| Membership to CONGOMA has several benefits.
These benefits accrue to our registered members. CONGOMA Constitution
Section 6 clearly defines members as those that have paid in
full their membership dues. The following benefits accrue to
our members: |
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| 1. Fiscal Incentives: |
| Under this arrangement with the Ministry
of Finance and MRA government provides duty exemption to member
NGOs on certain goods bought meant to benefit the poor. This
arrangement is discretionary by the Ministry on case by case
basis and is given mainly on concessionary rate. |
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| 2. Trainings: |
| CONGOMA organizes in-house trainings on
NGO self-understanding and management for its members. These
result into development of Strategic Plans for the organizations. |
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| 3. Capacity Building Initiatives: |
| For the upcoming member NGOs, CONGOMA
facilitates Capacity Building initiatives. These include arrangements
with willing audit firms to audit books of the upcoming NGOs
at concessionary rates. CONGOMA produces manual books on NGO
Self Understanding (strategic plan development), proposal writing
and financial procedures. |
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| 4. Office Space: |
| Some of the members of CONGOMA, especially
the upcoming NGOs, are given office space within the building
of CONGOMA at a subsidized fee. Currently occupying these offices
are Eye of the Child, Elderly People's Association, Nkhomano
Development Centre and Association for the Empowerment of Women. |
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| 5. Secretarial Services: |
| Member NGOs also benefit secretarial services
from the Secretariat. These services include photocopying, typing,
printing, e-mail, telephone and faxes. |
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| 6. Access to e-mail addresses: |
| Member NGOs that do not have access to
their own e-mail addresses, can create their own address through
the website of CONGOMA at www.congoma.net. For example NGO X
can have its address as X@congoma.net. |
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| 7. Recognition of NGO Status: |
| Many partners or stakeholders require
reference to attest to the NGO's registration as an NGO. CONGOMA
therefore provides this reference for its members, through letters
or membership certificate. The NGO Act of Parliament designates
CONGOMA as the NGO coordinating body in Malawi. For NGOs to
register with the NGO Board, they must show proof of membership
with CONGOMA. |
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| 8. Meetings: |
| CONGOMA as a Secretariat receives a number
of invitations for meetings or appointments to committees from
other stakeholders, not being NGOs, the main stakeholder being
government. It is not possible for the Secretariat to attend
to all the meetings, which sometimes require sectoral expertise.
CONGOMA therefore presents such opportunities to its members. |
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| 9. Publicity of NGO Work: |
| Our members enjoy publicity of their work
through the newsletters, cards, flyers, NGO Week, calendars
and the NGO Directory. |
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| 10. Access to Publications and
other documentation: |
| Through its information resource center,
members can access various publications, magazines, journals,
books, CD-ROMs, research papers, video and audio tapes on relevant
topical issues. |
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| 11. Sector Networks: |
| Members of CONGOMA belong to sector networks,
which further enhance information, resource and knowledge sharing
amongst themselves. |
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| These are examples of so many benefits
that accrue to membership with CONGOMA. It should be noted that
while benefits are the bottom line for membership, the Act requires
that all NGOs |
