Welcome to the August 2007 issue of our newsletter. August will see us busy with organizing State Committee meetings in different parts of the country. Strengthening State Committees is an important component of Credibility Alliance’s work. We are proud to announce that we have been able to form 19 State Committees. In this issue we would like to tell you more about the concept of State Committee and present the schedule of State Committee meetings.
Why have State Committees been formed?
Credibility Alliance member organizations of a state elect a committee to administer the affairs of the Alliance in that state. This will ensure a decentralized functioning of the Alliance as well as ensure participation of small organizations which may not be able to participate in the activities of a Mumbai centered organization. We believe that the success of Credibility Alliance depends upon to a large extent on the strengthening of State Committees.

What is the structure of a State Committee?

1. A State Committee should comprise of member organizations.  The State Committee is formed of zonal coordinators (representatives) from different zones (a zone is formed of cluster of districts or blocks) of the state.
2. The Zonal Committee is formed of members of that particular zone who elect a representative to represent the zone in the state committee.
3. The Zonal Coordinator represents his/her particular zone in the State Committee meeting.
4. The committee should have three office bearers. A) Chairperson, B) Secretary and C) Treasurer.
5. The representative of State Committee will elect/nominate the three office bearers.
6. The Chairperson will represent the state in the Annual General Body Meeting. In his absence secretary will perform his role.

1. Elect a representative to represent the state at the Annual General Body Meeting.
2. Meet as frequently and at as many places in the state to discuss / resolve issues.
3. Promote Membership
4. Enroll endorsement for the CA Process – Eminent People, Funding Agencies and Business Entities (Corporate Social Responsibility)
5. Training interventions to enable member organizations to meet Norms.
6. Fundraising
7. Screen and approve membership applications
8. Investigate Complaints  
9. Liaison and advocacy with State Government and Media.
   
   


Schedule for State Committee meetings in August

East Zone	Bihar	29 August
	Jharkand	6 August
	Orissa	10 August
Central Zone	Madhya Pradesh	29 August
	Chattisgarh	26 August
North Zone	Himachal Pradesh	17 August
	Jammu and Kashmir	9 August
	Punjab	19 August
South Zone	Andhra Pradesh	30 August
	Karnataka	31 August

We acknowledge and appreciate the time and effort put in by State Committee members to strengthen Credibility Alliance’s initiative to promote norms of good governance and public disclosure. We are looking forward to active participation by members of the State Committee in the August meetings.  

July 2007: The month in review

Promotional meeting in Trivandrum, Kerala
A promotional meeting was held on 11 July in Trivandrum by an NGO network in Kerala called Karma. The South Regional Co-ordinator, Mr. Praveen made a presentation on Credibility Alliance norms and NGO accreditation during this meeting. The participants showed an interest to become members of Credibility Alliance. South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) has taken the responsibility to circulate the membership forms among Karma members.

 Promotional meetings held in Orissa
In the month of July, two promotional meetings were held in Orissa.

1. Promotional meeting at Berhampur- On 8 July a promotional meting was held at Berhampur. Representatives from 8 organizations participated in this meeting. The meeting was hosted by Citizens Association for Rural Development (CARD). In this meeting Credibility Alliance representative made a presentation on norms and accreditation. The participants showed a keen interest in Enrichment series and in becoming members of the Ganjam District Zonal Committee.
2. Promotional meeting at Tikaballi, Ganjam District: On 9th July a promotional meeting was held at Tikaballi. Representatives from 19 organizations participated in this meeting. The meeting was hosted by the Organization for Rural Reconstruction and Integrated Social Service Activities. In this meeting Credibility Alliance representative made a presentation on norms and accreditation. Credibility Alliance’s work in Orissa was also shared with the participants.

West Bengal State Committee meeting
West Bengal State Committee meeting was held on 23 July. 12 members were present for this meeting. The main highlights of this meeting was planning the annual activity schedule, discussion on a new State Committee model, membership drive, planning for the next State Committee meeting, follow up with head office regarding opening a local bank account for the West Bengal State Committee, circulation of the latest model of accreditation and encouraging members to apply for accreditation in the present pilot project.

 Pre-pilot accreditation project
Credibility Alliance along with Give India completed pre-pilot accreditation to field test the norms for accreditation. This project covered 8 organizations (6 from Mumbai and 2 from Pune). The reports are ready to be reviewed by Central Accreditation Committee. The first meeting of this Committee is scheduled for August 18, 2007.

 Draft Document on Programme Norms
The Norms Development Committee has generated the Draft Document on Programme Norms. This document is being circulated to all members of the Alliance to seek feedback, comments and critical engagement. The Programme Norms will also be discussed in the State Committee meetings in August and September.

Questions / comments/ contributions? Please write to us at camumbai07@gmail.com

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.