Ineffective Philanthropy in Latin America
Agros international is the best example of ineffective philanthropy. This organization seeks to give day laborers, squatters, and renters land in rural Central America. Their issue comes in the form of land distribution, which has high costs and benefits few people. Their reliance on buying land is not cost effective and has low benefit. This organization does not provide the people with farming skills and equipment along with the land, which places those who receive the land at a disadvantage against larger, older farms in Central America. Charity Navigator gives this organization a 2/4 because of the cost of land and higher administration fees. This organization is not sustainable long term because there are more people than there is land, and those who do have the land often sell out.
Confederacion Colombiana de ONG represents a different sort of NGO than the others mentioned. The NGO is actually a confederation of over 850 NGOs operating in Colombia to give a collective voice to what NGOs need improved. The idea of combing NGOs is not an ineffective idea as it gives weight to demands made upon the government. The issue arises by the sheer number of NGOs involved in the collective that makes organization within ineffective and complicated. The large numbers of NGOs with different missions creates tension between larger and smaller NGOs over the best solution to pressure for. This organization is not sustainable long term because there are too many opposing opinions the confederation has to deal with.
One final controversy to note is "the impact of foreign aid on rendering the exchange rate too strong and thus discouraging labor-intensive exports" (Ranis 3). Dependency on NGOs and foreign aid has been a source of conflict in recent years with this reason largely described as the cause. For years, NGOs operated by sending supplies and goods to developing countries, creating dependency in these countries for these donated items. This prevented countries from developing infrastructure and proper manufacturing in order for the countries to provide for themselves. The need to create sustainability is important largely because it would help developing countries break the cycle of dependency that has developed as a result of these NGOs.
