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SYMBIOSIS INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
SYMBIOSIS SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, PUNE
HELPING IN MAKING NGOs MORE
PRODUCTIVE AND EFFICIENT IN THEIR DAY
TO DAY FUNCTIONING, ADMINISTRATION
AND MANAGEMENT
TOOLBOX INDIA FOUNDATION
Employer Name: Ms Tiyasha Chatterjee
PITANJAL MURATI DUTTA
PRN: 17060222092
Submission Date:

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Executive Summary
Toolbox India Foundation, the NGO where I interned, works as a pro bono capacity
building platform for other NGOs. It collaborates with other NGOs to help them
optimize their existing resources. Their intervention could be in the form of Strategic
or Operations Management, HR, IT and even Communications, Impact assessment for
the sustainable efficient functioning of the NGOs, Toolbox India Foundation works
for.
Using the knowledge I acquired in college, I though this was the best platform and
domain for a student of Economics to work at.
After submitting my resume with the esteemed NGO in Mumbai, I was selected to
work in the department of Operations/Management and Projects. My internship
started on the 18th of April,2018 and went on till 18th of May,2018. I was involved in
office work as well as on field work which made the internship a challenging and
beautiful experience full with enriched learning.
During the course of the internship, I got an opportunity to work extensively on
Microsoft Excel and also helped me polish up my skills in this software application. I
thoroughly developed my communications skill and learned to do work in team with
coordination and adaptability. Working in a domain that I have not ventured much
before was definitely challenging and I had to learn and unlearn a lot of things to
come to the level of working with NGOs.
My first project was to help my team build an Accounts System of Procedure for
Sevasadan NGO. This was followed by managing databases of Volunteers. My third
project was to help my team do an impact assessment by collecting relevant data about
students, such that the administration can understand the impact it is creating with the
education it is providing to the under privileged students. Being a student of
economics and statistics as one of our prime subjects in college, it helped me make a
wonderful presentation on how data can be used by NGOs to drive their decision
making. This was followed by framing a template for the organisational diagnosis of
Konkan Education and Art Trust.
This was an internship experience where I learnt so much about how the non profits
function. How they operate and function with their sole aim to do good for the
underprivileged society was definitely an eye opener.
Working for an NGO, whether with their data or setting up a template for their
organisational diagnosis, I came to learn and adapt to their working.
Overall, this internship with an NGO was a wonderful learning and full with
experiences and challenges.

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Acknowledgement
A special gratitude to Symbiosis School Of Economics, Pune for providing us the
platform to work with an NGO for the benefit of the downtrodden strata of the society.
Including such an internship as part of college course curriculum did not only help us
learn and witness the reality but also in a way encouraged us to serve the under
privileged society.
I would like to thank Mr Ravi Venkateswar for helping me getting connected to
Toolbox India Foundation.
My deepest appreciation and gratitude to Mrs Vijaya Balaji, Mrs Deepa Walawalkar,
Ms Tiyasha Chatterjee and Ms Kinkini Chakraborty for guiding me and motivating
me in every step I took during the internship at Toolbox India Foundation. Hats off to
my team Toolbox India Foundation for supporting me throughout my internship
period.
I would like to extend my warm regards to Shraddha ma’am for giving us suggestions
and guidelines on how to prepare for the internship helping us prepare the Internship
report.

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Contents
Sr No. Details Page No.
1 INTRODUCTION 5
2 COMPANY BACKGROUND 6 to 9
3 JOB DESCRIPTION 10
4 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 11 to 13
5 EVALUATION OF INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE 14
6 CONCLUSION 15
7 LIST OF REFERENCES 16
8 APPENDICES 17

