Professionalisation of Charity Flashcards
UK 2011 Charities Act
For the purposes of the law of England and Wales, ‘charity’ means an institute which is:
Is established for charitable purposes only
Falls to be subject to the control of the High Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction with respect to charities
Subsections of 2011 act (try and get 5)
The prevention or relief of poverty
The advancement of education
The advancement of religion
The advancement of health or the saving of lives
The advancement of citizenship or community development
The advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science
The advancement of amateur sport
The advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity
The advancement of environmental protection or improvement
The relief of those in need because of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage
The advancement of animal welfare
The promotion of the efficiency of the armed forces of the Crown or of the efficiency of the police, fire and rescue services or ambulance services
Any other purposes
Action for Children (6)
One of the largest UK based charities for children
Previously the National Children’s Home
Began in 1869 by a Methodist minister – Reverend Thomas B. Stephenson – was sent to Lambeth:
Was encouraged by his congregation to work in practical ways with his community
Found dozens of children sleeping under Lambeth Bridge, and later wrote that one of the boys shouted ‘do what you can for us sir’
Similar motivations to the Salvation Army – poverty and sin are intertwined
AfC - quote
‘Domestic management and moral training of children’
AfC - main aims
To develop in each child a moral feeling
To give each child a sound primary education
To teach each child to use his or her brains in order to earn a living
AfC - 1900-1946
The Charity continued to grow and diversity, so there was growing recognition of the need to change and adapt, including moves to further professionalise the roles involved
The National Children’s Home established a certificate for training to work with children, which was taken up by the UK government in the 1946 Curtis Report, the forerunner for a professional social work qualification
AfC - 1973
In 1973, the 75% of all children cared for by the NCH came from referrals from local authorities
Example of the model where charities bid for contracts from government providers
Much of NCH’s income comes from government sources, and a smaller proportion from Methodist sources
Christian Aid
Similar history to NCH
Set up in 1945
Other organisations such as TEARfund were set up although later — 1972
Hired a salaried theological advisor in its internal debating
Demonstrates the evangelical reaction to Christian Aid and its skepticism of Christian Aid drifting from mission work - Tearfund maintains a strong evangelical identity, integrating evangelism and discipleship into its relief work, while Christian Aid focuses more on systemic justice and secular partnerships, leading some evangelicals to view it as detached from Gospel proclamation
CA - branding (5)
Branding is a serious challenge for faith-based organisations
What does ‘Christian’ mean in this context?
‘Christian Aid is not a mission organisation’
Trying to make the point that funds were not for evangelising - Begs the question of what mission is
In the 1980s, a proposal to drop the word ‘Christian’ was brought up but eventually dropped
CA - income
18% from Christian Aid Week
£62.5m from institutions - £7.5m UK, £14.9m UN, £11M EU
CA - spending
£95.8m spent - 41% on humanitarian relief, 42% on grants to partner organisations
£39.8 spent in the UK
Of the rest - 58% to Africa, 24% to Asia and the Middle East, 4.9% to Latin America
Thomas Pogge
Giving Well: The Ethics of Philanthropy
Economies of scale - Cost advantages are lowered when production increases
Agencies are able to act on behalf of donors
- An INGO is not an actor in its own right, it is also an agent and trustee for its contributors
- People can outsource their charity to aid agencies that can act on their behalf
Professionalisation can facilitate the deployment of a wide range of professional expertise
e.g. Medical, legal, logistical, educational, etc
Stephen Hopgood and Leslie Vinjamuri
‘Faith in Markets’ in Sacred Aid: Faith and Humanitarianism
INGOs and FBOs must either specialise or form alliances in order to survive into the current oligopolistic market
The best agencies need to adapt to the future shape of the market and fill niches
William Easterly
The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good
WMB - interest
Aid agencies have a higher incentive to appeal to the West with promises than to actually help; they have a subliminal interest in aid remaining necessary
WMB - forefront
Using charity as a forefront for evil has happened very frequently
King Leopold II - ‘A crusade of progress’ 1876 vs ‘never to teach them to know God’ 1833
WMB - contracts
Charities are now functioning as service providers through contracts
From 2001-2015, the rate of contracts as opposed to grants from the government went from 49%-81%
In 2014, 2,700 American non-profit executives earned more than $1m p/a
How can one attract the best in the sector?
WMB - time
Challenges of short term contracts
The same people rotate 3-6 month contracts and agencies
No one learns the language or culture, and it is increasingly out of touch
James Orbinski
An Imperfect Offering: Dispatches from the Medical Frontline
MSF International Council president at the time the organisation received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999
Was on contract in Uganda during the genocide and was deeply traumatised
Professionalization brings management expertise and accountability but risks turning humanitarian work into a technocratic exercise, prioritising metrics over human dignity and solidarity
Alex de Waal
Ethics in Translation
Worked on the famine in Darfur
Aid agencies flooded Darfur with aid, removing any incentive and making the situation far worse
