tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/charities-4583/articlesCharities – The Conversation2024-01-18T13:28:25Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2205682024-01-18T13:28:25Z2024-01-18T13:28:25ZUS law permits charities to encourage voting and help voters register, making GOP concerns about this assistance unfounded<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569650/original/file-20240116-27-7pcz6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1375%2C1184%2C3166%2C1954&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Volunteers register voters in Santa Fe, N.M. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/volunteers-register-voters-at-a-table-set-up-at-a-fourth-of-news-photo/997809612?adppopup=true">Robert Alexander/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>U.S. charities <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/501">aren’t allowed to campaign for or against specific political candidates</a>. But they can <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/rr2007-41.pdf">legally engage</a> in nonpartisan <a href="https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/electionofficials/QuickStartGuides/Voter_Education_EAC_Quick_Start_Guide_508.pdf">voter education</a> and candidate-neutral efforts to get out the vote, as well as voter registration drives.</p>
<p>I’m an <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2057780">expert on charitable tax law</a> who used to work at the Internal Revenue Service. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://gop-waysandmeans.house.gov/event/oversight-subcommittee-hearing-on-growth-of-the-tax-exempt-sector-and-the-impact-on-the-american-political-landscape/">testifying before a House subcommittee</a> in December 2023, I explained that these electoral-related activities are consistent with a healthy democracy and <a href="https://gop-waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Hackney-Testimony.pdf">don’t violate any U.S. laws</a>. </p>
<h2>Voter assistance</h2>
<p>Some nonprofits like the <a href="https://www.lwv.org/elections/increasing-voter-registration">League of Women Voters</a> have engaged in these nonpartisan efforts for decades. Others, like <a href="https://www.nonprofitvote.org/">Nonprofit Vote</a> and <a href="https://www.rockthevote.org/">Rock the Vote</a>, seek to motivate people of color and young voters to cast their ballots.</p>
<p>It’s hard to find data on how much charitable money funds these causes. But there’s no shortage of conjecture about its possible impact.</p>
<p>The Republican Party has long seen nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns as being somehow tied to the Democratic Party or more helpful for turning out votes for Democratic candidates than Republican hopefuls. As far back as the 1960s, Republican representatives accused the <a href="https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-ford-foundation-the-1967-cleveland-mayoral-election-and-the-1969-tax-reform-act/">Ford Foundation of using voter registration</a> in what they alleged was a partisan manner. </p>
<p>Today, <a href="https://www.philanthropy.com/article/the-house-gop-wants-to-probe-nonprofits-both-left-and-right-have-pushed-back">Republican objections</a> <a href="https://gop-waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/UPDATED-RFI-on-501c3-and-c4-Activities-FINAL.docx87.pdf">and concerns</a> are getting louder. There are <a href="https://tenney.house.gov/media/press-releases/congresswoman-tenney-reintroduces-end-zuckerbucks-act">GOP efforts underway</a> to make some of these donations illegal. </p>
<h2>Charity constraints</h2>
<p>Because it’s against the law for charities to overtly engage in political activity, any direct politicking tied to these nonpartisan registration drives could <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/501">jeopardize their tax-exempt status</a>.</p>
<p>These “organizations may encourage people to participate in the electoral process through voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, conducted in a non-partisan manner,” the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/rr2007-41.pdf">Internal Revenue Service states</a>. “On the other hand, voter education or registration activities conducted in a biased manner that favors (or opposes) one or more candidates is prohibited.”</p>
<p>In practice, that means it’s OK if a charity sets up a voter registration booth at a state fair and registers anyone who comes to the booth, regardless of their political leanings. But if a charitable organization runs a phone bank that encourages people to vote only if they agree with a particular candidate’s position, that would break the law.</p>
<p>The Americans who can <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-charitable-deduction-an-economist-explains-162647">deduct their contributions to charities</a> from their taxable income – an option generally available today for only the highest earners – can’t do that with the money they <a href="https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-deductions-and-credits-2/are-your-political-campaign-contributions-tax-deductible-11380/">donate to political candidates</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/300126510">Center for American Progress</a>, a progressive think tank, isn’t allowed to endorse President Joe Biden’s reelection bid. Nor is <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237327730">The Heritage Foundation</a>, a conservative think tank, at liberty to urge voters to support his Republican rival.</p>
<p>Although <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/300126510">both of these groups produce political analysis</a>, they <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237327730">are charities</a> and must comply with section <a href="https://www.501c3.org/what-is-a-501c3">501(c)(3)</a> of the tax code.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Professor Philip Hackney testifies before the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee on Dec. 13, 2023.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Johnson amendment</h2>
<p>This restriction, on the books since 1954, is known as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-says-the-irs-regulates-churches-too-much-heres-why-hes-wrong-77605">Johnson amendment</a> because of Lyndon B. Johnson’s insistence on its passage when he was serving in Congress.</p>
<p>Former President Donald Trump tried and failed to get rid of the Johnson amendment for churches and other houses of worship, which the U.S. government <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-a-church-that-can-depend-on-the-eye-of-the-beholder-or-paperwork-filed-with-the-irs-130517">lumps together with all other charities</a>. </p>
<p>House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican lawmakers would like to go even further than Trump’s proposed change. They have backed the <a href="https://slate.com/business/2023/11/mike-johnson-speaker-johnson-amendment-religious-leaders-taxes.html">Free Speech Fairness Act</a>, <a href="https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/trends-and-policy-issues/protecting-johnson-amendment-and-nonprofit-nonpartisanship">which would practically eliminate restrictions on politicking</a> for not just churches but all charities.</p>
