FAQ for
Grassroot NGOs and CBOs
(GO-RED)s

If you are a Grassroot NGO or a Community based organisation (CBO) deeply connected with and supporting underserved and underprivileged rural / urban communities, physically stationed there, and working as Implementation Partners for Govt programs, other NGO / CSR projects, or even on your own directly funded or self-sustained projects, you are fit to join as a GO-RED. GOOD-TO-GO is one of the best projects that can bring to your organisation a chain of urban Volunteers (called GO-PROs) of all ages, skills and experience from around the country, eagerly waiting to visit the communities you serve, and teach them all skills they need for free. 

GOOD-TO-GO works in a hub and spoke model, where a GO-RED becomes one of the spokes to a Facilitating organisation (called GO-GREEN) which is the Hub of the network in a region. 

You can find out an existing GO-GREEN in your region here. The zone of a GO-GREEN is defined as 100km radius around the GO-GREEN, reachable by road in 2 hours. You can then directly connect with the GO-GREEN, and they will hep you go through the process.

If there in no existing GO-GREEN that is max 100km from your village, and you want to register as a GO-RED, then please contact ENSURED - GOOD-TO-GO.

It is actually very simple. Just follow these steps:

Step 1: Read through this whole FAQ, especially the question after this that talks about the expectations. If you have more questions (other than the ones answered here), please do not shy away from asking it, at the end of this page.

Step 2: Choose an existing GO-GREEN in your region that is within 100kms from your village, from the list here. See the performance rating of the GO-GREENs before you choose, and choose the highest one in your region. You can also see the pages of the GO-GREENs on this website, to see the kind of work they do through GOOD-TO-GO.

Step 3: If you do not find any GO-GREEN in your region, please write to GOOD-TO-GO at ensuredgoodtogo@gmail.com with
Subject: No GO-GREEN in my region
and wait for a response from GOOD-TO-GO.

Step 4: After you are satisfied with all answers, Register with ENSURED - GOOD-TO-GO as a GO-RED, selecting the GO-GREEN in your region.

Step 5: You will receive a communication from GOOD-TO-GO Network, asking for some details, and ensuring that you have understood the concept well.

Step 6: The GO-GREEN you have selected, will get a notification request for your participation in their network.

Step 6: After due diligence by the GO-GREEN, ENSURED - GOOD-TO-GO will authorise you to start.

Step 7: If you have any local Livelihood plans already designed for your community, then jump to Step , else go to the next Step 8.

Step 8: If you need help to design a Livelihood plan for your community, Raise a Request with your GO-GREEN. Your GO-GREEN will find a Development Consultant (GO-BROWN), and send him/her to your Office. The GO-BROWN will help you design a local livelihood plan and help you list down skills that your community would require to implement it.

Step 9: List out skills that the youth in your community need, to develop their villages, community, and their livelihoods, and feed them in GOOD-TO-GO Network. Your GO-GREEN will get a notification of the same.

Step 10: Wait for your GO-GREEN to access the Volunteer Database to match the skills available with the skills required, and get back to you.

The Volunteers (GO-PROs) are engaged primarily to transfer the skills they possess, to the rural youth so that they can better their livelihoods, or start new livelihoods, to better their economical status and well being. It is not that urban professionals are good at everything. In fact rural youth are better in hard skills than urban youth. But urban youth can bring in lots of soft and management skills, that the youth might lack. For eg: if you have a Producers group that is lacking marketing and financial management skills, urban professionals can really help out. Entrepreneurial skills, Banking, market validation, data collection, analysing data, App development, JUGAAD, preventive healthcare, first aid, business development, managing resources and people, multimedia development, street theatre, painting, sculpting, acting, dancing, etc are some of the many skills that Volunteers might bring with them.

You can also take the help of these Volunteers to overcome some of your organisation management problems as well. But please do not engage them just for office support. Please remember that Volunteers are coming to engage directly with the community and feel satisfied by sharing their skills to the community. You need to engage them primarily on the field, with the community. 

