An
international nongovernmental organization (INGO) is a voluntary association of organizations or individuals for worldwide or regional action.
The term
nongovernmental organizationNon-governmental organization is a term that has become widely accepted as referring to a legally constituted, non-governmental organization created by natural or legal persons with no participation or representation of any government...
or NGO is sometimes used to describe these groups, although it more correctly refers to an entity working domestically. Both terms, NGO and INGO, should be differentiated from intergovernmental organizations or IGOs, which describes groups such as the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
or the
International Labour OrganizationThe International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the International Labour Office...
.
An INGO may be founded by private philanthropy, such as the
CarnegieThe Carnegie Foundation is an organization based in The Hague, The Netherlands. It was founded in 1903 by Andrew Carnegie in order to manage his donation of $1.5 million, which was used for the construction, management and maintenance of the Peace Palace...
,
RockefellerThe Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
,
GatesThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. The foundation is "driven by the interests and passions of the Gates family"...
and
Ford FoundationThe Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
s, or as an adjunct to existing international organizations, such as the Catholic or Lutheran churches.
An
international nongovernmental organization (INGO) is a voluntary association of organizations or individuals for worldwide or regional action.
The term
nongovernmental organizationNon-governmental organization is a term that has become widely accepted as referring to a legally constituted, non-governmental organization created by natural or legal persons with no participation or representation of any government...
or NGO is sometimes used to describe these groups, although it more correctly refers to an entity working domestically. Both terms, NGO and INGO, should be differentiated from intergovernmental organizations or IGOs, which describes groups such as the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
or the
International Labour OrganizationThe International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the International Labour Office...
.
Founding
An INGO may be founded by private philanthropy, such as the
CarnegieThe Carnegie Foundation is an organization based in The Hague, The Netherlands. It was founded in 1903 by Andrew Carnegie in order to manage his donation of $1.5 million, which was used for the construction, management and maintenance of the Peace Palace...
,
RockefellerThe Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
,
GatesThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. The foundation is "driven by the interests and passions of the Gates family"...
and
Ford FoundationThe Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
s, or as an adjunct to existing international organizations, such as the Catholic or Lutheran churches. A surge in the founding of development INGOs occurred during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, some of which would later become the large development INGOs
OxfamOxfam International is a confederation of 14 organisations working with over 3,000 partners in more than 70 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice....
,
Catholic Relief Servicesthumbnail|right|250px|CRS logoCatholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the U.S. bishops, the agency provides assistance to 80 million people in more than 100 countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin...
, CARE International, and
Lutheran World ReliefLutheran World Relief is an international nonprofit organization and a joint ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. It is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland...
.
Examples
Major INGOs include:
World Organization of the Scout MovementThe World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 28 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland...
, CARE International,
Mercy CorpsMercy Corps is a non-profit organization engaged in humanitarian aid and development activities. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided more than US$1.95 billion in assistance to people in 107 nations...
, Oxfam International,Plan International, World Vision International, Save the Children Alliance,
Food for the Hungry,
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international secular non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London in 1961, AI...
, Caritas International, Doctors Without Borders,
International Rescue CommitteeThe International Rescue Committee is a leading non-sectarian, non-governmental international relief and humanitarian aid organization based in the United States...
,
Marie Stopes InternationalMarie Stopes International ' is an International Non-Governmental Organisation working on Sexual and Reproductive Health with headquarters in London, UK. It is named after Marie Stopes a Scottish author, campaigner for women's rights, and pioneer in the field of family planning.MSI works in 42...
,
International POPs Elimination NetworkThe International POPs Elimination Network is a global network of NGOs dedicated to the common aim of eliminating persistent organic pollutants....
,
Compassion InternationalCompassion International is a Christian child sponsorship organization dedicated to the long-term development of children living in poverty around the world. Compassion International, headquartered in Colorado Springs, functions in 25 countries and currently helps more than 1,000,000 children. The...
,
International Red Cross and Red Crescent MovementThe International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide which started to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for the human being, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any...
, and
HealthRight InternationalHealthRight International is a global health and human rights organization that works to build lasting access to health for excluded communities. HealthRight was founded in 1990 by pioneering physician and human rights advocate Dr. Jonathan Mann, who championed the principle that health is a human...
.