35 Years of Legacy

HISTORY

The Foundation was established on 17 December 1980 as a corporate social arm of Benguet Corporation. Originally called the Benguetcorp Foundation, Inc., its role was to concretize the company’s corporate social responsibility firstly to its employees and dependents, andsecondly, to residents living near its mining and logging operations.Beginning 1986, the Foundation expanded its services to other areas with support from the company itself; international donors such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), DISOP-Belgium; government and other NGOs.

The Foundation adopts the Strategic Area Management approach in the implementation of its programs and projects. To realize its development goals, it works in close partnership with key area stakeholders, namely: the target communities, government, business, microfinance clients and other social development organizations. JVOFI was renamed in 1987 after the first Filipino president of Benguet Corporation whose vision for development gained fruition in the Foundation.

The Foundation is registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission. As a duly accredited NGO by the Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC), it is a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)-registered donee institution and enjoys a 5-year tax-exempt donee status renewable upon expiration. It sits in the board of trustees of the Association of Foundations, representing the Luzon network and in the Cordillera Network of Development NGOs and POs (CORD-NET). It is also a member of the U.S.-based Council on Foundations and Microcredit Summit of 3 Practitioners. Locally, it is affiliated with the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc. and Association for Financial Intermediaries in Baguio &Benguet. JVOFI was one of the founding members of the League of Corporate Foundations.

STRENGTHS

Strengths are factors that are regarded as the reason why an organization exhibits an outstanding performance. Strengths are present prevailing factors that positively affect a company's performance. Some examples of strengths are the availability and use of modern equipment and tools, consistent training and seminars for personnel, positive work-attitude of all people involved, a clear understanding among employees and their tasks and more. If an organization is unaware of their strengths they will be unable to keep track of what they can and cannot do. 

At JVOFI, a foundation which has had more than 30 years of experience in serving communities. We can already determine their strengths. One of their strengths is their credibility as an NGO. The foundation has weathered several changes in the course of its existence, but, they still remain as one of the most prominent NGOs here in the Philippines. Another one is visibility, with the extensiveness of the projects and programs they have implemented they have already reached numerous areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. They have established and created strong relationships with their stakeholders.

WEAKNESSES

Weaknesses are current factors in the organization that will increase their losses and decrease their credibility. Examples of weaknesses in an organization include discord between employees, the inability to adapt to changes and lack of proper tools and equipment. Organizations, businesses and individuals must always bear in mind that weaknesses will also breed other weaknesses. For example, the inability to communicate properly will disrupt the continuity of projects and programs in an organization. The same scenario applies in businesses and between individuals. Miscommunication will always cause undesirable issues. These issues will then lead to inefficiencies. The presence of  inefficiencies will hamper the organization's capacity to reach their desired results which will cause the depletion of their resources. These resources can either be tangible or not but usually it will always include time and money. Other weaknesses include insufficient training, lack of resources, and policies that will limit collaborative capacity with other organizations.

At JVOFI, one of the weaknesses in the foundation is the insufficient orientation and training of new hire employees. This shows how unaware the organization is in terms of the importance of laying down the proper foundation for new employees. Orientation and training is crucial for new hire employees to properly adapt themselves in a new work environment and for them to familiarize themselves with the foundation's policies and culture. Bridging the employee's skills, knowledge  and attitude towards the organization's needs is essential to ensure a transition. This can be easily and readily addressed by creating a training plan for all incoming employees. 

OPPORTUNITIES

Opportunities are new initiatives available for use by an organization . Examples include collaborations with other organizations, partnering with several communities and increased funding for projects and programs to improve the quality and efficiency of delivering desired results. Organizations who collect and use data successfully are more capable in improving their processes. Improved processes and systems will result in  lower costs and higher-quality outcomes. 

At JVOFI, for the past 30 years they have made good and genuine relationships with a lot of individuals and private and public institutions. They have not only built relationships with local and national organizations but also international ones. As previously mentioned, JVOFI has been donees of international organizations such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), DISOP-Belgium; government and others. In collaboration with these other organizations, the foundation has significantly increased their ability to deliver results with quality and efficiency.

THREATS

Threats are factors that could negatively affect an organization's performance. Threats are often external and are usually out of an organization's control. These situations arise from sudden changes and are frequently inconvenient and costly. Examples of threats include uncertainties with the country's economy and politics, changes with the organization or the company's management, personal decisions of employees and others. In an organization or a company, high attrition rates are a threat. But, threats can also help an organization or a company to anticipate and prepare for future adverse incidents. In terms of attrition, company's or organization can now determine whether the problem is with the management or something else.

At JVOFI, an example of threats are external factors that can affect the organization's ability to carry out or implement a program or a project. An example of such is political unrest, especially with the nature of most of the projects where the staff needs to travel to certain places there is a possibility or risks involved whenever they travel. Attrition rate or the turnover within the foundation is considered as a threat. Attrition is a threat but it can also guide the foundation to check if anything needs to be changed in the management, policies, communication processes and others. 

RECOMMENDATIONS ON HARDWARE, SOFTWARE AND COMMUNICATION DEVICES

Looking at the hardware, the organization has an ample amount of devices and equipment needed to prepare, implement, monitor and evaluate their programs and projects. Regarding the software, it would be best if the organization invests in current available technologies to ensure quality results. Let's be realistic and honest, technology needs to be incorporated in most if not all organizations to adapt with the changing times. Software programs are required and are necessary to generate the data collected so that the correct information is dispersed. People from the foundation mostly use e-mail, SMS and calls as a form of communication. However, it is still necessary for the employees to have a technological know-how to operate other equipment  such as computers, printers and cameras. Training and seminars would be appropriate areas to provide additional knowledge and skills for the employees.

REFERENCES

Harrison, Jeffrey P. (2010). Excerpted from Essentials of Strategic Planning in Healthcare. Health Administration Press.Retrieved November 14, 2017 from https://www.ache.org/pdf/secure/gifts/Harrison_Chapter5.pdf

Hovardas, Tasos. (n.d.) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis: A template for addressing the social dimension in the study of socioscientific issues. Retrieved November 15, from www.env.aegean.gr/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Hovardas_AEJES_2015.pdf

N.A.(n.d.) SWOT Analysis. Strategy Skills. Retrieved November 15, from http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/dldebk-pdf/fme-swot-analysis.pdf

N.A. (n.d.) Swot Analysis. Retrieved November 15, 2017 from http://www.indiana.edu/~jobtalk/HRMWebsite/hrm/articles/hrm/SWOTanalysis.pdf

Valentin, Erhard K. (2005) Away With SWOT Analysis: Use Defensive/Offensive Evaluation Instead. The Journal of Applied Business Research Spring 2005 Volume 21, Number 2. Retrieved November 15, from http://www.repiev.ru/doc/Away-With-SWOT-Analisis.pdf

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