GOOD-TO-GO does not differentiate between any community, age or gender. Any community / group that is disadvantaged economically or socially, needs support, and that is what GOOD-TO-GO also intends to. The Volunteers (GO-PROs) visiting your villages will be oriented enough to give respect to all irrespective of caste, age or gender, and honour Dignity of Labour. How you engage the Volunteers and with which groups, depends upon cultural and social norms in their communities. For eg: Women groups would feel free to interact with Women Volunteers, than male volunteers, Children would feel free to interact with Young volunteers, and Elders would feel free to interact with the Senior (by age) Volunteers. For girls / women in trauma, try to assign a senior female volunteer. For children, affectionate female volunteers who are Mothers.

All Volunteers (GO-PROs) will relate to the skill needs that you have raised on behalf of the community. Broadly, the projects can cover teaching livelihood skills, entrepreneurship skills, marketing skills, setting up business models, product design, product profiling, setting up distribution infrastructure, social media workshops, gender workshops, multimedia workshops, youth camps, health camps, and anything that is desired by the youth there, except money and material. The objective is not to give them the fish, but teach them how to fish.

• Share the challenges and problems in your region with the pro-bono Development Experts (Go-Brown Partner), and design solutions with their help and guidance.

• List down skills required for implementing the solutions.

• Liaise with the nearest GO-GREEN Partner, and share your skill based requirements and those of the youth in your communities.

• Organise and facilitate trainings, workshops, and meetings with the locals, for the visiting Professionals.

• Facilitate their discussions and translation if required.

• Record the meeting minutes, workshop and training briefs for follow up with locals later, and also for updating the Go-Green Partner whenever desired by them.

• Video record the skill training being offered by the professionals, and share them with the Go-Green Partner.

• Ensure the safety, security and basic comfort of the visiting Volunteers (GO-PROs) and their Vehicle.

• Collect feedback from Beneficiaries about the visiting Professionals, after each visit.

• Submit the collected Beneficiary feedback and your own feedback about each visiting Professional, after every visit, online to the national database.

• Update the Expert who helped in designing the solution, frequently on the developments in the project, and discuss correction measures.

You have complete freedom in your work. After all it is your work. GOOD-TO-GO network aims to help you in your work, by bringing those skills that your community needs, but you cannot source it for them. The network will never direct you how to do your work, but will bring in people who can help you find a direction, fast and effective approaches, and sustainability (financially and operationally) in your work.

ENSURED - GOOD-TO-GO is a Citizens' network, connecting selfless citizens to each other across the country, and to those who need selfless support. The network is not owned by any Business House, any community or religion or the Government. It is an open source project that can be started by any Indian citizen, anywhere in India. A small core group just ensures that blacklisted organisations, those with a shady history, communal organisations, political organisations, Criminals and Politicians are kept out of the network.

Please remember that GOOD-TO-GO will bring you help only when you ask for it, not otherwise. So continue doing your good work without any fear or doubt. GOOD-TO-GO is here only to help you do your work better.

The best part is that you do not have to search for Volunteers. Your GO-GREEN Partner will send the Volunteers to you. You just need to upload the skills that your community youth require to enhance their livelihood capabilities, on GOOD-TO-GO website. The GO-GREEN Partner you are connected with will get a notification of your demand, and will reach out to you to understand the finer skills requirement, period, number of youth to be trained, etc. Accordingly they will search the national Volunteer database for the skills you require, connect with those who have those skills, and bring them to you when you want them.

While there may be a time lag because of the number of skill requests received by GO-GREEN from all its Grassroot NGOs (GO-REDs), pending skill requests will show up as per age on the GO-GREEN's profile, whenever they log in. Requests pending for a long time will get flashed to GOOD-TO-GO's Core Group, so that they can liaise with your GO-GREEN, and sort out the problem.

Please remember, that a skill request from you, starts a series of groundwork for your GO-GREEN Partner, who liaises back and forth with you to finalise dates for the Volunteer (GO-PRO) visits. After you give commitment to a set of dates, it would be unfair to cancel any such commitment, until and unless you are stuck in an emergency situation. Any such cancelled engagements (except for emergencies) will affect your performance rating. However if the engagement is cancelled because of the Volunteer (GO-PRO) or GO-GREEN (except for emergencies), it will affect their performance rating as well, and that particular skill request will be flashed again in the GOOD-TO-GO Network with a high priority tag, so that you get a quick engagement from a Volunteer (GO-PRO), and your planned training period is not wasted.

