Financial Vulnerability of NGOs in Southeast Anatolia and Mediterranean Regions

Abstract

The availability of financial resources for NGOs is vulnerable to external and internal challenges. Therefore, it is debatable whether current financial resources of NGOs are sufficient or not. NGOs face great challenges to balance and diversify their financial resources to decrease their financial vulnerability to pursue their social missions and organizational goals. This study provides an empirical analysis of financial vulnerability of NGOs in Turkey with the case of Youth NGOs in Southeast Anatolia Region (n = 103) and Mediterranean Region (n = 100) of Turkey. The data was gathered from a semi-structured and detailed survey with 280 items among 203 representatives of Youth NGOs, and discussions and observations during 5 one-day workshops in both regions organized by the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports. The revenue concentration of Youth NGOs as an indicator of financial vulnerability was operationalized by revenue concentration index, which is similar to Hirschman–Herfindahl Index (HHI). NGOs with revenue concentration index of one (1.00) are considered to have lower level of revenue diversification, while NGOs with revenue concentration index of zero (0.00) are considered to have higher revenue diversification. The results of calculations were coded to test possible interactions and relations between dependent variable and independent variables by using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression method. The findings show that number of revenue streams, tenure, size, and managerial competence have positive influence on reducing financial vulnerability of Youth NGOs.