<P> Whether the NGOs are small or large, various NGOs need budgets to operate . The amount of money that each requires varies depending upon multiple factors, including the size of the operation and the extent of the services provided . Unlike small NGOs, large NGOs may have annual budgets in the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars . For instance, the budget of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) was over US $540 million in 1999 . Funding such large budgets demands significant fundraising efforts on the part of most NGOs . Major sources of NGO funding are membership dues, the sale of goods and services, grants from international institutions or national governments, and private donations . Several EU - grants provide funds accessible to NGOs . </P> <P> Even though the term "non-governmental organization" implies independence from governments, many NGOs depend heavily on governments for their funding . A quarter of the US $162 million income in 1998 of the famine - relief organization Oxfam was donated by the British government and the EU . The Christian relief and development organization World Vision United States collected US $55 million worth of goods in 1998 from the American government . </P> <P> Government funding of NGOs is controversial, since, according to David Rieff, writing in The New Republic, "the whole point of humanitarian intervention was precisely that NGOs and civil society had both a right and an obligation to respond with acts of aid and solidarity to people in need or being subjected to repression or want by the forces that controlled them, whatever the governments concerned might think about the matter ." Some NGOs, such as Greenpeace do not accept funding from governments or intergovernmental organizations . </P> <P> Overhead is the amount of money that is spent on running an NGO rather than on projects . This includes office expenses, salaries, banking and bookkeeping costs . What percentage of overall budget is spent on overhead is often used to judge an NGO with less than 4% being viewed as good . The World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations states that ideally more than 86% should be spent on programs (less than 20% on overhead). The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has specific guidelines on how high overhead can be to receive funding based on how the money is to be spent with overhead often needing to be less than 5 - 7% . While the World Bank typically allows 37% . A high percentage of overhead to total expenditures can make it more difficult to generate funds . High overhead costs may also generate criticism with some claiming the certain NGOs with high overhead are being run simply to benefit the people working for them . </P>

Non-governmental organizations work in which of the following areas