Can stakeholder dialogues help solve financial access restrictions faced by non-profit organizations that stem from countering terrorism financing standards and international sanctions?

Author(s):  
Lia van Broekhoven ◽  
Sangeeta Goswami

Abstract Counterterrorism architecture has grown exponentially in the last two decades, with counterterrorism measures impacting humanitarian, development, peacebuilding and human rights action across the world. Addressing and mitigating the impact of these measures take various forms in different contexts, local and global. This article will address one particular form of engagement and redressal – that of the multi-stakeholder dialogue process – to deal with the unintended consequences for civil society of countering the financing of terrorism rules and regulations. The impact is seen in the difficulties that non-profit organizations face across the world in terms of financial access. Involving civil society, banks, government, financial intelligence, regulators, supervisors and banking associations, among others, in a dialogue process with clearly defined objectives is considered by policymakers and civil society to be the most appropriate and effective form of engagement for dealing with and overcoming this particular set of challenges. Multiple examples are provided of ongoing initiatives, with the nuances of each drawn out for a closer look at the conditions needed to sustain such dialogue, and an examination of whether such stakeholder dialogue processes are fit for purpose for solving the seemingly intractable problem at hand.

REGIONOLOGY ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 156-173
Author(s):  
Olga L. Panchenko

Introduction. The article considers the non-profit sector as an important agent of the emerging civil society in modern Russia. It plays an important role in the social space of civil society, since it is based on the activity of the citizens being actors themselves. The purpose of the study is to scrutinize the impact of social capital on the development of civil society in the regional context. Materials and Methods. The object of the research is the practices of providing social services to the population by socially oriented non-profit organizations. The study employed the following qualitative and quantitative methods: focus group and mass survey of social service recipients. Results. The article has identified the features of social capital in the non-governmental sector in the field of providing social services; the main feature is “the level of trust”, expressed through the intentions and actions of citizens receiving social services in relation to socially oriented non-profit organizations. The research has revealed that there is confidence in the activities of socially oriented non-profit organizations at the micro level of the society: recipients of social services are satisfied with the quality of the services provided and are ready to continue to interact with such institutions. Discussion and Conclusion. The study has confirmed the author’s hypothesis: the quality of social capital at this stage of social relations is a deterrent to the institutionalization of the practices of the non-profit sector. The article will be useful for the target groups - non-profit organizations as agents of civil society, public services that provide social services to the population, as well as all researchers working in the conceptual field of civil society development in the regional dimension. The promising areas of further research are the ways and directions to increase confidence in the non-profit sector as a translator of the civil society values.


Recycling ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Godfrey

With changing consumption patterns, growing populations and increased urbanisation, developing countries face significant challenges with regards to waste management. Waste plastic is a particularly problematic one, with single-use plastic leaking into the environment, including the marine environment, at an unprecedented rate. Around the world, countries are taking action to minimise these impacts, including banning single-use plastics; changing petroleum-based plastics to alternative bio-benign products such as paper, glass or biodegradable plastics; and improving waste collection systems to ensure that all waste is appropriately collected and reprocessed or safely disposed. However, these “solutions” are often met with resistance, from business, government or civil society, due to the intended and unintended consequences, leaving many questioning the most appropriate solution to reducing the leakage. This paper argues that there is no one single solution to addressing the leakage of plastic into the environment, but that the solution is likely to be a combination of the three approaches, based on local considerations.


Author(s):  
Rachel F. Seidman

The seven women in this section were born between 1966 and 1976, at the height of the burgeoning feminist movement. They discuss not only the impact of feminism on their own lives, but on their mothers as well. Some reflect on whether or not the world is a better place for their daughters than when they were growing up. Coming of age in the 1980s and 90s, these interviewees reached maturity during the rise of Reagan Republicanism and what Susan Faludi termed the “backlash” against feminism. None of these women set out at the beginning of their careers to be professional feminists; it never crossed their minds as a possibility. About half of the women in this chapter have been involved in one way or another with the intersecting worlds of journalism, academia, social media, and business, and half—all of them women of color—have worked in direct-service and non-profit organizations. With long careers and experience in a variety of contexts, these women help us understand how feminism has changed over the past twenty years, where the movement is headed, and some of the reasons why even those who undertake its work do not always embrace it wholeheartedly.


