….

 


March 2007: The Month in Review

Promotional workshop in Haryana

Credibility Alliance and The Sehgal Foundation organized a promotional workshop for 25 voluntary organizations in Gurgaon, Haryana to discuss the issue of accountability, transparency and good governance within the voluntary sector. Norms of good governance developed by Credibility Alliance in consultation with thousands of NGOs across the country were discussed in detail. The organizations accepted that there is a need for self regulatory mechanism within the sector. Credibility Alliance norms of good governance would certainly help in enhancing the credibility of the voluntary sector. Organizations were encouraged to follow the norms and join the Alliance for this noble initiative. We are thankful to The Sehgal Foundation and especially Mr. Jay Sehgal for his support in promoting the concept of Good Governance in Haryana.

Jharkhand State committee meeting

Seventeen Members of Jharkhand state met on March 10th 2007 at Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra (NBJK), Ranchi to give a formal structure to Jharkhand State Chapter of Credibility Alliance. A state committee was formed and office bearers were selected as
Mr. Satish Girija – Convener
Mr. Shyam Kumar Bharti – Secretary
Mr. Amiyo Choudhary – Treasurer
In the meeting Treasurer Mr. Amiyo Choudhary promised to contribute Rs.1000/- per annum towards expenditure of local activities of eastern region. Members of the state committee prioritized “membership drive” and “enrichment series- a capacity building initiative” as their core focus for the year 2007. NBJK, Ranchi was identified as the Nodal Agency for the state. Next meeting is proposed to be held on June 11th 2007.

Credibility Alliance invited to represent Voluntary sector at Orissa Task Force Meeting

Government of Orissa, in August 2006, constituted a ‘Task Force’ to examine concerns/issues related to the voluntary sector and suggest measures to strengthen civic engagement for Government – NGO partnership. Seven NGOs were invited to be part of the committee and present their views as a representative of voluntary sector. Credibility Alliance is one of them. On March 19th Credibility Alliance attended the meeting and elaborated Credibility Alliance norms of good governance for the voluntary sector in India. It was well appreciated and would certainly help Govt of Orissa in strengthening Government-NGO partnership.

Upcoming events

Promotional Workshop with Christian Blind Mission (CBM) Partners, 12th April 2007
Training of assessors with YASHADA Pune, 17th April 2007
Promotional meeting in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, 24th April 2007
Questions / comments/ contributions?
Credibility Alliance is a registered organization under Societies Registration Act (XXI) of 1860. As an independent, voluntary (not for profit) organization, we aim at building trust among the stakeholders of an organization such as staff, the Board, donors, volunteers, the general public and the media. We do this by advocating norms for public disclosure and good governance that will help organizations become more transparent and accountable to their stakeholders. The draft of our norms was published in 2003 in English and later translated into six other languages - Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. More than 15000 copies of this booklet have been distributed.
To know more about us please write at:
Credibility Alliance 3rd Floor, West Khetwadi Municipal School, Lane# 5, Back Road Khetwadi, Mumbai -400004. Ph: 022-23894046/47
Visit us at: www.credall.org.in