What is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)?

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is generally considered to be any non-state, nonprofit, voluntary organization. As a non-state entitity, an NGO is generally independent from government influence—it is not a part of or controlled by government or an intergovernmental agency. As such, an NGO is either not established by a government, or intergovernmental agreement, or, if established in such a manner, is now independent of such influence. As a nonprofit organization, an NGO is not operated for the primary purpose of carrying on a trade or business, although profits may be generated for the mission of the organization. A more accurate term may be nonprofit distributing, in that any surplus that is generated is to be used solely to help the organization fulfill its mission and objectives and no part of the net earnings of the NGO is to be distributed to the benefit of the directors, officers, members, or employees of the NGO, or any private persons, other than reasonable compensation for services rendered. As a voluntary organization, an NGO is not required to exist by law, but is formed by private initiative, resulting from voluntary actions of individuals.

The term NGO originally had a more specific meaning. The term originated in the UN Charter, with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) defining the term as "any international organization which is not established by inter-governmental agreement" (US ESCOR, ESC Res 288B, 10th Session, Suppl o. 1. 1950). Ripinsky and van den Bossche (2007) also note that the term was originally intended only to refer to those organizations with consultative status with ECOSOC. However, this original meaning whereby the term NGOs meant international non-State organizations affiliated with the United Nations expanded over time to include NGOs that did not have UN consultative status and were not necessarily international in organization or focus.

“non-state, non-profit orientated groups who pursue purposes of public interest”, excluding the private sector (Schmidt and Take 1997). One of the most widely used definitions is given by Operational Directive 14.70 of the World Bank: “private organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development” (World Bank 2001). More broadly, the term is applicable to any non-profit organization (NPO) that is not affiliated with government. According to the World Bank, NGOs are “value-based organizations which depend, in whole or in part, on charitable donations and voluntary service,” and in which “principles of altruism and voluntarism remain key defining characteristics”. The World Bank differentiates two main categories of NGOs with which it interacts:

Operational NGOs, the primary purpose of which is the design and implementation of development-related projects, and Advocacy NGOs, the primary purpose of which is to defend or promote a specific cause, and influence the policies and practices of international organizations. Operational NGOs are further classified as: a) national organizations, which operate in individual developing countries; b) international organizations, which are typically headquartered in developed countries and carry out operations in developing countries; and c) community-based organizations (CBOs), which serve a specific population in a narrow geographical area. CBOs, also referred to as grassroots organizations or peoples’ organizations, differ from other NGOs in both nature and purpose: while national and international organizations are seen as “intermediary” NGOs that are formed to serve others, CBOs are usually “membership” organizations whose purpose is to advance the interests of their members. Examples include women’s groups, credit circles, youth clubs, cooperatives and farmers’ associations.

Alternative terms used to refer to NGOs include private voluntary organizations (used especially in the United States) and voluntary development organizations (a term favored by many African NGOs).

Note: NGOs are not legal entities under international law the way states are. An exception is the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is considered a legal entity under international law because it is based on the Geneva Convention.