Reports - Mississippi Renewal

138 | NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONSNON-GOVERNMENTALORGANIZATIONSNon-governmental organizations(NGOs)are often the first lineof defense and thelast recourse for peoplein need. They bring cultural and artsprograms to local communities, providea variety of social services to all age andincome groups, and give voice to theconcerns of those citizens they serve.Nationally, NGOs employ more than11.7 million people and accounts formore than 10 percent of the economy. 1Mississippi consistently has led the nationin per capita contributions to charitablecauses; however, services per capitaprovided by NGOs in Mississippi fallfar short of those in neighboring states.In South Mississippi, the aftermathof Katrina has demonstrated the criticalrole these organizations play in keepingthe social fabric of communities intact.Despite general awareness of the contributionsby the NGO sector, manySouth Mississippians, have a limited understandingof the organizational structureand daily operations, partly dueto the broad variety of organizations.NGOs include the local PTA to thecommunity foundation.Although South Mississippi is servedby a variety of NGOs, the sector doesnot have a common clearinghouse thatreflects the services they provide andmeasures the management and effectivenessof each organization. Further,while area NGOs generally have widecommunity support and are led bystrong leaders, there remains lacking aclear and united voice among NGOs.These deficiencies result in communicationgaps and inefficient delivery ofservices.These concerns were amplified bythe hurricane. Many organizations werenot operating under business models