[Chapter-delegates] Recent Correspondence from the Cambodian Chapter

[Eduard Tric]

I subscribe to this piece of estonian wisdom.
We also strongly support direct chapter funding.
It will allow a wise distribution between leadership and management for each chapter.
The role of a chapter leader is to provide leadership , not to do paperwork.
Nobody likes to do paperwork , unless it is a paid task.
The problem in the relationship Isoc-chapters  is the guvernance structure (who is in charge of this decision , do chapters vote for direct funding , ammount .. ).
Regards,
Ed

----- Mesaj original -----
De la: "Elver Loho" <elver.loho at gmail.com>
Către: ndonnang at nvconsulting.biz
cc: "ISOC Chapter Delegates" <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
Trimis: duminică, 29 septembrie, 2013 10:59:28
Subiect: Re: [Chapter-delegates] Recent Correspondence from the Cambodian	Chapter



On 27 September 2013 16:05, Victor Ndonnang < ndonnang at nvconsulting.biz > wrote: 








+1 Ted, 



I’m following with great attention this discussion initiated by the Cambodian Chapter intention to leave the Internet society Great family which lead to the old debate about ISOC’s direct financial support to Chapters. Before I continue, I would like to clearly express my opposition to that. For me, It is important and better for ISOC HQ to empower Chapters rather than giving them money. Chapters are not “national bureau” of the Internet Society. ISOC Chapters and ISOC Global are partners who share the same vision and the mission. The direct financial support to Chapters for their administrative and running costs will make the Chapters useless, dependent and non-sustainable. If we put in place the systematic direct financial support from ISOC HQ to Chapters, we will see many useless Chapters flourish around the world only to benefit to that direct financial support. 



The belonging to the ISOC great family comes with advantages but also responsibilities. The Internet Society is already supporting and empowering Chapters in many ways: 

- The community Grants programme gives priority to Chapters projects 

- The Event funding programme which helps to keep the Chapter active each year 

- The Web presence support 

- The travel support 

- Capacities Building and Leadership Program 

- International Handbook for Chapters 

- Management Tools 

- Etc . You can read more on : http://www.internetsociety.org/who-we-are/chapters/lead 

All those programs are ways of “indirect” financial support of ISOC to Chapters. Many will say it is not enough, but for me It is enough! Chapters should search for others sources of funding locally and International using the prestige and add-value of been part of ISOC. Chapters should think to create recurrent activities that can generate revenues and help them be independent financially and of course sustainable. I know Chapters are non-profit organization or group, but been non-profit do not means that we cannot generate revenues or sell our expertise (gained from ISOC and others Chapters) and services locally. For example, when we organize trainings, we can ask participants for small participation fees and this can help us overcome our administrative and running costs. But we can only do this in a sustainable way when we are registered as a legal entity in our respective country. 


The problem with all of these measures you have enumerated above is that they require someone to actually sit down, type out applications, organize the people, create a structure for them to work in, and so forth. The problem with most NGOs and, I suspect, with most Chapters is NOT that there aren't any sources of funding available. The problem with most NGOs and, I suspect, with most Chapters is that there isn't money to keep even a single person on the payroll whose job it is to get that funding for all the projects. To actually run things and organize. 


We can have all the meetings we want and we can decide whatever, but at some point someone actually needs to sit down and get things done. 


This might sound like hyperbole, but steady funding from ISOC HQ to keep one person on the payroll to run things would very likely be *more* valuable than having access to five times more money as community grants or travel support or event funding or whatever. There's a huge amount of money available in all sorts of grants programs all over the world. The problem isn't lack of project-based money. The problem is lack of money for administrative and organizational tasks. You're all talking about lack of funding, but you seem to be missing the most important aspect: the kind of funding that's actually needed. 


Here in Estonia there's a ton of project-based money available, but almost zero administrative funding. As a result there are NGOs where people apply for funding everywhere and do all sorts of crazy and ineffective and useless projects, which look good on paper, but are a waste of time. Why? Because from each project they can extract the 20% administrative overhead funding. And from that maybe a quarter is used for things that actually need to get done. For things, which are truly important. Which no funding committee really knows about or understands. Essentially of project-based funds 5% is used to do important things while 95% is wasted on ineffective and useless [insert your favorite cussword]. 


