Non-Governmental Organizations

Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs), are groups which work independently of government or business, and are commonly referred to as NGOs or Third Sector Organizations. They are often also non-profit groups. NGOs can include community organisations, advocacy groups, environmental organisations, watchdog organizations or think tanks. The United States alone has over 2 million NGOS. [1]

The National Environmental Directory is a searchable a directory of more than 13,000 organizations in the United States concerned with environmental issues and environmental education. Organizations can add or update their own listings.

International Examples

• Americares
• Greenpeace International
• Reporters Without Borders
• WWF International

North American Examples

• Alliance for Democracy in Iran
• American Cancer Society
• American Diabetes Association
• Desert Springs Action Committee
• Earth First!
• EnviroLink Network
• Environmental Defense
• Friends of the Earth USA
• Global Exchange
• Gray Panthers
• Hispanic Council for Reform and Education Options
• Human Rights Watch
• International Republican Institute
• National Organization of African-Americans in Housing
• Natural Resources Defense Council
• Rainforest Action Network
• Safari Club International
• Sierra Club
• Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti

Australian Examples

• Australian Conservation Foundation
• Friends of the Earth Australia
• Greenpeace Australia-Pacific
• Queensland Conservation Council
• The Wilderness Society
• WWF Australia

Other SourceWatch Resources

• War on NGOs
• Foundation support for nonprofit organizations
• front groups
• industry-funded organizations
• NGOWatch.org
• think tanks
• watchdog organizations
• environmental organizations
• list of progressive organizations
• list of regressive organizations
• World Social Forum

