MANGO’s Shawna Babauta speaks during the Saipan Chamber of Commerce general membership meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024 at Kensington Hotel.
SHAWNA Babauta, membership and communications manager of the Marianas Alliance of Non-Governmental Organizations, was the guest speaker of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at the Kensington Hotel where she discussed developments at MANGO as well as the ways that nonprofit organizations benefit the communities they serve.
Babauta said MANGO’s mission is to “nurture the nonprofit community in the CNMI for sustainability by facilitating their growth through guidance, training, and services.”
She said the organization hopes to enable a “strong, stable nonprofit sector” that provides services to the CNMI and increases “overall community health and well-being.”
Babauta said MANGO is developing a data management system for CNMI nonprofits that can eventually help them better apply for funds.
The data will include the internal statistics of nonprofits in the CNMI: funding sources — state or federal — currently being used; types of revenue generation; and expenditures.
“Nonprofit data can really make the CNMI stand out and [help] those that want to build their portfolio,” she said.
Babauta said they also want to create a training curriculum so that MANGO members can learn how to use the data for reporting purposes.
She said MANGO guides organizations that want to incorporate as a nonprofit. MANGO also conducts board training exercises, she added.
“Maybe you’ve had a board or an organization that’s been in existence for 20-plus years, but they’ve never had the opportunity to go through some type of board training. We have it,” she said.
Other services provided by MANGO include strategic planning, overall management, financial management, proposal writing, and more.
In addition, MANGO members get free in-house notarization services. Accounting services are available, but on a charge basis, Babauta said. Contact info@mangocnmi.org for questions.
Babauta also spoke about the benefit that nonprofits provide to a community.
She said nonprofits are the “community buffet” because they cover “many different areas that we need in our communities.”
Some of these needs include language perpetuation, health concerns, environmental and other issues.
“If there is an area where resources are scarce, nonprofits can come in … to close gaps,” Babauta said.
Nonprofits also allow community members a chance to volunteer for a good cause, she added.
