Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) need to acquire donor funding to carry out projects. In the past, NGOs used to be progressive agents for social change. Nowadays, they are described as part of...Show moreNongovernmental organizations (NGOs) need to acquire donor funding to carry out projects. In the past, NGOs used to be progressive agents for social change. Nowadays, they are described as part of the development machine. The dependency of NGOs on donors and the competition between NGOs are both increasing. Donors also expect more reports from NGOs on projects. Altogether, the challenge for NGOs to get funding is increasing. At least, that is what the existing academic literature states. This research will examine these challenges for NGOs in the relation with donors for funding. It will answer the following research question: ‘What do Dutch NGOs see as the biggest challenge in the funding system with donors?’ The research will focus on the level of accountability, competition between NGOs for donor funding and dependency on donor funding. To answer the research question, a qualitative case study approach on Dutch NGOs was chosen. Semi-structured interviews with employees from Dutch NGOs were scheduled to gather data. This data explains how the three factors are perceived by the employees from Dutch NGOs and if this accords to the existing literature. The findings showed that the respondents from the NGOs did not unanimously express one of these three factors as burdensome. However, the respondents from the NGOs did express that the bureaucratic element in accountability is considered as the most challenging. Especially smaller NGOs (NGOs with less than 100 employees) experience the demanding reports as problematic. It increases the workload, which limits implementation time of the projects.Show less
