Canada's Small INGOs: Growth Aspirations, Strategies, and Constraints

During the past two decades, international development non-government organizations (INGOs) have proliferated in the global North. In Canada, there are approximately 1,350 registered INGOs – of which, 950 (70%) were established in 2000 or later, 1,192 receive no federal government funding, 1,202 have annual revenues under CAD one million dollars, and 709 have no full-time employees. This new wave of Small and Medium Organizations (SMOs) epitomizes the decentralization of global development as private aid has surpassed Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding. Yet, recent studies suggest SMOs have a short lifespan and fail to progress beyond service provision representing the first evolutionary stage of INGO maturation. Our study combines surveys (n: 95) and in-depth interviews (n: 18) with Canadian SMOs to explore growth aspirations along with their challenges and strategies to increase revenue. Our results show that nearly all Canadian SMOs desire organizational growth, and pursue diverse funding sources and innovative strategies to increase revenue. However, for SMOs, growth means doing more of the same thing – they are committed to improving the living conditions of their target population – which contradicts best practices to scale up INGO impact and may necessitate alternative organizational evolutionary guides for SMOs operating in this emerging development niche. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada 2024-10-10