Critical Resources

• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) "Voluntary Aid for Development: The Role of NGOs", OECD: Paris, 1988.
• Jonathan Cohen, Governance by and of NGOs, AccountAbility.
• Michael Edwards and David Hulme (eds.) Beyond the Magic Bullet? NGO Performance and Accountability in the Post-Cold War World (Kumarian Press, 1996).
• James Petras, ”Imperialism and NGOs in Latin America”, Monthly Review, December 1997.
• G Clarke, The Politics of NGOs in South-East Asia: Participation and Protest in the Philippines (Routledge, 1998).
• James Petras, ”NGOs: In the Service of Imperialism," Journal of Contemporary Asia, 29(4), 1999.
• Tessa Morris-Suzuki, "For and Against NGOs, the Politics of the Lived World," New Left Review, 63, March-April 2000, pp.63-84.
• Alex Demirovic, ‘NGOs and Social Movements’, Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, vol. 11 (4) (December 2000), pp. 131-140.
• Kamat, Sangeeta. “Development hegemony: NGOs and The State in India”, Delhi, New York; Oxford University Press, 2002.
• Aziz Choudry, "All This "civil Society" Talk Takes Us Nowhere", Znet, January 9, 2002.
• Sangeeta Kamat, Development Hegemony: NGOs and the State in India (Oxford University Press, 2002).
• Firoze Manji and Carl O’Coill, “The Missionary Position: NGOs and Development in Africa,” International Affairs, 78 (3), 2002.
• Sam Vaknin, "NGOs - The Self-Appointed Altruists", Eco-Imperialism.com, Written October 2002. (Published March 2005)
• B Hadiwinata, The Politics of NGOs in Indonesia: Developing Democracy and Managing a Movement (Routledge, 2003).
• Dorthea Hilhorst, "The Real World of NGOs: Discourses, Diversity and Development", Zed Books, 2003.
• Annon, ”Just how independent are the NGOs?”, The Spark, 12 November 2003.
• Michel Chossudovsky, "Building Meaningful Mass Movement", Leftgatekeepers, 2004.
• Arundhati Roy, "Help that hinders", Monde diplomatique, November 2004.
• Abdelrahman, Maha, ”Civil Society Exposed: The Politics of NGOs in Egypt”, The American University in Cairo Press, 2004.
• Maha M. Abdelrahman, Civil society exposed: the politics of NGOs in Egypt (Tauris Academic Studies, 2004).
• Ji Giles Ungpakorn, "NGOs: enemies or allies?", International Socialism Journal, Issue 104, Winter 2004.
• Andrea del Moral, "The Revolution Will Not Be Funded", LipService, April 4, 2005.
• Lara Pawson, "You let her into the house? Reflections on the politics of aid in Africa", Radical Philosophy, May/Jun 2005.
• Patrick Bond, "Are mainstream NGOs failing Africa?", Zmag, June 21, 2005.
• Ask Before You Give!, New Internationalist, October 2005.
• Eric Tang, "The Non-Profit & The Autonomous Grassroots", Left Turn Magazine, October 2005.
• Richard Seymour, "Against philanthropy", Socialist Worker Online, August 19, 2006.
• "A Bibliography on NGOs", The Global Development Research Center, Accessed November 2006.
• Harri Englund, Prisoners of Freedom: Human Rights and the African Poor (University of California Press, 2006).
• S.Goonatilake, Recolonisation: Foreign Funded NGO’s in Sri Lanka (Sage Publications, 2006).
• Uda Olabarria Walker, "NGO's and Palestine", Left Turn Magazine, No Date.
• "The Revolution Will Not be Funded", Left Turn Magazine, Issue # 18, November, 2006.
• INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, "The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex", South End Press, 2007.
• Shahrzad Mojab, "Women's NGOs Under Conditions of Occupation and War", Solidarity, Undated.
• Curtis Muhammad, "A Farewell Letter on the Second Anniversary of Katrina: A Message from an Organizer to the Left and Progressive Forces inside the USA", People's Organizing Committee, August 31, 2007.
• Yves Engler, "NGOs and Imperialism", Znet, September 02, 2007.
• Bryn Jones, "Citizens, Partners or Patrons? Corporate Power and Patronage Capitalism", Journal of Civil Society, 3, 2007, pp.159-77.
• Georgianne Nienaber and Keith Harmon Snow, "S.O.S In Eastern Congo: Magic Sticks, Corrupton & Gorilla Warfare", Znet, September 18, 2007.
• Michael Barker, "Capital-driven Civil Society", State of Nature, May 18, 2008.
• Richard Sanders, "Agents of Regime Change", Press for Conversion!, Issue # 62, May 2008.
• İlker C.Bıçakçı, "The capitalistic function of education-directed social responsibility projects in Turkey within the context of relationships between the private sector and NGOs", Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, Volume 6, Number 1 (May 2008).
• Francie, "A Critique of NGOism", Rebel Press, Issue 9, May 2008.
• John Barker, Tyranny of the Ad Hoc", Variant Issue 34, Spring 2009.
• Chris Irwin, "Someprofits vs. Nonprofits: When Nonprofit Groups Go Bad", Counterpunch, March 23, 2009.
• C. Short, "The Forces Shaping Radical Politics Today," In: J. Pugh (ed.), What is Radical Politics Today? (Palgrave, 2009).
• Ashley Smith, "Haiti and the Aid Racket: How NGOs are Profiting Off a Grave Situation", Counterpunch, February 24, 2010.
• Keane Bhatt, "Chomsky on Haiti: Aid Should Go to Haitian Popular Organizations, Not to Contractors or NGOs", Counterpunch, March 9, 2010.
• George Ciccariello-Maher, "Oakland's Verdict: In the Oscar Grant Movement, Steel Sharpens Steel", Counterpunch, July 12, 2010.
• Darwin Bond-Graham, "Co-opting the Anti-Nuclear Movement: Disarmament for Some", Counterpunch, July 22, 2010.
• Scott Sanders, "Elite Control or Community Governance of Public Service Media: Which Will it Be?," Media-ocracy, July 23, 2010.
• Samer Abdelnour, "Unmasking "Aid" After the Palestine Papers", Al-Shabaka Commentary, March 3, 2011.
• Arundhati Roy, "I'd rather not be Anna", The Hindu, August 21, 2011.
• Federico Fuentes, "Bolivia: NGOs Wrong on Morales and Amazon", Bolivia Rising, October 01, 2011. Also
• Sam Miller, "c", In: Share or Die (2011).
• Samir Amin, "The Democratic Fraud and the Universalist Alternative", Monthly Review, October 2011.
• Arundhati Roy, "Capitalism: A Ghost Story", OutlookIndia.com (and Znet), March 20, 2012.
• Fairouz El Tom, "Diversity and inclusion on NGO boards: what the stats say", The Guardian - Global development professionals network, May 7, 2013.