5. Page 5 of 17
Introduction
NGOs are organisations that strive to do social good for the welfare of the
underprivileged strata of the society. Their sole motive behind their existence is to
help, contribute and bring up the underprivileged society who often are not given very
much priority when it comes to development and improvement of their welfare.
Every NGO thus exists as a non profit institution. During the internship I helped many
such NGOs overcome their operational constraints and barriers; while being an intern
at Toolbox India Foundation which itself is an NGO helping other NGOs in
improving their capacity and efficiency.
It brings tremendous joy when we get opportunity to contribute for wonderful causes
like those which are followed by NGOs.
The biggest constraint and barrier that any NGO faces is to function efficiently with
limited funds and resources. Helping them optimize their day to day expenses and
other daily operations is of utmost importance if we want to see NGOs do their best
for the welfare of the underprivileged people in our country.
During this intern, this was the domain where I worked at. I worked with an NGO that
helps other NGOs in their capacity building; thus helping them overcome the financial
and resource limitations to function effectively and efficiently; such that their sole aim
of existence is achieved and the nation benefits, the economy benefits, and no doubt
the underprivileged people get a better lifestyle.
Helping the under privileged section of the society is of utmost importance in a
country like India, as they make up a huge proportion of our population. This can be
done with the help of NGOs who have the know hows of how to take these matters in
a strategic way. Helping these NGOs to overcome their economics constraints was the
objective of interning with Toolbox India Foundation.
In this report, I would further detail on how and what we did to help NGOs in their
capacity building, optimization such that they overcome a lot of barriers that they face
in their day to day operations that comes as a hindrance in their objective and sole aim
of existence.
I am sure, after reading this report you would get a clear picture of what challenges
NGOs face and how these challenges can be overcome with the help of subjects we
learn in college as part of courses.
In the first glimpse, one might even not give priority to such organisational and
management level problems of NGOs; however they prove to be the crux of hindrance
faced by NGOs. This report will tell what and how we helped NGOs overcome such
problems.

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NGO Background
Toolbox India Foundation is an NGO that works with various NGOs in change
management with Strategic management and operations expertise. It is supporting
mission driven organisations to enhance efficiency through customization.
Toolbox India Foundation believes that ‘Non-Profit Organisations’ can do
significantly more good with the same resources by improving their management
expertise. Toolbox India Foundation was established in 2007 as a registered not for
profit organization under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. It helps
organisations develop their capacity to best reach their objectives. We do it by
utilising the experience and know-how of volunteers from the private sector in the
field of management.
VISION:
Our vision is to help non-profit organisations do significantly more ‘good’ with the
same resources by improving their management expertise.
MISSION:
Toolbox India Foundation’s mission is to help non-profits in the definition of their
objectives and the development of their organisational capacity to best reach those
objectives, while enabling volunteers from the private sector to share their experience
and know-how in the field of management. The concept behind Toolbox is to bring
together volunteers from the corporate world and try and bridge the gap in terms of
human and managerial skills to social enterprises. This is achieved by providing free
management and consulting support to non-profit organizations (NPOs) selected on
the basis of their impact to society and willingness to make use of Toolbox’s services.
Website
http://www.tbxi.org/home
Headquarters
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Year founded
2011
Company type

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Non-profit
Company size
2-10 employees
TOOLBOX INDIA FOUNDATION – Leaving a Legacy with impact.
• 25000+ Consulting Hours provided to NGOs
• 180+ Completed Projects in 6 years of existence.
• 280+ Committed Volunteers
• 35+ NGOs with improved marginal competency.
• 54 coaching sessions to management teams
• 15 Capacity Building workshops
Approach
Harnessing potential with the right tools and processes, to create a lasting impact for
the underserved communities.
Toolbox India focuses its work in the enhancement of overall organizational
efficiency. Toolbox emphasises on strengthening organizations as a vital instrument in
improving their operations and outreach in the long run.
Organization Chart
Toolbox India Foundation offers coaching to a selection of non profits to define their
objectives and analyse the means to reach them.
➢ Capacity Building and Resource Management
➢ Reporting and measurement analysis
➢ Financial Planning and Modelling
➢ Strategic Road maps and business plan
Toolbox assists and provides support to various NGOs in the departments of their
functioning such that the performance and efficiency of NGOs improve leading to
them functioning in an organised and sustainable manner. (For example: Business
Plan, Scorecard, Strategic Plan.)

