Types of NGOs

There are numerous possibilities to classify NGOs. The following is the typology the World Bank uses 1:

Operational NGOs
Their primary purpose is the design and implementation of development-related projects. One categorization that is frequently used is the division into relief-oriented or development-oriented organizations; they can also be classified according to whether they stress service delivery or participation; or whether they are religious and secular; and whether they are more public or private-oriented. Operational NGOs can be community-based, national or international.

Advocacy NGOs
Their primary purpose is to defend or promote a specific cause. As opposed to operational project management, these organizations typically try to raise awareness, acceptance and knowledge by lobbying, press work and activist events.

AcronymsNongovernmental organizations are an heterogenous group. A long list of acronyms has developed around the term 'NGO'.
These include:
INGO stands for international NGO, such as CARE;
BINGO is short for business-oriented international NGO;
RINGO is an abbreviation of religious international NGO such as Catholic Relief Services;
ENGO, short for environmental NGO, such as Global 2000;
GONGOs are government-operated NGOs, which may have been set up by governments to look like NGOs in order to qualify for outside aid;
QUANGOs are quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations, such as the W3C and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which is actually not purely an NGO, since its membership is by nation, and each nation is represented by what the ISO Council determines to be the "most broadly representative" standardization body of a nation. Now, such a body might in fact be a nongovernmental organization--for example, the United States is represented in ISO by the American National Standards Institute, which is independent of the federal government. However, other countries can be represented by national governmental agencies--this is the trend in Europe.