<p>Some conservative preachers, meanwhile, have been <a href="https://www.keranews.org/politics/2022-11-03/many-churches-use-their-pulpit-to-support-or-oppose-political-candidates">flouting the Johnson amendment</a> without eliciting much of a <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/30/johnson-amendment-elections-irs/">response from the IRS</a>.</p>
<h2>Republican lawmakers</h2>
<p>At the same time Republicans are trying to significantly weaken restrictions on the use of charitable money for politicking, they are also calling out nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts as unfair uses of tax-deductible charitable dollars.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://gop-waysandmeans.house.gov/event/oversight-subcommittee-hearing-on-growth-of-the-tax-exempt-sector-and-the-impact-on-the-american-political-landscape/">House Ways and Means subcommittee hearing</a> in which I testified focused on the role that some nonprofits are playing in American politics.</p>
<p>Republicans expressed their concerns that charities are engaging in voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts in communities that might boost the electoral chances of Democratic candidates. Because contributions to charities can be tax deductible, those lawmakers said they are concerned that the federal government is thus being used to further Democratic interests.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/1/7/21055340/mind-the-gap-silicon-valley-donors-democrats-2020-plan-140-million">Some of them highlighted a memo</a> from <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/mind-the-gap/C00683649/summary/2022">Mind the Gap</a>, a Democratic <a href="https://www.fec.gov/press/resources-journalists/political-action-committees-pacs/">super PAC</a>. According to the memo, donating to charities for voter registration in the 2020 election cycle was “the single most effective tactic for ensuring Democratic victories.”</p>
<p>But as political scientists Daron R. Shaw and John R. Petrocik have observed, seven decades of survey data and election returns “<a href="https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/does-high-voter-turnout-help-one-party">suggest that turnout has no systematic partisan consequences</a>.” </p>
<h2>‘Zuckerbucks’ contributions</h2>
<p>Republican lawmakers are particularly incensed by the over <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/08/zuckerberg-2020-election-republicans/">US$400 million in contributions Mark Zuckerberg</a> and his wife, <a href="https://www.techandciviclife.org/100m/">Priscilla Chan</a>, made to two charities to make grants to state and local election administrations to aid those authorities during the COVID-19 crisis.</p>
<p>Conservatives have dubbed this support aimed at ensuring a well-run election system “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-united-states-government-and-politics-78e0e0d548df9023aeac1c9c690b48f8">Zuckerbucks</a>.” A Republican bill pending in Congress <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/end-zuckerbucks-gop-bill-aims-to-ban-mark-zuckerberg-style-election-funding">would outlaw this kind of spending</a> in the future.</p>
<p>And more than 20 Republican-led states have already <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-united-states-government-and-politics-78e0e0d548df9023aeac1c9c690b48f8">barred this private spending on elections</a> within their borders.</p>
<p>However, the Federal Elections Commission, which is responsible for this kind of oversight, has found no cause for concern. In a rare unanimous decision in 2022, three Republican and three Democratic commissioners <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/08/zuckerberg-2020-election-republicans/">determined that all complaints of violations of campaign finance law</a> in the case of the Zuckerberg grants were without merit.</p>
<h2>Concerns moving forward</h2>
<p>As I advised House lawmakers, I believe that drafting any restrictions on the nonprofit sector requires proceeding with great care. Charities make up a part of civil society – a place outside of government and business – where we all have an opportunity to generate important information, develop our opinions and share those with government representatives. </p>
<p>In my view, Congress needs to assess whether any cure it seeks to implement will be better or worse than the disease that it thinks afflicts the U.S. electoral system. Clamping down on nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts seems to me to be misguided at best.</p>
<p>Congress can, if it wishes to take action, appropriate more funds to ensure that all local and state authorities have the money they need for a well-run election system. That could eliminate the need for donors to step in.</p>
<p>In any case, Congress can help by supporting increases in the IRS budget, especially for the tax agency’s capacity to enforce compliance with the laws pertaining to tax-exempt organizations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Hackney is a member of the Democratic Party. </span></em></p>A professor of nonprofit law explains why drafting any restrictions on charities requires proceeding with great care.Philip Hackney, Associate Professor of Law, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2185692023-12-07T16:19:32Z2023-12-07T16:19:32ZFrom rented Christmas jumpers to ‘shwopping’, the secrets of successful business-charity collaborations<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563922/original/file-20231206-15-3v5tb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C2%2C991%2C663&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Going for a rental this year?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/photo-two-upset-surprised-amazed-shocked-1502669909">Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While the world’s governments meet at COP28 to take stock of progress against the UN’s <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/">Sustainable Development Goals</a>, business leaders are also considering the impact their organisations have on the environment. </p>
<p>Besides the climate impact of their internal operations, businesses have huge potential to influence the world through their supply chains, products, and the choices their customers make. </p>
<p>Lidl’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/23/lidl-christmas-jumper-loan-scheme-nspcc">recent partnership</a> with children’s charity NSPCC is a great example of this. The supermarket is offering UK consumers a rental alternative to buying a Christmas jumper this year – a clothing item that typically has very limited wear. This kind of “rent-not-buy” solution saves people money at a time when customer finances are tight, but also aims to make a dent in the tonnes of clothing <a href="https://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam-in-action/oxfam-blog/new-shocking-facts-about-the-impact-of-fast-fashion-on-our-climate/">sent to landfill each year</a> - or at least draw attention to the issue.</p>
<p>Challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, inequality and poverty are not easily solved, of course. These complex, interconnecting systemic challenges have implications across borders. They also often unjustly affect the world’s poorest communities.</p>