Author(s):  
Grace Chikoto-Schultz ◽  
Yu Xiao ◽  
Paul Manson ◽  
Maryam Amiri

Non-profit organizations make significant contributions to society in a number of ways. In addition to providing services to underrepresented, marginalized, and vulnerable populations in our communities, they also play important advocacy, expressive and leadership development, community building and democratization, and innovation-oriented roles. The sector is thus regarded as “critical civic infrastructure,” civic capacity, or a social safety net. As such, through collaborative engagement in disaster or emergency management, non-profits can be even more instrumental in helping communities become disaster resilient. Disaster management can be understood as a four-stage cycle that includes mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery functions. Past disasters demonstrate that non-profits engage with this cycle in diverse ways. A few types of non-profit organizations explicitly include, as part of their mission, one or more of these stages of disaster management. These include traditional disaster relief organizations, organizations dedicated to preparedness, or those responsible for supporting risk reduction or mitigation efforts. Another set of organizations is typified by non-profits that shift their mission during times of disaster to fill unmet needs. These non-profits shift existing resources or skills from their pre-disaster use to new disaster relief functions. The other type of non-profit to respond or support disaster management is the emergent organization. These emergent non-profits or associations are formed during an event to respond to specific needs. They can endure past the disaster recovery period and become new permanent organizations. It is important to remember that non-profits and more broadly, civil society—represent a unique sphere of voluntary human organization and activity separate from the family, the state, and the market. In some cases, these organizations are embedded in communities, a position that grants them local presence, knowledge, and trust. As such, they are well positioned to play important advocacy roles that can elevate the needs of underrepresented communities, as well as instigate disaster management policies that can serve to protect these communities. Furthermore, their voluntary nature—and the public benefit they confer—also position them to attract much-needed resources from various individuals and entities in order to augment or supplement governments’ often limited capacity. In all, civil society in general, is a sphere well positioned to execute the full spectrum of emergency management functions alongside traditional state responses.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Benevene ◽  
Ilaria Buonomo ◽  
Michael West

Despite the relative scarcity of studies on the impact of leadership styles on satisfaction and commitment of volunteers within non-profit organizations, this relationship plays a crucial role in fostering sustained volunteerism and volunteers' well-being. A questionnaire was administered to more than 200 volunteers involved in delivering social services in non-profit organizations from Central and Northern Italy. The questionnaire contained the Volunteer Satisfaction Index, the sub-scale on Affective Commitment of the Organizational Commitment Scale, and two sub-scales of the Key Leadership Behaviors, namely: Helping people to grow and lead, and Enabling learning and innovation. Socio-demographic data were collected as well. Findings revealed that leaders' actions oriented toward the enablement of learning and innovation have an effect on volunteers' affective commitment, through the full mediation of volunteer satisfaction. Leaders' actions oriented toward the growth and empowerment of volunteers, instead, did not show significant relationships with volunteer satisfaction and affective commitment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 190-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles A. Barragato

