Building ARSAN
ARSAN is being built by many people and organizations who believe in its Purpose, and support what the organization is doing. Their level of involvement and support will vary depending on the type of contributions they make to the organization.
There is a big conceptual difference between treating all people and organizations that add to the development of ARSAN as its contributors rather than stakeholders, which is a common perspective among mainstream organizations. Being a stakeholder implies having a stake in what the organization is doing but being placed on the outside of the organization, with no rights or expectations that should be met. On the other hand, a contributor is delivering something important to the organization, is seen as a part of the organization, and thus may have expectations of getting something in return.
This perspective is central to ARSAN's organizational philosophy and is represented through its Mission. Anyone who contributes to the organization can expect that their reasonable expectations will be met. The word reasonable needs to be stressed as such expectation should not weaken the organization but strengthen it. Also, fulfilling such expactations needs to be within the capacity of those who represent the organization; its staff and board. However, a closer examination of the expectations that different people may have points mostly to intangibles such as respect, fairness, timeliness, fulfilling obligations, recognition, sharing relevant information, opening opportunities for others, and most importantly, not wasting contributions. This can be accomplished by building and running the organization according to its stated Guiding Principles towards fulfilling its organizational Purpose.
There are many contributions needed to build and operate an organization and hence many contributors. They can be grouped according to their common types of contributions:
Active Contributors
- Board members
- Executives
- Staff
- Volunteers
- Organizational partners
- Professional service providers
- Consultants
Passive Contributors
- Members
- Granting agencies
- Private donors
- Organizational symphatizers and supporters
- Rural communities
- Society at large
- Natural environment
Each type of contribution is important as without these, no organization can be formed, grow and be successful.