<p>For businesses, this means sustainability strategies need to account not only for the effects of their own operations, but those of stakeholders like global supply chain partners and customers. </p>
<p>All organisations have limitations in these areas (most businesses need to keep profits and shareholders in mind, for example), and all companies should be wary of attracting greenwashing accusations. This can afflict <a href="https://nbs.net/how-to-avoid-greenwashing/">even well-intentioned initiatives</a>.</p>
<h2>Partner up</h2>
<p>So, how can business leaders contribute to creating a better world without facing accusations of hypocrisy or greenwashing? Is it even possible for a business to address environmental and societal challenges while keeping an eye on day-to-day operations, revenues and profits? Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296318305757">research shows</a> partnering with other organisations can certainly help.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.citroen.co.uk/about-citroen/news/big-issue-partnership.html">cross-sector partnership</a> between Citroën UK and the Big Issue Group is helping the homelessness charity reduce the carbon emissions of the 350,000 miles-worth of annual deliveries it makes. Big Issue magazines <a href="https://www.bigissue.com/press-release/big-issue-partner-with-citroen-to-go-green-and-cut-emissions/">are now delivered</a> to vendors by all-electric Citroën ë-Berlingo vans.</p>
<p>When engaging in partnerships like these, managers may find themselves confronting differences in purpose, values and desired objectives from a collaborative project. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296318305757">Our research shows</a> that partnering can cause invisible aspects of an organisational culture to be revealed, sometimes leading to a culture clash. Unless recognised and explicitly managed, differences in expectations and “ways of being” can cause the partnership to fail at launch or fall apart later.</p>
<p>One example of a very successful sustainability partnership that has avoided this culture trap is the “<a href="https://www.marksandspencer.com/c/plan-a-shwopping">Shwopping</a>” programme run by Marks & Spencer and Oxfam. Customers donate unwanted clothing in stores and receive vouchers for M&S purchases, while the donated clothes go to Oxfam. Launched <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/apr/26/marks-spencer-shwopping-scheme">11 years ago</a> with the motivation of stopping one-in-four items of clothing in the UK being thrown in the trash, the programme is an example of a successful long-term collaboration that has navigated the challenges of partnership working. </p>
<h2>Making collaborations work</h2>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jpim.12394">Through our research</a>, we’ve identified five managerial practices that ensure successful partnerships like the one between M&S and Oxfam.</p>
<p><strong>1. Building bridges</strong></p>
<p>Making an employee or a team the bridge between a company and its external partner can bolster the relationship. Often, a person in this role has worked across two or more sectors during their career. For example, businesses may deliberately hire people with non-profit or government backgrounds. Similarly, charities may recruit people with a business background.</p>
<p><strong>2. Finding ways to engage</strong></p>
<p>Developing processes and methods to engage with external partners encourages ongoing cooperation and trust. Our research found that regular catchups and face-to-face meetings are most likely to facilitate openness and honesty when charities and companies work together. Some organisations even choose a neutral meeting venue to help build a sense of shared identity.</p>
<p><strong>3. Achieving alignment</strong></p>
<p>Our research found the need for mutually defined goals, both for the joint project and its individual partners. This helps avoid misinterpretations of the relationship’s intentions due to contrasting perspectives. For example, the Oxfam and M&S Shwopping programme helps M&S achieve its landfill reduction targets, while helping Oxfam collect clothing to sell to fund its poverty alleviation activities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="External shot of an Oxfam shop in Nantwich, Cheshire." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563928/original/file-20231206-29-u0zsw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">An Oxfam shop in Nantwich, Cheshire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/nantwich-cheshire-england-uk-august-10th-2345772187">Clive Platt/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>4. Engaging across the business</strong></p>
<p>M&S has a long-running, company-wide “<a href="https://www.marksandspencer.com/c/look-behind-the-label">Plan A</a>” sustainability programme, which offers a supportive cultural context for the partnership with Oxfam. This meant Oxfam could access a wide network of engaged M&S employees across the company that were keen to support the partnership from the start. This enabled the relationship to grow and boosted learning on both sides. In contrast, we found other examples during our research of reporting lines that made it very difficult for the two organisations to benefit from their partnership.</p>
<p><strong>5. Integrating sustainability</strong></p>
<p>Sustainability should already be embedded in a company’s processes, including strategy development, new product development, marketing research and performance management. This makes employees more likely to think in a systemic way about issues that are beyond day-to-day business operations, and more open to collaboration with external stakeholders such as a non-profit.</p>
<p>Whether offering a rented Christmas jumper once a year or maintaining a long-running clothing swap initiative, for-profit companies can gain a lot from partnering with charities. And it’s not just about looking good or attracting new customers. These organisations can harness their differences to find new ways to co-create innovative solutions that address complex problems like the climate crisis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218569/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How to lay the foundations for success when companies collaborate with charities.Emma Macdonald, Charles Huang Chair in International Business and Director, Stephen Young Institute, University of Strathclyde Rosina Watson, Associate Professor of Sustainability, Cranfield UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2086242023-08-11T12:39:28Z2023-08-11T12:39:28ZGovernment support was key for thousands of US nonprofits battered by COVID-19’s early costs − new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541977/original/file-20230809-20-lbprqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C337%2C4800%2C2522&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Federal funding shored up charities when the economy was in distress.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/washington-with-uncle-sam-hat-royalty-free-image/481268763?adppopup=true">mj0007/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Government funding helped keep U.S. charities afloat during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4417861">a study I conducted</a> with <a href="https://www.stephanie-a-karol.com/">Stephanie Karol</a>, a fellow economist.</p>