Here in Estonia we could get money for doing conferences on internet-related topics. We could get money for publishing. We could get money to do media projects and online education. We might even get money for doing some cool and innovative web service, which nobody will use. Lots of funding available for all of that. And it's all fairly ineffective and the results are hard to measure beyond "we did X". So what is it that really needs to get done? In one word: lobbying. Analysing pending legislation, going to meetings, talking to politicians and civil servants. That's where the problems are, that's where you get actual measurable results. Is there money for this? Nope. Zero. No money whatsoever. 


So in essence the problems are the following: 


1. You are funding the wrong things. If you want the world to change for the better, then ISOC Chapters around the world need to be effective at lobbying their governments to adopt all the fine principles for which we joined ISOC in the first place. If we aren't even capable of that, then why are we even here? 


2. You are funding things in the wrong way. There is no shortage whatsoever of project-based funding in the world. The way you get such funding is by keeping someone on the payroll who can get it. That payroll requirement creates a barrier of entry, which most Chapters are unable to get over. So they languish. And nothing gets done. And people get angry and threaten to dissolve their Chapters. 


We've had this discussion before. The problem is that as Chapter leaders we are working on a voluntary basis (most of us, anyway), and we need to get things done locally and in our workplace and so forth. We are busy and we don't get paid to argue on this mailing list. So if we say that we have a funding problem, then we get a nicely worded reply from the ISOC HQ. And then we complain a bit more, and we get another nicely worded reply from the ISOC HQ. Maybe a meeting happens at the HQ and maybe someone proposes that someone look into it and maybe even a committee is formed, or a working group, where ideas go to silently die. And since we all, as Chapter leaders, have more important things to do, we give up. We understand that it's an uphill battle trying to argue with people who get paid to argue. I've seen it way too many times trying to convince a politician to do the right thing -- he or she gets paid and can run you around in circles all day long while you gotta worry about where your next paycheck comes from. 


The Cambodian Chapter figured out how to turn the tables. By threatening dissolution of their Chapter, they don't have to fight anymore. Now it's the ISOC HQ that needs to find a solution and needs to do it quickly. Maybe we all need to join the Cambodians out of solidarity. After all, administrative funding is an issue for most of us, if not all. 




Best, 
Elver 
.ee 












Let come back to issue which brings this discussion live: Making ISOC Cambodia Chapter a legal entity in Cambodia. 

I know how It is difficult to establish a non-profit organization in many countries, especially in developing countries. When I started the “re-formation” process of ISOC Cameroon Chapter, I made that goal my N°1 priority and which the help (time and money) of others founding members, we achieved it. We had the choice at that time to legalize the Cameroon Chapter as a NGO or Association. The process to become an NGO was too complicated, so we choice to be registered as an Association (a sort of small NGO). This is very important because Chapters can only be respected locally and interact freely with government, private sector and other groups when they are registered as a legal entity by the local administrative authorities. 

Based on that experience, I suggest to our Cambodia Chapter colleagues to explore all alternatives of legal recognition in their country. Be registered as a NGO is not the only way to become a legal non-profit organization or entity, I hope this is true in Cambodia too. 



When the Chapter is registered as a legal entity (NGO, Association…) in its respective country, it can easily search or apply to local funding opportunities (government grants, big national corporates grants…). The formation an ISOC Chapter is a process and Chapter founding members are aware during the process that ISOC HQ will not be the only source of funding for the Chapter (that’s why there is a mention about “Chapter supporters” in the application form and means of funding the draft By-Laws). Let’s search for others sources of funding and thanks the ISOC HQ for all It is already offering us rather than fighting for something which will make us useless. 



Sorry for the long email. 

Best regards, 

Victor Ndonnang 







De : chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org [mailto: chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org ] De la part de Ted Mooney 
Envoyé : jeudi 26 septembre 2013 17:10 
À : ISOC Chapter Delegates 
Objet : Re: [Chapter-delegates] Recent Correspondence from the Cambodian Chapter