You do not need to incur any expenses for the Volunteers (GO-PROs) and their visits, as they are entirely managed by the GO-GREEN Partner. The visiting Volunteer (GO-PRO) pays for most of the travel, lodging and boarding expenses to the GO-GREEN, before his/her visit to your Village, so that the operations are not affected because of lack of funds. However, if your GO-GREEN asks you to make certain reimbursable arrangements before the Volunteer(s) arrive, it is completely between you and your GO-GREEN partner. 

GOOD-TO-GO will not liaise between any of the network stakeholders for financial reasons.

Yes, even Volunteers of foreign origin might be interested in visiting your villages. However, certain areas of India are restricted to foreigners, and some other areas require special permits. If your project is in an area, which require permits; please find out how it can be obtained. Update your GO-GREEN on the procedures, and ensure that the necessary documents are obtained by you or your GO-GREEN, before the foreign Volunteer (GO-PRO) travels to your project area Village. For areas where there are absolute restrictions for foreigners, the visit locking will not happen with a foreign national.

The language and dialects of different regions in India vary a lot. Since you are working directly with the community without knowing their language, you might have definitely found a way out to translate your words to them and understand  their speech as well. If you have a staff, or a community youth who knows the local language as well as English / Hindi (generally spoken by the visiting Volunteers), please engage them with the Volunteers during their visit.

If your staff or that community youth is not available during a Volunteer (GO-PRO) visit, please let your GO-GREEN know, so that they can bring along a Translator (if available). In such cases, the cost of the Translator will be borne by the GO-GREEN and visiting Volunteer (GO-PRO).

Yes you may take pictures and videos. Please be mindful however of the fact that there may be Women Volunteers (GO-PROs) as well from different cultures. Do respect the sentiments of the Volunteers and their culture, while taking pictures. Do take permission of the women Volunteers before taking videos of their training session. 

GOOD-TO-GO will require access to your pictures and videos for uploading on their website, with due credit to you. Please note that you will get space on our website to share your own experience with Volunteers.

Yes, GOOD-TO-GO will expect  feedbacks from You and some of your Beneficiaries who received training, at the end of every trip, the formats of which will be shared with you electronically, when you are ready to start. Please keep a log of every trip, and share it with Your and your Beneficiaries' feedbacks after the trip. Your feedback will help evaluate the quality of the facilitation for the trip by your GO-GREEN, and performance of the Volunteer (GO-PRO). Your Social Credits and Performance Rating will get logged in only after your feedback is received.

GOOD-TO-GO will also take a feedback from the GO-GREEN, some of their beneficiaries (from the Volunteering trip), and the Volunteers (GO-PROs), to evaluate your performance rating. The Volunteers (GO-PROs) would generally like to visit GO-REDs with higher performance rating, for such Voluntourism opportunities. Your GO-GREEn would also like to send GO-PROs to GO-REDs with higher performance rating.

It is not required. ENSURED - GOOD-TO-GO will give Certificates to the registered Volunteers (GO-PROs), whenever they wish, mentioning their contribution and performance. Certificates will be given only to those who have contributed at least 15 days (not including travel) since joining, and their performance rating is above average (eg. at least 3.5 on a scale 1 - 5). 

You are not required to pay the Development Consultant (GO-BROWN) any fees. That is taken care of by your GO-GREEN, including his/her travel to your office / village.

You are only required to take care of the GO-BROWN's stay and food, for the period he/she works with you, to design a complete plan. In case you are not capable of that too, please inform your GO-GREEN well in advance.

With ENSURED - GOOD-TO-GO, you will be able to:

• Get a huge resource of skills and business development through the GO-PROs.

• Create ample livelihoods for your community youth, thus engaging them constructively.

• Improve your region’s/community’s financial strength and status.

• Get complete support for your work through connects with GO-BLUEs and GO-PROs.

If you have gone through this FAQ, have the required abilities and will to benefit from the initiative, please register as a Grassroot Organisation (GO-RED) with ENSURED - GOOD-TO-GO immediately here. 