<p>We found that charitable donations declined by more than an estimated 20% during that period – which preceded a sharp end-of-year <a href="https://theconversation.com/americans-gave-a-record-471-billion-to-charity-in-2020-amid-concerns-about-the-coronavirus-pandemic-job-losses-and-racial-justice-161489">upswing in giving</a> in late 2020. But the government grants to nonprofits, which soared during those six months by over 65%, and the <a href="https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program">Paycheck Protection Program</a> – a government-run loan program established to support employers as the pandemic upended the economy – enabled many charities to retain their employees.</p>
<p>The pandemic hindered many donors’ <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90563856/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-has-changed-how-we-give-to-charity">ability to give</a>, while also <a href="https://cep.org/portfolio/persevering-through-crisis-the-state-of-nonprofits/">hampering the delivery of charitable services</a> when nearly all indoor activities screeched to a halt. After analyzing data we obtained from the <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-a-990-form-a-charity-accounting-expert-explains-175019">Internal Revenue Service</a> and the <a href="https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program/ppp-data">Small Business Administration</a>, another government agency, we found that when donations declined, from March to November 2020, charities spent less delivering their services. Spending by charities fell by 34%, as many of those groups struggled to keep going.</p>
<p>We found that nonprofit employment also suffered. The number of nonprofit jobs declined by 14%, and wages for the people charities employed fell by over 40% on average during this <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2021/article/unemployment-rises-in-2020-as-the-country-battles-the-covid-19-pandemic.htm">period of high U.S. unemployment</a>. The arts were particularly hard-hit, with donations, spending on programs, salaries and other forms of employee compensation all falling by roughly 50% as museums, theaters and concert venues remained shut and in-person shows were canceled.</p>
<p>By contrast, the data we analyzed indicates that social service charities, such as homeless shelters and hospices, fared relatively well, with private contributions and employment remaining stable, and spending on programs and employee compensation declining by less than 20%. That was the smallest decline compared with other kinds of charities.</p>
<p>At the same time, <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19">many governments around the world</a> stepped in to provide additional support to businesses and nonprofits alike. In the United States, government grants to charities increased significantly, and Paycheck Protection Program loans, most of which were later <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/09/1145040599/ppp-loan-forgiveness">converted into grants</a> that borrowers didn’t need to pay back, helped to cushion economic blows. We calculated that the PPP saved more than 450,000 nonprofit jobs in those initial six months.</p>
<p>All told, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2022.104664">PPP saved between 1.4 and 2 million jobs in its first year</a>, according to a study by MIT economist David Autor and his co-authors. Our estimates imply that between 23% and 33% of jobs saved by the Paycheck Protection Program were in the nonprofit sector. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Our results suggest that the Paycheck Protection Program was a particularly helpful lifeline for nonprofits, which constitute a large segment of the U.S. economy. Nonprofit employees make up roughly <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/nonprofits-account-for-12-3-million-jobs-10-2-percent-of-private-sector-employment-in-2016.htm">10% of the U.S. labor force</a>.</p>
<p>By helping nonprofits keep their operations running, this funding may have prevented an even larger reduction in spending on the many services charities provide.</p>
<p>As far as we’re aware, our study is the first to assess the economic impact of the pandemic on the entire nonprofit sector in the United States.</p>
<p><iframe id="Y4yRD" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Y4yRD/5/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Given <a href="https://blog.candid.org/post/new-990s-are-here-why-thats-a-big-deal-what-happens-now/">delays in data availability</a>, we focused on the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot has changed since late 2020 in terms of economic conditions and the way nonprofits adapted to the pandemic.</p>
<p>Data in the annual Giving USA report shows that U.S. charitable donations overall <a href="https://theconversation.com/americans-gave-a-near-record-485-billion-to-charity-in-2021-despite-surging-inflation-rates-185086">remained stable in 2021</a> before <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-charitable-donations-fell-to-499-billion-in-2022-as-stocks-slumped-and-inflation-surged-207688">declining in 2022</a> because of inflation and stock market declines.</p>
<p>We believe further research is needed to determine how changes in the scale of donations, combined with a relatively brief surge in government support, affected the delivery of nonprofit services.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208624/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Mayo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two economists calculated that the Paycheck Protection Program saved more than 450,000 nonprofit jobs in the first six months after the pandemic was declared.Jennifer Mayo, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Missouri-ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2104272023-08-02T12:30:13Z2023-08-02T12:30:13ZNonprofits may engage in advocacy and limited lobbying, but few do so – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540504/original/file-20230801-16611-emuheh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C89%2C5847%2C3727&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is anybody ready to speak up?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/microphone-over-the-abstract-blurred-photo-of-royalty-free-image/829570660?adppopup=true">Tzido/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Fewer than a third of charities in the U.S. (31%) engaged in advocacy in the last five years. This represents a dramatic decline in the past two decades, <a href="https://independentsector.org/policy/advocacy-research/#research-report">we found</a>, even though the law allows these groups to speak up regarding the issues that affect the people they serve.</p>
