Saturday, July 29, 2017

An Exploration Of Jamaican Non Profit Organizations

By Ronald Roberts


In a world seemingly dominated by businesses whose prime goal is to generate large amounts of income, a set of little known groups are making a difference. These groups exist to serve the needs of others rather than to amass wealth. They do not focus on generating income, making sales or performing well on stock markets around the world. They focus on helping people. Jamaican non profit organizations are part of this category of entities.

Many of the charitable entities in Jamaica have their roots in other countries. This is as a direct result of their affiliation with international bodies. This sort of affiliation supports the reputation of the local body by increasing its credibility. As a result, the movement of resources into the island is easier since globally based groups tend to have existing memorandums of understanding with developing countries like Jamaica.

International charity entities such as Food For the Poor and the Salvation Army all have branches in the Caribbean island. The local bodies perform in accordance with the operational standards of their international heads and this helps to boost their credibility. Many of them have board members who are appointed by the parent body in consultation with the government of the island.

Jamaica also has charitable entities that were founded on the island. This means that their headquarters would be on the island. Many of them are established by Jamaicans who recognize one or more needs and decide to act on them. They are then able to garner support from local and international partners.

Quite a few of the profit based entities have non profit arms. These bodies are labelled as foundations of their parent group and serve as outlets for charitable outreach. In creating these charity arms, businesses get to establish their reputations as good corporate citizens. The businesses that tend to create charity based departments operate in the banking, tourism and telecommunications sectors.

Non Profit organizations provide assistance to Jamaicans, and sometimes people in other countries. This assistance falls in one or more categories such as health, housing and education. They feed clothe and shelter the needy, acquire well needed equipment for hospitals and create helpful sporting resources for communities, especially under-served inner city ones. Some of them provide equipment for schools and offer tuition scholarships for students who are in need.

Both locally and internationally based charity entities raise funds to support their causes. These fundraiser tend to come in the form of 5 and 10k races, charity dinners and concerts as well as donation drives. During these events, regular Jamaicans, the political directorate, the business community and the international community are called on to offer what they can in aid of the outreach efforts of the charities.

The contributions of these entities play a significant role in easing the suffering of millions of people in Jamaica and the world. Without their contribution, more people would be excluded from the services provided in schools and hospitals and fewer people would be rescued from hunger and homelessness. They fill the void that is left when governments of third world countries such as Jamaica are unable to adequately meet the needs of the people.




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