If you want to recall the next steps, scroll to the top of this page and take a look at Question 3 in this FAQ.

The Volunteers (GO-PROs) will be brought to your Village / NGO by the GO-GREEN, and the Vehicle will be arranged by them. 

In case their vehicle is not able to reach your village, and requires some additional mode of transport like Bullock cart or Trek on foot, please arrange the same from the vehicle drop point. In such case, you may need to arrange a place of Stay and a Cook for the Volunteers and Driver, and also organise security for the Vehicle.

If your organisation / village HAS a place of Stay and a Cook, then you just need to keep it ready for the Volunteers (GO-PROs) with clean linen, beds, toilets, etc. The vehicle bringing the Volunteers will also bring with it groceries and drinking water, and take them to the Village. The vehicle and driver will also stay with the Volunteers, and take them back after the volunteering.

If your organisation / village they are visiting DOES NOT HAVE a place of stay and a cook, then you need to inform the same to your GO-GREEN, so that they can make the necessary arrangements for lodging and boarding for the Volunteers (GO-PROs), in the Vehicle itself. 

In case you are incurring any costs for the Volunteers' visit, please inform the same to your GO-GREEN  well in advance, so that they factor that in their costs, before the visiting Volunteers (GO-PROs) land in your village for volunteering.

No you do not need to take any Insurance for the Volunteers or the Vehicle. All that will be taken care of by the GO-GREEN that is bringing the Volunteers to your village.

This is possible, as many local Volunteers would prefer to drive down to your Village themselves. But chances are that they might be bringing a whole set of people with them who are not Volunteers, but fellow Campers or family. Please do not take pains to take care of their families and entertain them, even at a price. GOOD-TO-GO is not Rural Tourism, but Voluntourism. 

You might also find many Campers and Travellers (Professionals who work on the move in their own Campervans, passing through your Village or the geographical regions covered by your organisation. The best thing is that they come at no cost to you, as they move, live, eat and sleep in their Campervans. 

In return of all the skill sharing they do with your youth, please do assure their safety and security, wherever they park.

Any Indian citizen can travel anywhere in the country freely. Only foreign Tourists need to take permits for certain places.

If a Volunteer reaches one of your Villages without informing you, and expects any favours using your name or his/her association with GOOD-TO-GO, please inform your GO-GREEN immediately, and seek their approval before giving him/her any support.

However if a Volunteer is passing through a village that he/she has visited earlier through GOOD-TO-GO, and gets stuck in an emergency situation, your organisation and Villagers can take your own call on, when, where and how much to support. In any such case, you should necessarily inform your GO-GREEN about the incident and situation after it is taken care of by you. This is only to ensure that the credibility and sanctity of all GOOD-TO-GO Stakeholders is maintained.

GOOD-TO-GO assures the visiting Volunteers (GO-PROs) that besides all logistics for their lodging and boarding, they will get a clean and comfortable accommodation to stay and home cooked meals. It is not necessary to give attached toilets and running water, AC or coolers. But you will need to ensure that they get enough place to keep their belongings safe, clean drinking water, nature cooled insect free rooms and beds with clean linen and blankets, and non spicy healthy food. 

The objective is to help them discover how village life makes the best use of nature, to get what even the luxurious suites cannot.

In such case, you need to inform your GO-GREEN that you do not have a lodging and boarding facility for the Volunteers (GO-PROs). Accordingly your GO-GREEN will make arrangements to send the Volunteers (GO-PROs) in a vehicle that has lodging and boarding facilities. You may just need to ensure that they are safe and secure in your village and have access to daily wash water.

But this lack of facility can be converted into an opportunity for some youths to create a small facility and give it on rent to the GO-GREEN, whenever the Volunteers (GO-PROs) are visiting. Similarly some village men and women can act as Cooks, to earn money when the Volunteers (GO-PROs) are visiting. Some youth can make local organic mosquito repellants, while some artistic ones can make handcrafted souvenirs, for the visiting Volunteers (GO-PROs) to buy for their family and friends.

