Free­dom or secu­rity – an exis­ten­tial field of tension

VERBANDSMANAGEMENT INSTITUT (VMI)

When an NPO is foun­ded, it choo­ses an objec­tive that it pursues accor­ding to its own ideas and using its own resour­ces. This expres­ses its demand for self-deter­mi­na­tion. In doing so, it expo­ses itself to its envi­ron­ment and often takes considera­ble risks – unless the orga­ni­sa­tion is finan­ci­ally strong from the outset and has a corre­spon­din­gly high level of trust.

Gain secu­rity, preserve self-governance

Many NPOs look for support from resourceful part­ners, for exam­ple by fulfil­ling tasks assi­gned by the state. Howe­ver, this rest­ricts their scope of action. Market finan­cing also raises simi­lar ques­ti­ons: should the NPO base its decis­i­ons on its own values and tradi­ti­ons? Or should it align itself with market demand and the expec­ta­ti­ons of its donors? This rest­ricts its auto­nomy, but gives it more certainty for its long-term deve­lo­p­ment. An NPO can hardly free itself from this area of tension by its own efforts, but must constantly search for an inner balance.

This can also be learnt, for exam­ple, in the VMI’s inten­sive course on ‘Effi­ci­ent resource manage­ment in NPOs’.