Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Six Questions To Ask before joining a ESM Society, Organisation or a League

1. Can your organisation or society clearly communicate who
they are and what they do? Does it struggle in articulating its mission and its program?. If so, it will probably struggle in delivering those programs. Organizations that can explain who they are and what they're trying to accomplish have a singularity of purpose and a commitment to focused institutional change. If it can't explain who it is and what it does, and why it is needed, find one that can. The stakes are too high and not too many good organizations exist who know exactly who they are, what they do, and why they are needed.

2. Can your Society define their short-term and long-term goals?
Organizations without quantifiable goals have no way to measure success. If they have no way to know if they are successful, how can you be sure they are working toward something? Demand that your membership tell you what it is trying to do. Good organizations relish this opportunity. They know what they are working toward today and tomorrow.

3. Can your organisation tell you the progress it has made (or is making) toward its goal? Once again, it's not enough to merely be concerned with a problem. Good intentions are no longer sufficient to warrant you seeking membership support. The marketplace is too crowded. Ask your organization what it has done to make the issue it confronts better. What are its results? You wouldn't buy a brand of toothpaste if the manufacturer couldn't prove to you that it fought cavities successfully. Why should you support a Veteran/ ESM organization if it can't show you that it is providing assistance or fighting for Justice of Veterans who are mostly cheated by ESM Welfare Government and NGO's and the society at large? Is Honour and Dignity of ESM an important element in the Society Charter?

4. Do your ESM Organisation's programs make sense to you?
If you support the mission of an organization, ask yourself if its programs also make sense. You believe in the cause, and you hope for the end result, but is the organization working toward that result in a way that seems rational and productive to you? If an organization's goal is to promote veteran bonds, unity and counselling, does it pursue its goal in a way that makes sense to you, or does it merely inflame the issue? Do you want your organizations doing advocacy? Do you want your outreach organizations making policy, or your policy organizations doing outreach? Maybe you do, maybe you don't. This doesn't mean that every organization should be singular in focus. It also doesn't mean, however, that you have to support every organization that has the same belief system as you. Just because you support the ends, you may not support the means. If you know you want to support the outcome aims to deliver, ask yourself if its method of arriving at that outcome makes sense to you.

5. Can you trust your ESM Organisation?
Research has shown that the overwhelming majority of Organisations in India are not responsible and honest, but ill- managed. This is not to shake your confidence but it is the truth. Don't support a ESM Society or organisation until you feel comfortable with it.

6. Are you willing to make a long- term commitment to your ESM organization? We like to think of giving time and service. Intelligent giving is motivated by altruism, knowledge, and perspective, not a knee-jerk reaction to a newsletter or to verbal assurances and utterances. You are an adult and a Veteran. You have the means to help others. You want to help. Ask yourself if your society is the type of organization to which you're willing to make a long- term commitment. When you do this, you agree to support them through good times and bad, and provide the services it needs to weather downturns. In return, it promises to continue working toward addressing the issue you both think is so vital. Look hard and find an organization you can support for many years to come. When you find that Society, become a active member.

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