Top 10 NGO’s from the 100 Best List 2012 by The Global Journal

Miratel’s core competence has always been fundraising services and that also translates through our blog where related industry news and tips are a main focus. We have tended to shy away from organizational rankings because there are so many variables to consider it’s difficult to create an apples to apples situation with them because no two are truly alike. Plus it’s difficult to explain how an NGO (non-governmental organization differs from an NPO (nonprofit organization). According to DifferenceBetween.net, “To summarize, the differences between a non-profit organization and NGOs are:

1. The NGO is a non-governmental organization. Its funds are raised by the government, but it maintains a non-governmental position, with no need for a government council. They are also known as civil society organizations.
2. A non-profit organization uses its extra funds for the purpose of the organization, rather than dividing it between the shareholders and the owners of the organization. Examples of NPOs are public arts organizations, trade unions and charitable organizations.”

There is much more to the definition of NGO’s and NPO’s and you can read the full entry at DifferenceBetween.net or Wikipedia also defines a nonprofit organization and a non-governmental organization individually as well.

The 100 Best NGO’s 2012 ranking is the first of its kind and was put together by The Global Journal [TGJ] using a methodology that acknowledged the difficulty in lists of this nature: “While we devised a specific set of metrics to guide our choices – including impact, innovation, transparency, accountability and efficiency – there is no science in the measuring. How does one – after all – compare the fundamental societal impact of an organization like the Wikimedia Foundation, with the tangible outputs of a well oiled humanitarian machine?” Very true.

The top 10 from the 100 Best NGO’s 2012 as determined by The Global Journal include:

• 10. Ushahidi, which is Swahili for ‘testimony’ or ‘witness’ was founded in 2007 in Nairobi. “From providing real-time mapping to assist first responders during the Haitian post-earthquake relief effort in 2010, to contributing to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ ‘Standby Volunteer Task Force’ for Libya, Ushahidi has changed the face of how crucial information concerning conditions on the ground can be collected, analyzed and disseminated at high speed to relief workers.”
• 9. Danish Refugee Council, since 1956 they have been helping refugees. In fact, for the past five decades they have been the world leader in “collaborative humanitarian efforts.” The Danish Refugee Council has aided over one million people in its history and works under the mission that “No displaced person must be without help when it comes to finding protection and durable solutions.”
• 8. Médecins Sans Frontières was founded in Paris, France in 1971 and “is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion and natural or man-made disasters.” The group is at the forefront of the “without boarders” movement and has been in operation for forty years.
• 7. CARE International, started out by sending care packages – they actually coined the term – with food and other necessities to people in need in post World War II Europe. Today, their focus has shifted as they now help “over 12,000 people across 87 countries” fight global poverty.
• 6. PATH, which stands for Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, work with the private and public sectors to help with “advancing technologies to address global health challenges.”
• 5. International Rescue Committee “responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives.” The organization is at “work in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities to restore safety, dignity and hope…”
• 4. BRAC, formerly known as Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, “is a development organisation dedicated to alleviating poverty by empowering the poor to bring about change in their own lives.” BRAC began in 1972 and has established itself as “a pioneer in recognising and tackling the many different realities of poverty.”
• 3. Oxfam “is an international confederation of 17 organizations networked together in 92 countries, as part of a global movement for change, to build a future free from the injustice of poverty.” The well-known organization works to help eliminate global poverty with long-term and sustainable solutions.
• 2. Partners In Health take a holistic approach to fighting infectious disease globally and “At its root, our mission is both medical and moral. It is based on solidarity, rather than charity alone.”
• 1. Wikimedia Foundation is “dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribution of free, multilingual content, and to providing the full content of these wiki-based projects to the public free of charge. The Wikimedia Foundation operates some of the largest collaboratively edited reference projects in the world, including Wikipedia, a top-ten internet property.”

As you can see there are a myriad of NGO’s in the world trying their best to make the planet a better and safer place in many different ways and this list illustrates they are thriving in the current global climate. What separates an NGO from an NPO can still be a little confusing. If anyone can help with explaining the division, please share in the comments.

<< UPDATE: READ OUR POST ON THE 10 TOP NGO’S FROM THE 2013 REPORT >> 
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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.