<p>The results of the <a href="https://independentsector.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IndependentSector_AdvocacyResearch.pdf">Public Engagement Nonprofit Survey</a>, a new nationally representative study we conducted on behalf of <a href="https://independentsector.org/">Independent Sector</a> – a coalition of nonprofits, foundations and corporate giving programs – indicate that many charities don’t engage in policy discussions because they don’t fully understand the <a href="https://bolderadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Public_Charities_Can_Lobby.pdf">rules governing those activities</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=53L5ftAAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">We are</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=gbNTcf0AAAAJ">scholars of nonprofits</a> who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=T543VR4AAAAJ">conduct research</a> regarding nonprofits. The executive directors of about 2,300 nationally representative nonprofits completed this survey during the second half of 2022.</p>
<p>Along with finding that only 3 in 10 nonprofits engage in policy advocacy, we found that only 25% report ever formally lobbying government, compared with 74% that ever lobbied in 2000 – and this is heavily related to not knowing that they can. In 2000, the last time a similar survey was conducted, <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/news/seen-not-heard-book-calls-more-advocacy-nonprofit-oragnizations/">73% of charities knew they had the right</a> to support or oppose legislation, compared with only 32% who know that today. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>We were surprised to see such a sharp decline in nonprofit advocacy, despite ongoing educational efforts around advocacy by <a href="https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/everyday-advocacy/why-should-your-nonprofit-advocate">national</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0899764009338963?casa_token=n3tkY-zmDwkAAAAA:gTqui-fdOH0qGdk7dZJ1driDrIwueDFw0tfl2LKGbfJZssVQVVjvNVwLuslCJsLxxjuh8PJttHTK">state</a> associations of nonprofits and others since 2000.</p>
<p>All charities, officially known as <a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/exemption-requirements-501c3-organizations">501(c)3 nonprofits</a> due to the portion of the U.S. tax code that defines their obligations, may legally speak out regarding public issues in an effort to influence local, state and national government decisions. There are roughly <a href="https://nccs.urban.org/publication/nonprofit-sector-brief-2019">1.5 million nonprofits of this kind</a> in the U.S., including food banks, homeless shelters, day care centers and arts organizations. </p>
<p>It can be <a href="https://nonprofitquarterly.org/yes-can-nonprofit-advocacy-core-competency/">vital for the advancement of their missions that charities exercise this right</a>. For example, after-school programs can encourage staff members and volunteers to address school board members and other local officials, state representatives – and even members of Congress. They can suggest ideas for new rules, laws or funding that would help the children they serve.</p>
<p>The rules for how nonprofits can <a href="https://bolderadvocacy.org/advocacy-defined/">advocate are more flexible</a> than many people believe. Nonprofits can raise awareness about issues affecting the people they serve, and <a href="https://bolderadvocacy.org/resource/being-a-player-a-guide-to-the-irs-lobbying-regulations-for-advocacy-charities/">they can also lobby</a> by directly reaching out to public officials about legislation. As long as nonprofit employees don’t <a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/measuring-lobbying-substantial-part-test#:%7E:text=Under%20the%20substantial%20part%20test,income%20being%20subject%20to%20tax.">spend too much time</a> out of their day – meaning that doing so does not become a major part of their daily activities – and don’t use government money for lobbying, they’re complying with the law.</p>
<p>While how much is “too much time” is unclear, charities can file a simple <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5768.pdf">one-page form with the IRS</a>, called the 501(h) election, providing their organization’s name and address and taking the election. Filing this form lets charities follow much clearer rules based on how much money they spend on lobbying rather than how much of it they do.What’s more, when nonprofits use this form, their volunteers don’t face any limits on the time they spend lobbying on behalf of organizations.</p>
<p>There’s evidence that the public wants nonprofits to be engaged in this way. According to a <a href="https://independentsector.org/resource/new-poll-voters-want-nonprofits-to-be-engaged-and-resourced/">recent poll the Independent Sector conducted</a>, 87% of registered voters support nonprofits educating policymakers about the needs of their communities.</p>
<p>We believe these findings indicate a need for more training of nonprofit leaders regarding the importance of advocacy and lobbying tied to their missions.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>We have several additional related studies underway, including qualitative interviews, that will cast more light on why so few nonprofits engage in advocacy and identify potential solutions. Following the completion of the project, we plan to make the data publicly available for additional research by other scholars of nonprofits. We’re also planning to conduct follow-up surveys to see how these trends evolve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210427/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lewis Faulk received a research grant from Independent Sector for the Public Engagement Nonprofit Survey (PENS) project. He is a former visiting scholar at Independent Sector and collaborates with Independent Sector on other research and policy focused projects.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather MacIndoe received a research grant from Independent Sector for the Public Engagement Nonprofit Survey (PENS) project. She is a current visiting scholar at Independent Sector.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mirae Kim received a research grant from Independent Sector for this Public Engagement Nonprofit Survey (PENS) project. She is a visiting scholar at Independent Sector and is a non-paid board member at the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA).</span></em></p>A nationally representative survey found that the share of nonprofits aware of their right to support or oppose legislation has fallen by more than half in the past 20 years.Lewis Faulk, Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy, American UniversityHeather MacIndoe, Associate Professor of Public Policy, UMass BostonMirae Kim, Associate Professor of Nonprofit Studies, George Mason UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2069842023-06-08T12:28:26Z2023-06-08T12:28:26ZArrests of 3 members of an Atlanta charity’s board in a SWAT-team raid is highly unusual and could be unconstitutional<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530703/original/file-20230607-25-agnv47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=241%2C832%2C3681%2C1828&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Police arrested three people who have been aiding protesters at this Atlanta house in May 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PoliceTrainingCenterProtest/caa761ef730b4ca5bf425464dcd76304/photo?boardId=37be9465fcce45d283d5431cccb20a6a&st=boards&mediaType=audio,photo,video,graphic&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=356&currentItemNo=1">AP Photo/Kate Brumback</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On May 31, 2023, the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/01/1179427542/atlanta-copy-city-arrests">Atlanta Police Department deployed a SWAT team</a> to arrest Marlon Kautz, Adele MacLean and Savannah Patterson. These three people weren’t fugitives from justice or drug kingpins, but rather volunteer <a href="https://atlpresscollective.com/2023/05/31/apd-gbi-raid-bail-fund-arrest-three-organizers/">board members of a local charity</a>.</p>
