SWOT ANALYSIS OF SHRADDHA AS AN INSTITUTION :

( STRENGTH, WEAKNESS, OPPORTUNITY & THREAT )

• The greatest strength of the organization is its sustained perseverance over the years. Despite the fact that the cause of the mentally ill roadside destitute did not have / does not have many takers / sympathizers, in view of the poor awareness amongst the lay public, the organization has held its own and has very slowly but surely moved from strength to strength. From a small two room tenement to a 6.5 acre full fledged rehabilitation centre it has been a definite growth spanning 35 years.
• Other strengths include a committed hands-on work force as on date which despite better lucrative salary offers have held on to their current assignment purely because they believe that they are doing genuine social service and the job satisfaction is very gratifying.
  
  

• Reputed corporate houses like HDFC, ONGC, SAIL, GIC Re, TATA Projects, Pidilite Industries, Valuelabs (Hyderabad), TATA Investments contributing to the cause.
• Leading Indian NGO's such as Lions Club of Juhu Gulmohar, Mehran Edulji Bilimoria Charity Trust, Nergesh Khurshedji Dady Public Charitable Trust, Perin Davar Memorial Trust, Shri Babulnath Mandir Charity, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives (APPI), Arpan Foundation (USA), Tarsadia Foundation (USA) and Indians for Collective Action (ICA, USA) have lent their weight to the cause.
• Known institutions like Rotary Club of Queens Necklace donating an entire unit cost to the centre and also chipping in with monthly contributions.
• Individual donors coming up with monthly contributions.
• One of our trustees, Shri Ashok Mohanani regularly contributing to the trust.
• The interest on funds placed in various FDs (partially obtained from the sale of our Dahisar project, which was lying defunct in view of the entire work being shifted to Karjat) has helped meet some of the ongoing recurrent expenses.
  
  

• The greatest weakness of the organization is its lack of appeal to the common lay person in terms of empathy to the cause which it represents. Unlike the cause of the child or the cause of the old age or the cause of religion which are so often espoused by the common Indian mentality, the cause of the wandering insane does not appeal to people. As one donor succinctly put it 'the cause is not romantic enough'
  
  The other strong weakness of the organization is lack of personnel with PR skills and in the process unable to market its cause for donation purposes. While almost everybody attached to the organization is sincere and committed to the cause and feels deeply (almost to the point of emotional turmoil) on the issue of the wandering insane, their capability of communicating these emotional feelings to the general world to the point of making the public partake with funds is woefully pathetic. Efforts to get professional PR personnel have yielded poor results.
  
  Another strong weakness of the project is the fact that there is no source of income from the project. As such it is totally dependent upon external donations / interest money received from FDs for sustenance. Both these entities are fluctuating as even the interest money from the same principal may continue to change depending upon RBI and banking norms and donations per se depend upon the charitable inclinations of individuals / corporate / donor organizations.
  
  Other weaknesses include
  
  • The project being far from main Mumbai and Pune thus limiting the number of visitors who could be potential well wishers and donors to the cause. This also decreases awareness potential within the public because of a certain distance involved in accessibility.
  • Lack of International Funding Organization backing. The lack of priority and provision for mental illness in the funding criteria of international funding organizations is responsible for the same.
    
    
• The opportunities available which need to be explored given correct and adequate manpower include


• Coverage of the activities in media, both television and print.
• Appropriate representation of the cause to various corporate organizations and /or donor agencies.
• Grassroots awareness programs at the street-corner level, panchayat level, community level, college levels etc.
• Roping in the urban youth which seems to be more cosmopolitan, secular and broad-minded in its approach to various causes which ail society and which being educated enough, believe less in dogma and stigmatization.
• Networking with likeminded people, other possible NGO's dealing with similar cause.
  
  
• The threats to the organization are


• The organization ultimately is catering to a single segment of the mentally ill viz. the roadside destitute, requiring professional qualified psychiatric intervention. Hence the continuity of the organization is directly dependent on the presence of at least one qualified psychiatrist.
• Individual donors backing out of commitments made because of their own individual fortunes fluctuating.
• The current psychiatric social workers leaving their jobs for whatever reasons causing a break in the continuity of functioning.
• Funds stopping to flow in for whatever reasons putting a break to the momentum which may be garnered.

Shraddha Rehabilitation Foundation now looks forward to your revered blessings.