If your Village does not have grid supply or even solar lighting, try to to provide a big torch to them, and some youth who can give them company after dark. The urban Volunteers might not feel comfortable in pitch dark setting in a rural area.

If your village has limited or no mobile phone connectivity,  please ask your GO-GREEN to communicate your organisation phone numbers early to the Volunteers and ask them to share the same with their family. You can tell the Volunteers the benefits of cell phone detox and serenity during their trip. Please do maintain a touch with your GO-GREEN, so that messages can be passed in case of emergencies. 

Nothing more on the logistics front than all that is covered in the previous questions. While your GO-GREEN will coordinate with you for the same, what is more important is to make their visit enjoyable and worthwhile.

The visiting Volunteers (GO-PROs) will be happy if they are able teach their skills to more youth, and help them use them effectively for their existing livelihoods and to start new livelihoods too. So try to get as many youth as possible associated with them.

The Volunteers also would like to visit beautiful natural places in and around your village, river streams, old temples, fort ruins, etc. If your village is close to a forest or a mountain, you can take them trekking too. Since the Volunteers are offering their skills for free to your community youth, they will only take back experiences that you give them.

Few words of caution: Please do not offer locally made liquor, or meat of rare or endangered animals, birds or reptiles. If ever they speak about it after going back, you will land in trouble legally.

GOOD-TO-GO strictly prohibits underage smoking and drinking. Please instruct the Volunteers that in case they must smoke, they should choose a lonely spot to do so. Under no circumstances can we endorse any smoking in public. Taking drugs is strictly prohibited. Drinking during volunteering hours is also not allowed. Please do not offer the visiting Volunteers any local drink in appreciation of their efforts or just to welcome them into the community. GOOD-TO-GO will not be responsible for any health discomfort of the Volunteers (GO-PROs), resulting out of that. 

Orient the visiting Volunteers (GO-PROs) well before they start their work, and ask them to practice restraint and take care not to behave in a manner that compromises their position, or the credibility of your organisation (GO-RED). Any untoward incidents caused by unruly behaviour of a Volunteer, should be immediately informed to the GO-GREEN. If the Volunteer is found responsible, the GO-GREEN can immediately terminate his/her Voluntouring assignment, and  forfeit his/her security deposit, to settle compensation (if any). In such case negative feedback from all stakeholders involved, will automatically reduce the Volunteer's performance rating drastically, and hence not called for any volunteering opportunity anywhere.

While we want the Volunteers (GO-PROs) to enjoy their rural immersive experience, we also expect them to treat the role they are playing, with responsibility and sincerity, and contribute to a positive and respectful experience with the community.

To maintain a commonality, the food served to the Volunteering GO-PROs (during their visit) should be primarily vegetarian. However if they wish to have non-veg cuisine, they can pay you separately to get that, and have it at their own risk. GOOD-TO-GO will not be responsible for any health discomfort arising out of the same. Please ask the Volunteers to strictly resist and refuse any offers of meat of endangered and/or protected species of animals, birds and reptiles. Any violation might lead to legal proceedings against them.

Respect Veganism as well, you should try to provide vegan cuisines as far as possible. However, Vegan Volunteers will be carrying a pack of Dates with them for emergencies.

The vehicle (bringing the Volunteering GO-PROs to your Villages), with bring with it safe drinking water for their entire stay. However, some of them may carry their own water, as well. 

During the commute to the village and back, the Facilitating NGO (GO-GREEN) and its vehicle Driver will be responsible for all Volunteers (GO-PROs) safety and security. At the Village, your organisation (GO-RED) whose project they are visiting, is responsible for their safety and security.

Assure the Volunteers that Villages are generally safe places for women and men alike. Many women trek alone in villages and have never felt threatened. The locals respect women and treat them well. The local village women are also very friendly. Encourage the visiting Volunteers (GO-PROs) to build a rapport with the village community, and involve themselves with them. Ask them not to dress in a way that draws extra attention, and to carry themselves confidently. In case a Volunteer feels that he/she would need a same gender companion during the trip, please see if you can organise the same locally.

All foreign Volunteers only need a tourist visa to come into India. However, if there are any restrictions on foreign volunteers in your region, please take the necessary permits for the Volunteers, before they reach your office / village.