<p>The Georgia Bureau of Investigation then charged these trustees of the <a href="https://networkforstrongcommunities.org/">Network for Strong Communities Inc.</a> with <a href="https://gbi.georgia.gov/press-releases/2023-05-31/three-arrested-money-laundering-and-charity-fraud-atlanta">charity fraud and money laundering</a>.</p>
<p>Charges under <a href="https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2022/title-16/chapter-14/">Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act</a>, a very expansive state version of federal RICO laws, <a href="https://atlsolidarity.org/updates/">may also be pending</a>.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Aos80cEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">charity expert</a> who researches <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-nonprofit-boards-need-to-do-to-protect-the-public-interest-188966">nonprofit governance</a>, I am struck by how unusual this scenario is.</p>
<p>This story strikes close to home for me as well. A friend of mine was arrested three months ago by the Atlanta police while attending a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/06/atlanta-georgia-cop-city-protest">related music festival</a> organized by the “Stop Cop City” protesters.</p>
<h2>What’s the charity?</h2>
<p><a href="https://networkforstrongcommunities.org/">Network for Strong Communities Inc.</a> was <a href="https://www.guidestar.org/profile/85-2889531">founded in 2020</a>. The Internal Revenue Service approved its application to operate as a <a href="https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/">public charity</a> under federal law, and the Georgia secretary of state’s office reports the <a href="https://ecorp.sos.ga.gov/BusinessSearch/BusinessInformation?businessId=3039913&amp;businessType=Domestic%20Nonprofit%20Corporation&amp;fromSearch=True%20%22%22">organization is in good standing</a>. An open records request I filed on June 5 with the Georgia secretary of state’s office returned only routine charity documents.</p>
<p>Among its community engagement activities, the network operates the <a href="https://atlsolidarity.org/">Atlanta Solidarity Fund</a>, which has, since 2016, provided local activists with legal support, including bail bonds and attorney fees. <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-bail-funds-two-social-policy-experts-explain-182631">Bail funds</a> pool donated money to pay bail for people who can’t afford it. They help low-income people who are facing legal charges to avoid the economic hardship of pretrial detention.</p>
<p>There’s another charity with the same name based in Missouri, but the two organizations aren’t connected.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1663961599109890074"}"></div></p>
<h2>What is the organization doing?</h2>
<p>The Network for Strong Communities has provided legal assistance to dozens of people who have been arrested since 2022 during marches, demonstrations and other events opposing <a href="https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/06/06/heres-whats-next-future-atlanta-public-safety-training-center/">plans for the</a>
Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. That’s a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/24/us/atlanta-public-safety-training-center-plans-community/index.html">controversial facility under construction</a> in Atlanta’s largest urban forest.</p>
<p>A loose environmental and civil rights coalition calling itself <a href="https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/">Defend the Atlanta Forest</a> has spearheaded the actions, which stem from fears of police militarization and environmental harm. But concerns about the facility are <a href="https://www.11alive.com/article/news/politics/emory-poll-atlanta-residents-buckhead-city-cop-city-public-safety-training-center/85-4edd2e82-39f9-49f6-9b1a-c5c20489197d">widespread among city residents</a>. </p>
<p>Most of the environmental and civil rights activists objecting to the training center they call “Cop City” have used constitutionally protected tactics. But some have allegedly <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/08/us/cop-city-explainer/index.html">committed criminal acts of sabotage</a>.</p>
<p>The protests have expanded and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65772507">garnered international attention</a> after <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/13/1163272958/cop-city-protester-autopsy-manuel-paez-teran">Manuel Esteban Paez Terán</a>, an environmental activist, was shot and killed by a Georgia State Patrol trooper in January 2023 during an encounter with law enforcement, as officers sought to clear protesters from the site.</p>
<p>Georgia has relied on its state <a href="https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2022/title-16/chapter-11/article-6/">domestic terrorism law</a> and an <a href="https://gov.georgia.gov/executive-action/executive-orders/2023">unusual state-of-emergency declaration</a> that Gov. Brian Kemp issued on Jan. 26, 2023, to jail the arrested activists and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/31/georgia-cop-city-activists-prosecutors">deny them bail</a> for extended periods. </p>
<p>But the three Network for Strong Communities <a href="https://www.wabe.org/atlanta-solidarity-fund-members-arrested-for-helping-protesters-granted-bail/">board members were released</a> only two days after their arrest. The judge in charge of <a href="https://www.wabe.org/atlanta-solidarity-fund-members-arrested-for-helping-protesters-granted-bail/">deciding on their bail expressed skepticism</a> about the strength of the state’s case. Their attorney has argued that the <a href="https://www.11alive.com/article/news/crime/trials/atlanta-solidarity-fund-organizers-charges-judge-grants-bond-atlanta-public-safety-training-center-cop-ctiy/85-8f4254bf-44f2-4da7-9123-9e08f9e901c2">charges are unconstitutional</a>.</p>
<p>The earlier <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/03/03/letter-calling-dropping-domestic-terrorism-charges-against-defend-atlanta-forest">arrests of more than 40 activists generated widespread concern</a> among human rights experts who challenged the absence of evidence and observed that the activists were also involved in constitutionally protected activities. </p>