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TOOLBOX INDIA FOUNDATION ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
ToolBox looks into the following domains of NGOs it works with:
➢ Creating clear mission and vision to direct and guide everyday behaviour.
Challenging the statement occasionally prepares the organisation with
environmental changes.
➢ Developing the concept of the business projects/program to be launched
➢ Set social impact targets
➢ Cost and expenses estimate
➢ Required resources
➢ Required resources
➢ Evaluating performance through comprehensive set of short and long term
measures reflecting financial, operational, customer and organisational learning
and growth objectives. Aligning activities with mission and strategy and
addressing multiple constituencies and customers which can be transformed into
a rating system for external evaluation.
➢ NPOs may not have a dedicated HR manager or job descriptions in place. Given
the uncertainties that are often associated with funding, NPOs may not be able
to put together hiring plans well in advance. Money may not be the primary
motivation for employees working in NPOs. However, having clearly defined
roles, accountability for performance and hiring strategies is a key requirement
for a NPO to achieve better outcomes and improve efficiency.
➢ Both internal and external communication is key. In order to communicate
effectively the NPO has to clearly define their audience.
Mission/Vision
Values
Strategic
Plan
Business
Plan Scorecard
HR
Management
Project
Management
Donor
Management
Communication M&E
Financial & Accounting Systems IT Systems & Infrastructure

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➢ M&E tools that measure program outcomes and define metrics that lead to
impact assessment is a crucial function. M&E tools allow for data-driven
insights, improved reporting, and analysis of program outcomes and decision
making.
➢ Having a robust financial and accounting system in place can help NPOs with
efficient resource management, realistic goal setting and pre-empting liquidity
issues.
➢ Affordable information technology tools and services can enable NPOs to
maximize their potential and build capacity. Use of computerised systems can
help to standardize data collection, store larger volumes of data and provide tools
for data analysis.

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JOB DESCRIPTION
ASSIGNMENT TIME FRAME DESCRIPTION
Data Collection for
creating an Accounts
Standard Operating
Procedure for Sevasadan
Society.
18th
April, 2018
to
23th
April, 2018
Visited Sevasadan NGO and
collected all the relevant data for
creating an Accounts handbook
for them.
Volunteers Database
management for Toolbox
India Foundation
24th
April, 2018
to
27th
April, 2018
Organised and arranged the
volunteer database of Toolbox so
that it is easier and convenient for
the admin and management to
keep track of volunteers.
Researching and Creating a
Presentation on how Data
can be used by NGOs to
drive their decision
making.
28th
April, 2018
to
3rd
May, 2018
Most NGOs are unaware how
data can be collected and utilized
to drive their decision making.
Researched and made a
presentation on Data Driven
Decision Making for NGOs.
Data Collection for Impact
Assessment of the Primary
School of Sevasadan
Society.
4th
May, 2018
to
11th
May, 2018
Collected and arranged data
related to students for an impact
assessment of the primary school
run by Sevasadan Society for the
underprivileged kids.
Developing a template of
questionnaire for
organisational diagnosis
and impact assessment of
Konkan Education and Art
Trust
14th
May, 2018
to
18th
May, 2018
Developed a questionnaire and
template for organizational
diagnosis of Konkan Education
and Art Trust NGO. This would
be used further for Impact
Assessment and Organizational
Diagnosis to be conducted in the
future.

