Building trust
Though trusts play a dominant role in the community, little effort is made to educate trustees on the legal and financial implications of managing these complex organizations. Aside from the broadsides fired at them by irate beneficiaries, letter writers and editorials, there is an absence of professional feedback and objective assessment of how the trusts have functioned vis-à-vis other similar non-profits.
At a time when funds are aplenty and goodwill abounds any inefficiencies, blunders and oversights may be overlooked. But once the moneys are depleted and/or the trust is bogged down in expensive litigation, there is much hand wringing, recrimination and distrust.
At the Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India (FPZAI) meets over the years, to our recollection only once was a guest speaker invited to talk on legal compliances regarding the charity commissioner’s office. That too it was at a West Zone B meet in Surat. Other guest speakers have spoken on a range of subjects ranging from religion to welfare and youth to education. Several anjuman representatives have criticized the selection of speakers and the time allotted.
That there is a plethora of knowledgeable people who are also good communicators on the subject of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) was evident at the April 16, 2016 Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy’s (CAP) "Conference on Compliance," part of the non-profit organization’s 30th anniversary programs. The Bombay based Centre founded by illustrious individuals such as H. T. Parekh, Darius Forbes, Russi Lala, R. R. Chari and Ramu Pandit, and managed from its inception by Noshir Dadrawala, strives in Lala’s words to "facilitate the starting of trusts and provide information on running them." The institution’s chairwoman Rati Forbes rightly terms CAP "the preeminent go-to destination for accessible and affordable information and advice, for most non-profits, especially in the western part of India."
Yet how many community trusts have availed of CAP’s services? Dadrawala, an authority on the not-for-profit sector, elected a Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustee in October 2008, was hounded out of office less than two years later by his political opponents. The then board of trustees was more interested in settling scores than running an efficient and effective trust. In 2015 Dadrawala was once again elected to the office, this time with the largest number of votes. Through his resources Parsi trusts should have no problem accessing the best legal and financial minds in the field.
Most of the Parsi trusts are old and established. They have vast assets and are known to the community. Their problems are different from startups that struggle to find space in a crowded market. There are 3.3 million NGOs in India, according to Dadrawala, or one trust per 400 people. If one were to look at the list of Parsi trusts they would probably number over a 1,000 or one for every 60 Parsis. Around 1980, Dr Jamshed Modi, Nadir Modi, Kekoo Gandhy, Nawshir Khurody and others formed the Zoroastrian Community Development Institute which published a directory of Parsi founded trusts, assisted by Dadrawala. Around 500 were charitable trusts while the rest were mainly religious or baj rojgar trusts. Several of the trusts, even then, were moribund.
Every meeting of the FPZAI devotes time to the topic of defunct anjumans: places where Parsis once resided and now there is nobody or only a handful left. The assets of these anjumans are often encroached upon, sold or left decrepit. Aged or ailing trustees often fail to induct newcomers and sometimes the trust is bereft of any trustees. The Rustomjee Cowasji Banajee agiary in Calcutta is a striking example of a sole, mentally unsound trustee mismanaging the fire temple such that it was encroached upon by vendors and no longer serves the purpose for which the trust was founded.
Many anjumans distrust the motives of the FPZAI and refuse to sign custodial agreements that would include the all-India body as one of the trustees.
"Don’t become another statistic," Dadrawala cautioned the hall full of participants. Merely fulfilling all the legal requirements of running a trust is not sufficient. "Everything legal does not make you compliant. Slavery, the Holocaust, apartheid and the trade in opium were once all legal… Compliance is about doings things right..." Being legal "is about power, not justice."
Dadrawala stressed the need for conducting legal and fiscal audits, to ensure things are being done correctly. "A stitch in time saves nine," he advised. Forbes, Dadrawala, chief operating officer Meher Gandevia-Billimoria and other speakers stressed the need for "good governance," and formulating a code of conduct.
"Fund-raising is the most difficult part in running an NGO," observed one speaker, adding, "There is no fun in fund-raising." Other speakers spoke about donors wanting "impact" studies, reports on the return on investment and so on. "The soul of the non-profit is getting killed," lamented one participant.
A characteristic that distinguishes certain Parsi trusts from other NGOs is that the people heading the representative bodies such as anjumans and punchayets are elected to office; in most non-profits people are invited to join the board. Both alternatives have their strengths. Anjumans and punchayets are usually manned by people who are well known in the community and may be professionals, businessmen, philanthropists, social workers, etc. Regular trusts are started by socially conscious individuals who are involved with the particular field and devote time, money and energy to achieve their objectives. In order to achieve credibility and standing they try to draw the best talent available to serve on their boards.
You need "people who will hold your hand and take you to the next level. You don’t need eminent people. You need people who will help you grow," noted the panelists. What about the trustees who are not contributing? "If they are not contributing, get them out," was the reply. "Rotation" or a limit on the term was suggested. Here the BPP at least has a 21-year or three-term limit.
NGOs must pay good salaries to attract and keep talent. The discrepancy in salaries between business houses and trusts has lessened, noted Dadrawala. There is a need to "build capacity." While capable people come at a cost, not having able people proves costlier in the long run.
There are complex personal, legal and fiscal issues in managing a trust and seeing that the needs of beneficiaries are served. An ad hoc approach will no longer suffice. Fortunately there is much talent on hand. One has only to reach out and ask for it.