Types of NGOs in Argentina: what are their main characteristics?

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Friday, January 27, 2023

Types of NGOs in Argentina: what are their main characteristics?

There are currently several types of NGOs in Argentina. Although all of these institutions aim at community well-being, they have certain qualities that allow them to be categorized in different ways.

Indeed, the types of NGOs in Argentina are classified according to various criteria, such as the activity they carry out, their orientation and the jurisdiction in which they operate.

If you want to know what types of NGOs exist in Argentina, we have prepared this blog post. As a result, you will be able to broaden your knowledge to make each contribution with complete peace of mind.

1. Types of NGOs in Argentina according to their orientation

First, there are nonprofit entities that can be classified based on their mission within the social sphere. In this way, the following NGOs can be mentioned:

Institutions dedicated to health care

This type of NGO in Argentina is dedicated specifically to safeguarding the health of a particular social group, whether children, the elderly, adults, mothers, and so on.

The organizational goal is to improve their quality of life, prevent the development of various diseases, and provide appropriate therapeutic care.

At the same time, the types of NGOs in the world that seek to improve health have these characteristics:

  • They are important in raising solidarity awareness and promoting the social and health care of communities.
  • They are an external support for the national health system, and sometimes complement primary health care.
  • An NGO of this kind, like most of these institutions, depends on financial contributions from individuals and companies; and if they prefer, these entities can receive budget allocations from the State.

NGOs focused on environmental protection

This is one of the types of NGOs in Argentina focused on improving the environment and strengthening all measures that promote care for the ecology.

In this sense, NGOs with an environmental orientation can be included, based on the following variables:

  • Reducing pollution and optimizing the carbon footprint of individuals and companies worldwide.
  • Protecting the different species of animals that inhabit the Earth, in order to maintain biodiversity and animal life in all its forms.
  • Care for seas and oceans around the world.
  • Optimizing renewable energies and rejecting polluting ones, along with phasing out nuclear energy.

Entities focused on reducing poverty

On the other hand, among the types of NGOs in Argentina, we cannot fail to mention those that fight the social inequalities generated by poverty.

According to data provided by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC), 27.7% of households in our country are below the poverty line. This represents 36% of the Argentine population.

Based on this discouraging social picture, there are types of organizations in Argentina dedicated to narrowing social gaps in access to education, health, safe water and food at every stage of life.

From Pata Pila's perspective, as founder Diego Bustamante states in a La Nación article, the needs related to poverty include social problems of varying severity. But all the complications related to poverty require personal accompaniment.

In fact, communities do not need handouts or only to be given tools to work with. We believe it is necessary to get involved to learn people's needs and shortcomings through continuous accompaniment and from the field.

2. NGOs according to their mode of action


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Other types of NGOs are classified by taking into account the mode of collaboration. That is, based on issues related to the framework of their social development activity.

Within this classification criterion, the following types of NGOs in Argentina stand out:

  • Community institutions: although they are examples of types of NGOs with a limited field of action in terms of geography and number of people, they are extremely important agents of change in each community. Donations to an NGO of this kind are essential for carrying out tasks efficiently and for benefiting all members of each community center.
  • City entities: they have jurisdiction in a particular city and encompass all of its community NGOs.
  • National NGOs: this kind of institution operates across the country and has the capacity to work with smaller nonprofit entities within Argentine territory.
  • International NGOs: they have jurisdiction at the international level; at the same time, they have the financial capacity to help on a broader scale because of their economic resources and levels of social reach.

In conclusion, the types of NGOs in Argentina have certain differences in the nature of their collaboration or their orientation. Nevertheless, all of these institutions share the same mission of community aid.

There are many ways to support an NGO. We invite you to be part of La Comunidad of Pata Pila, through a monthly donation, so that together we can help families going through a context of social vulnerability.

We are an example of an NGO in Argentina that works to change people's daily lives. Help us help, and be transmitters of resources so that they themselves can become agents of change within their own reality.

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