<p>The Atlanta City Council approved the remainder of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/cop-city-vote-atlanta-city-council-99e9dfbd5a3d83d2e564c34b7c61c686">US$90 million in funding for the training center</a> on June 6, over the objections of more than 350 Atlanta residents who stood in line for over 14 hours to publicly comment. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530436/original/file-20230606-19-jmu61z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=174%2C22%2C4886%2C3080&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three people looking sad hold up a photo of a smiling man." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530436/original/file-20230606-19-jmu61z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=174%2C22%2C4886%2C3080&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530436/original/file-20230606-19-jmu61z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530436/original/file-20230606-19-jmu61z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530436/original/file-20230606-19-jmu61z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530436/original/file-20230606-19-jmu61z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530436/original/file-20230606-19-jmu61z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530436/original/file-20230606-19-jmu61z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Relatives of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, shown in a photo, embrace in March 2023, in Decatur, Ga. Terán was shot by Georgia State Police who were clearing a protest encampment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Police%20Training%20Center%20Protest/08463196b7dc4c2f947040e38039cbb8?Query=us%20ga%20cop%20city%20protest&mediaType=photo,video,graphic,audio&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=17&currentItemNo=2">AP Photo/Alex Slitz</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Are these charity arrests unusual?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/safety-resources/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/charity-and-disaster-fraud">Charity fraud charges</a> can be lodged in any state when regulators suspect a charity is deliberately misleading the public about its activities. In this case, prosecutors claim the network’s <a href="https://gbi.georgia.gov/press-releases/2023-05-31/three-arrested-money-laundering-and-charity-fraud-atlanta">board members diverted charitable funds</a> for personal use and misled donors about activities. The <a href="https://www.wabe.org/atlanta-solidarity-fund-members-arrested-for-helping-protesters-granted-bail/">evidence relies mainly on financial and phone records</a> obtained under a search warrant and receipts for such items as gas and yard signs obtained from board members’ trash. </p>
<p>Georgia authorities have said the <a href="https://gbi.georgia.gov/press-releases/2023-05-31/three-arrested-money-laundering-and-charity-fraud-atlanta">money laundering charge</a> is based on evidence of a fund transfer to another organization, but they had not disclosed any details about this transaction by a week after the arrests. Network for Strong Communities makes <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CYKT4Z0hRaJ/%20%22%22">grants to community groups</a>, which is routine for charities involved in community organizing.</p>
<p>Normally, <a href="https://nonprofitquarterly.org/how-to-steal-from-a-nonprofit-who-does-it-and-how-to-prevent-it/">an employee tip or donor complaint initiates</a> a charity fraud investigation. Prosecutors claim donor complaints here but did not disclose details at the bail hearing. It’s also unusual for fraud charges to be applied without a full forensic investigation involving the Georgia secretary of state, who has this <a href="https://www.sos.ga.gov/charities-division-georgia-secretary-states-office">statutory authority</a>.</p>
<p>Even Georgia Attorney General Christopher M. Carr, who is currently prosecuting this case, would <a href="https://law.georgia.gov/press-releases/2021-10-22/carr-warns-georgians-be-aware-fraudulent-charities">normally direct inquiries</a> by someone who suspects wrongdoing to the secretary of state’s office.</p>
<p>I can’t recall a SWAT team ever being involved in the prosecution of charity fraud charges. When I asked my fellow charity experts if they knew of a U.S. precedent, nobody did. </p>
<p><a href="https://nonprofitrisk.org/faq/may-board-members-reimbursed-expenses/">Charity leaders may legally reimburse</a> themselves for work-related expenses as long as they keep receipts and records and there are appropriate checks and balances in place. </p>
<p>U.S. charities also legitimately make payments to other entities to carry out their mission. Any transfer of funds would need to be mission-related and reported in mandatory annual filings with the Internal Revenue Service.</p>
<p>If found guilty, the three Network for Strong Communities board members could have to pay fines of more than $500,000 and <a href="https://atlpresscollective.com/2023/05/31/apd-gbi-raid-bail-fund-arrest-three-organizers/">spend up to two decades in prison</a>, according to the Atlanta Community Press Collective, a media outlet closely covering the story.</p>
<h2>What could happen next?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/federal-law-protects-nonprofit-advocacy-lobbying">free speech rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment</a> belong not just to individuals but also to institutions.</p>
<p>It is not a violation of anti-racketeering law to communicate among organizers to coordinate legitimate charitable work. And despite the astonishing claim by Georgia Deputy Attorney General John Fowler that these arrests could be justified because the board members “<a href="https://www.wabe.org/atlanta-solidarity-fund-members-arrested-for-helping-protesters-granted-bail/">harbor extremist anti-government and anti-establishment views</a>,” a charity leader’s political viewpoints are protected free speech, as are those of all Americans.</p>
<p>If past history is any guide, and unless the evidence becomes more compelling, I believe that these charges will be dropped. Calls to end such prosecutorial overreach will mount, and legal observers have already called for a <a href="https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/uploads/6.2.2023-Statement-on-Cop-City-Arrests.pdf">federal investigation</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206984/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>One of the Cop City protesters is a personal friend of Beth Gazley and somebody who has benefited from the legal assistance of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund.</span></em></p>Georgia authorities have filed charges against Network for Strong Communities trustees. The nonprofit opposes the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which protesters call ‘Cop City.’Beth Gazley, Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2004452023-02-24T13:12:19Z2023-02-24T13:12:19ZProject Veritas fired James O'Keefe over fear of losing its nonprofit status – 5 questions answered<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511792/original/file-20230222-25-pq4t04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3361%2C2175&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">James O'Keefe stands accused of financial misdeeds.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/james-okeefe-an-american-conservative-political-activist-news-photo/1204060878?adppopup=true">Samuel Corum/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>James O'Keefe, the founder of Project Veritas, says he <a href="https://apnews.com/article/workplace-culture-florida-james-okeefe-business-1df6176308a14577ce9ba603fd227237">has been fired</a>. He is no longer leading the conservative nonprofit organization, which is known for its use of hidden cameras and false identities to try to catch members of the media and progressive leaders saying embarrassing things and to expose their supposed liberal biases.</em> </p>
