NGOs may be classified by their orientation and level of operation.
Orientation
- Charities: Often a top-down effort, with little participation or input from beneficiaries, they include NGOs directed at meeting the needs of disadvantaged people and groups.
- Service: Includes NGOs which provide healthcare (including family planning) and education.
- Participation: Self-help projects with local involvement in the form of money, tools, land, materials, or labour
- Empowerment: Aim to help poor people to understand the social, political and economic factors affecting their lives, and to increase awareness of their power to control their lives. With maximum involvement by the beneficiaries, the NGOs are facilitators.
Level of operation
- Community-based organizations (CBOs) are popular initiatives that can raise the consciousness of the urban poor, helping them understand their right to services, and providing such services.
- City-wide organizations include chambers of commerce and industry, coalitions of business, ethnic or educational groups, and community organizations.
- State NGOs include state-level organizations, associations, and groups. Some state NGOs are guided by national and international NGOs.
- National NGOs include national organizations such as YMCAs and YWCAs, professional associations, and similar groups. Some have state or city branches and assist local NGOs.
- International NGOs range from secular agencies, such as Save the Children, to religious groups. They may fund local NGOs, institutions and projects, and implement projects.
