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Community-based organizations (CBOs) are non-profit groups that work to make changes at the local level. They are usually started and run by people in the area where they live or work. Dikshita Mehta, head of customer support at online cash advance platform AdvanceSOS, whose has a lot of experience working with local communities prior her current job, says that most CBOs are run mainly by volunteers and have few paid positions. Such is because most of their money goes toward achieving the group’s goals. Because they are local, they may also need more access to resources, depending on where and what community it serves.
With community development, there can be more than one force or source of action at work to make things better. A community that wants to get better is open to more than what is right in front of it. The average citizen can be the main person involved in community development. But, they often get help from more prominent groups in and outside the community. This can include federal groups and support from the government. But it can also include community-based groups.
This article will talk about local community-based organizations. Digging deeper, we’ll talk about what they can do to help people working on community development. We will also talk about the different kinds of community-based organizations.
What Are Community-Based Organizations?
Since they are so local, a CBO will only work on problems in the area where they are based. CBOs are free to inspect issues outside their community that affect the community they serve. But they will only review how those problems affect things in that place. Sometimes, a CBO will work with another CBO on an issue outside their community. This usually happens when the two groups’ areas of interest overlap in some way, like when the groups live in the same place. They might also look at how a more significant problem is dealt with in other communities and by their CBO counterparts to get ideas or find ways to solve it.
Even though most CBOs are thought of as non-profit and may work similarly, they are not the same. Most non-profits are big organizations with a specific area of focus and method that they work on through some projects and actions. A CBO has much less power and usually only works on one project in one area of focus in the community where it is based. No CBO exists outside of its immediate community except in the case of collaboration. A CBO can be a part of a parent organization or connected to another. But they will only act as a location-specific actor or partner of that organization targeted at their community.
What Role Do CBOs Influence Community Development?
Most of the time, CBOs act as a bridge between resources and actions in community development. CBOs are a way for many larger groups and communities that touch each other to connect with people already working on problems in the community. CBOs are in the middle of things in the community. So, volunteers often go to them for public service projects they hope they can help with. A CBO that has been around for a while can find and sort the resources needed for community growth and development.
One of the best things about a CBO is that it is a wealth of information because it focuses on issues in the community. They point out problems that need to be fixed and give all the relevant information about them. This includes information about:
- what are the most pressing issues within the community,
- what are the things that should be done to fix it,
- what resources are available, and
- how the problem is affecting the community.
Including a CBO in community development can make things go smoother.
What Are the Different Types of CBOs?
As with any other type of group, not all CBOs are the same. Because CBOs are based in a particular area, each one will be different based on the community it serves and the interests it has in that community. But most of these different CBOs fit into a few main categories. Each type usually decides how the CBO is set up and its legal rules, which affects how it works. These are the most common:
- Shared Interest Groups bring together people from the same community with the same goals and interests. These can be pretty simple and can be changed while keeping their central structure. SIGs are a common type of CBO in communities because of this.
- Micro-finance Institutions help people save and borrow money. MFIs are not banks in the traditional sense, but they do provide similar services to low-income areas.
- Village Development Committees help run a village as a whole. They have a set of rules that govern not only what the VDC does but also what everyone else does in the community. A village can also set up a VDC beside its current government. And the two institutions can then work together.