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the requirement that non-profit organizations recognize unconditional promises to give as assets and revenues in the year promises are received as mandated by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 116. Design/methodology/approach Using the adoption of SFAS No. 116 and financial information reported on Internal Revenue Service Form 990, the study examines the requirement that non-profit organizations recognize unconditional promises to give as assets and revenues in the year promises are received. Combining insights derived from a model developed by Dechow, Kothari and Watts (1998) with the rationale applied by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in mandating recognition treatment, it adopts the view that information about promises to give is relevant if it useful in assessing probable future cash inflows. The study also employs relative tests of predictive ability to assess competing specifications. Findings The study finds that recognizing unconditional promises to give as assets and as revenues in the year received improves predictions of next period’s cash inflows. It also finds that accrual-based contribution revenue consistently provides information content that is incremental to cash-based contribution revenue. Research limitations/implications This paper has implications for several other lines of research as well. First, an ancillary concern expressed by many organizations in the non-profit sector was that the recognition of multi-year promises to give would adversely affect trends in long-term giving. In this regard, another promising line of inquiry would be to empirically test the Standard’s impact on the time-series properties of contributions and short- and long-term giving trends. Second, future research might consider conducting tests after partitioning by NTEE/NAICS classification, as well as substituting or supplementing the SOI data with financial statement data. Third, future research might consider applying the approach used in this study to other industries or groups for which market prices are not readily ascertainable. Data constraints, including the calculation of cash flow information indirectly from the balance sheet, impose limitations on this study. Practical implications This study documents that by recognizing unconditional promises to give as assets and revenues in the period received, donors, creditors and other users gain useful information about probable future cash inflows – a fundamental element of the accrual process and one of several important factors used to evaluate an organization’s ability to sustain future operations. This information is valuable to stakeholders and practitioners who rely on this information to make informed decisions. It is also helpful to standard setters in establishing guidelines that improve the usefulness of financial reporting for non-profits. Originality/value The paper contributes to existing literature by operationalizing, in a non-profit setting, a model that describes the relationship among revenues, accruals and cash flows. It fills a gap in the accrual literature regarding the relevance of non-profit revenue accruals. The study is the first to employ a relative information content approach to assess non-profit standards, which provides useful input to policy makers and end users. It affirms that many of the key conventions and elements embodied in the FASB Concepts Statements apply to non-profits as well, which heretofore has not been studied extensively. The results are also consistent with Accounting Standards Update 958, Not-for-Profit Entities, which requires that non-profits provide users with information about liquidity, including how they manage liquid resources needed to meet cash requirements for general expenditures within one year of the date of the statement of financial position.


2018 ◽  
pp. 50-58
Author(s):  
Alona Khmelyuk ◽  
Olena Lomonos ◽  
Tetiana Fabrychenko

Introduction. The peculiarities of the functioning of non-profit organizations in Ukraine are identified. The accounting and information support of the analysis of the activity of public sector entities is considered. It is established that the reformation of accounting of public sector entities related to the introduction of the NP (C) BODS from January 1, 2017 requires a comprehensive analysis of the activities of budgetary institutions. It is noted that the analysis of the activity of a budgetary institution will provide full information about the real economic situation of the organization, reveal unused agricultural reserves for further development and ensure more efficient use of targeted state allocations. The object of research is the Main Department of Statistics in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The priori analysis of dynamic changes in cash inflows by type of income is carried out. It is proven that the use of only absolute indicators to estimate the dynamics of revenues is inappropriate. It is noted that the increase in the dynamics of cash inflows to a budgetary institution can testify only to the impact of inflationary processes. It is proposed to analyse the results of the organization's activities in a phased manner: analysis of dynamics and structure; analysis of the actual expenditures of the organization; assessment of the financial performance and determination of the size of the deficit or cash surplus. The algorithm of the complex analysis of the receipts of funds, incomes and expenditures of the budgetary institution is developed. It is established that the analysis of incomes and expenditures and financial results of a budget institution's activity is a necessary component of effective management of a public sector entity. Purpose. The article aims to evaluate the accounting and information support of the analysis of the activities of the public sector entities and to develop the stages of the analysis of the activity of the budget institution of the Main Department of Statistics in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Method (methodology). Method of system analysis, methods of causal analysis, table and graphical methods, dynamic series have been used in this research. Results. The theoretical synthesis and practical recommendations on the methodological aspects of the activities of non-profit organizations through the analysis of dynamics and the structure of cash flow; actual expenses of the organization; assessment of financial performance and determination of the size of the deficit or cash surplus have become the result of the research.


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