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Conceptual Framework
Project 1:
My first project was to Collect Data for my team to develop an Accounts Standard
Operating Procedure for an NGO called ‘Sevasadan’. This would act as a reference for
auditing for the NGO. This handbook would also serve as a reference for new
accountants who would join Sevasadan. Accounting as we all know is of utmost
importance for an NGO as it helps the administration and management to make
decisions and plan activities accordingly.
Methodology:
First a template and checklist was designed in a spreadsheet detailing what data under
what sub headings is to be collected. This was prepared by me and my team consisting
of accountants who have volunteered with Toolbox India Foundation.
This was followed by visiting Sevasadan NGO and meeting up with their accounts
department to collect the data.
Data was collected in Spreadsheet. Some relevant data were handwritten by me as
well.
Limitations:
Coordinating with professionals who are senior to me was challenging initially. They
used professional and technical terms which I found difficult to comprehend. Having
limited working proficiency in Accounts domain, I had to grasp a lot of concepts to go
ahead with my responsibility of collecting the relevant data.
Findings:
NGOs expect to have a very systematic and detailed accounting procedure. They have
a lot of data to deal with when it comes to Accounting.
I never expected the accounting department to be so professional for Non profits.
Suggested Solutions:
Data can be better organised. Sharing of data can be done more fluently using the
digital channels.
Project 2:
My second project was to manage and sort the Volunteer Database that Toolbox had.
This Database is used by Toolbox India Foundation to allocate volunteers for various
projects. I sorted out the Database and templatised it with various cell colouring such
that readability of the database is easy, convenient and fast.
Methodology:
Data was given in Excel. Created separate sheets for various categories to sort the data
under the headings given. Applied cell colouring for easier and convenient readability.

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Limitations:
Working with a big database with limited knowledge on Excel and Spreadsheets was
challenging. Certain data cells had to be corrected as they were entered in
inappropriate format. Unavailability of all data served as a constraint. Thus, I had to
work on with whatever data that the database had.
Findings:
NGOs do maintain a very professional and detailed database for deploying volunteers.
The management in place for an NGO is almost same as any corporate company
would need.
Suggested Solutions:
Daily updating of database is absolutely essential to maintain a concrete, crisp and
detailed database. Venture with maintaining database with innovative and easy to use
tools.
Project 3:
My next project during my internship was to make a presentation on Data Driven
Decision Making for NGOs.
Methodology:
Extensively researched on Data Driven Decision Making and Organisational structure
of NGOs. Used Powerpoint to present my findings. Used a graphs and statistics to
represent a lot of findings from my research. Researched about tools and data
management softwares from the internet and wrote how they can be used in NGOs.
Limitations:
Not having prior experience working with NGOs made it challenging to understand
their organisational structure and functioning.
Findings:
Data if collected and used in the correct way, can benefit NGOs in smooth and
efficient functioning and make strategized decision making. NGOs have a department
in management and administration to look after data and statistics.
Suggested Solutions:
Data can be used very efficiently to drive decision making. Data to be collected,
organised and stored in appropriate way for further analysis.
Project 4:
My 4th project during the Internship was to Collect Data, organise it for further
analysis of impact assessment of the primary school run by the Sevasadan Society for
the underprivileged kids. This assessment would help the admin understand whether
they are heading in the right direction and which are the areas they have to improve
for the running of the school.

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Methodology:
We visited the school run by the NGO Sevasadan for data collection. The template for
collecting data was finalised before we started with the process.
From registers, I had to collect data and organise it in Microsoft Excel.
We collected data under the following heads: Names of students enrolled, their marks
from the year they were enrolled, attendance, etc.
Limitations:
Data to be collected was huge. It required patience and dedication to sit for hours and
collect the data from large registers.
Also it took time to understand in what lines would the impact assessment take place
considering it was an NGO. There was discrepancy in certain data. Also the full year’s
examination marks were not uniformly structured.
Findings:
There is huge scope for analyses even for NGOs specially when it comes to the
administration in understanding and taking decisions for change.
Suggested Solutions:
Clearly stating with a footnote detailing the full marks when the examinations were
held; changes made to examination pattern would have surely helped us do the impact
assessment even better.
Project 5:
The final project during my internship tenure was to frame a template and
questionnaire for organisational diagnosis of Konkan Education and Art Trust. This
was a part of my in-office work.
Methodology:
Researched about the organisational structure of NGOs. Tried to understand the
functioning of NGOs and their day to day challenges and hardships.
Designing a template and framing department wise questions for volunteers to collect
data under those headings to enable in efficient organisational diagnosis and
assessment.
Limitations:
Limited knowledge in functioning of NGOs served as a constraint. Research and
guidance from my mentor Kinkini, helped me overcome this limitation.
Trying to frame the questions in professional language and comprehendible to anyone
was challenging.
Findings:
Just like any corporate organisation, any NGO has departments like HR, IT,
Communications, etc. An NGO might face barriers in any of these departments which
might turn out to be an obstacle to it being successfully functioning with efficiency.
Thus organisational diagnosis for any NGO is absolutely essential.

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Evaluation
This internship was my first official and professional commitment with an
organisation where I had to shoulder a great degree of responsibility and
accountability for the benefit of the downtrodden and underprivileged people.
Discipline and dedication were the most essential ethics that I learnt while working. I
had to reach on time at office. This apart I had to dress up smartly and had the
commitment to look professional each day form one month. This indeed was a great
preparation for corporate and professional career life ahead. It was a great
experiencing professional life out there by getting opportunity to spending time with
my peers and colleagues who work in the NGOs professionally.
I redefined the meaning of professional accountability. I was really dedicated and
professional to finish the commitments allotted to me on time.
Initially, I felt extremely nervous about the fact that I would be working with
professionals who are elder to me. However, with great support from my team I came
out of this successfully.
Another major takeaway from this internship was learning team work and knowing
how to communicate in professional terms. My nature of being introvert definitely got
wiped out after doing this internship. With support from Team Toolbox India
Foundation, this was a great learning experience and helped me polish up my
character.
Learning how to adjust, cooperate and adapt to different working environments was
another skill I developed which I am sure would help me a lot in my professional
career.
No doubt, I gained a lot in terms of acquiring professional skills. Whenever I had any
hardships handling any project, I was encouraged by my supervisors to research on
that topic or undertake courses for the same. The ability to quickly learn something
and apply it was a big work ethic that I acquired.
This internship, more than anything else, was experiencing the reality. I had never
imagined the hardships that non profits face. Working closely helped me understand
so much about the obstacles and challenges that organisations face and how every
team member comes together and gives the best to come out of it with success and
glory. This spirit of enthusiasm has been injected within me while interning and I am
sure it will stay with me forever.

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Conclusion
It was truly an enlightening and enriching experience for me to intern with an NGO.
While supporting the wonderful causes of NGOs during my internship, resulted in the
bi-product of me developing a lot of professional skills that I am sure I would benefit
from, in my career in the future.
For the first time, I got a feeling of working professionally, working with great
accountability and shouldering huge amount of responsibility. This has surely helped
me evolve my work ethics.
This internship also taught me the challenges and obstacles that am employee might
have to face and still has to go all out in the zone of discomfort only with the sole aim
of delivering his work to perfection.
This internship, has surely helped me evolve a lot as a professional human being with
discipline and dedication. With the networks I developed, I am looking forward to
contribute again in such a domain with my skills and expertise as a tool for the
development of the not so privileged society in our country.
This internship was also an eye opener for me to understand the condition of the
downtrodden people in our society and the hardships faced by non profit organisations
in optimizing their costs and resources for their functioning. No doubt this internship
experience upheld a lot of life realities in front of me which I did not understand being
a student in an institution only.

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List of References
➢ Toolbox India Website.
https://tbxi.org/
➢ Toolbox LinkedIn Page.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/toolbox-india-foundation/
➢ Internship Report TSHED uploaded in LinkedIn by Aritro
Chakravorty.
https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/3NkQ3eM4s
LLXZl
➢ Toolbox India Playbook.

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Appendices
1. Monthly Timesheet
2. Supervisor Evaluation of Intern
3. Supervisor Feedback Form
4. Student Feedback Form
5. Log Book
6. Employment Information Sheet
(Please find the above attached from the next page onwards.)