<p><em>To learn more about <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/02/21/1158505780/project-veritas-james-okeefe-forced-out-financial-malfeasance">the accusations</a> against O'Keefe and what the legal consequences might be for the tax-exempt organization, The Conversation asked <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ef2n0uEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">nonprofit law scholar Samuel Brunson</a> five questions to explain the situation and the issues it raises.</em></p>
<h2>Who is accused of what, exactly?</h2>
<p>The board of directors of Project Veritas has accused O'Keefe of “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/21/james-okeefe-project-veritas-irs-nonprofit/">financial misfeasance</a>.” Its allegations of financial improprieties by the man who until recently served as the group’s chairman include that he spent money donated to the organization on various luxuries for himself, such as charter flights and theater tickets.</p>
<p>If the accusations prove valid, it is possible that this misuse of Project Veritas funds could imperil the group’s tax exemption. A tax-exempt organization cannot use its money to benefit certain individuals, especially insiders such as its leaders and major donors. It can pay its employees, but the staff and its leaders cannot receive unreasonable compensation or any other type of benefit that looks like the tax-exempt organization is <a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/inurement-private-benefit-charitable-organizations">sharing its profits with them</a>. </p>
<p>While it sounds odd that a nonprofit would have profits, it is not. The rule for nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations is not that they cannot make profits; it is that, unlike for-profit entities, they <a href="https://www.springly.org/en-us/blog/can-a-nonprofit-make-money">cannot distribute their profits</a> to shareholders.</p>
<h2>2. Why would it be a big deal if Project Veritas were to lose its tax-exempt status?</h2>
<p>Tax-exempt status provides at least three benefits to Project Veritas.</p>
<p>First, these groups don’t need to pay taxes on most of their revenue.</p>
<p>Second, and likely more importantly, it means that donations to Project Veritas are tax deductible for many wealthy supporters. Through what’s known as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-charitable-deduction-an-economist-explains-162647">charitable deduction</a>, donors can essentially get a subsidy from the federal government for their donations.</p>
<p>The third benefit: Tax exemption can provide a veneer of legitimacy to an organization by signaling to some potential donors that the <a href="https://www.uschamber.com/co/run/finance/business-tax-exemption-explained">federal government has approved of its activities</a>. </p>
<p>But, in fact, tax exemption does not represent any type of government approval. That’s because the government cannot deny tax-exempt status on the <a href="https://www.taxnotes.com/research/federal/court-documents/court-opinions-and-orders/no-headline-is-available/1m51n">basis of ideological disagreement</a>.</p>
<h2>3. How has James O'Keefe responded?</h2>
<p>O'Keefe acknowledged in a <a href="https://vimeo.com/800604525/fe482c1859">long video posted to the Vimeo video platform</a> that he had been forced out. The <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/02/21/1158505780/project-veritas-james-okeefe-forced-out-financial-malfeasance">board has declared</a> that he has had the opportunity to meet with its members to discuss allegations of financial misdeeds and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/20/us/politics/james-okeefe-project-veritas.html">mistreating staff members</a>. But the man who founded the group 13 years ago has declined to take that opportunity.</p>
<p>O'Keefe also indicated in the video, which he said was being recorded on Feb. 20, 2023, that he may intend to <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/20/james-okeefe-removed-project-veritas">launch a new organization</a>. “I’m not done,” he said. “The mission will perhaps take on a new name.”</p>
<h2>4. In a situation like this, are the authorities likely to look into the accusations?</h2>
<p>The Internal Revenue Service could investigate the allegations if it wanted to do so. Although the agency is underfunded and understaffed, it sometimes uses high-profile and highly publicized instances of noncompliance to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/irs-ci-counts-down-top-10-cases-of-2022">discourage other people and groups from violating tax laws</a>.</p>
<p>That said, based on the publicly available facts, I can’t yet tell whether Project Veritas has violated the rules governing tax-exempt status. While O'Keefe may have misused the group’s funds, it looks like he did it without the board’s knowledge or approval.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ustaxcourt.gov/petitioners_about.html">The Tax Court</a>, a federal court that adjudicates tax disputes, <a href="https://www.leagle.com/decision/1997155974jltcm148511288">has explained</a> that a charity does not lose its exemption just because an officer of the charity has “skimmed or embezzled or otherwise stolen from the charity.” Unless there is some evidence that Project Veritas deliberately allowed O'Keefe to use its resources for personal consumption, I suspect the IRS will not pursue this.</p>
<h2>5. How can such a demonstrably partisan group have nonprofit status?</h2>
<p>Project Veritas <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/272894856/202003179349305580/IRS990">claims exemption</a> as an educational organization. According to U.S. Treasury Department regulations, an organization that advocates for a particular viewpoint can be educational for exemption purposes, even though it “<a href="https://www.taxnotes.com/research/federal/cfr26/1.501c3-1/cy3b-0000047">advocates a particular position or viewpoint</a>,” as long as it fully presents the facts in a way that allows listeners to make an informed conclusion.</p>
<p>Does Project Veritas meet what the IRS calls the “<a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3694076">full and fair exposition</a>” test? If so, and as long as it complies with the other requirements for tax-exempt status, it qualifies as exempt – notwithstanding its <a href="https://www.allsides.com/news-source/project-veritas-media-bias">ideological leanings</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200445/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samuel Brunson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A scholar of the laws governing tax-exempt groups explains why trustees showed James O'Keefe the door and what the consequences might be if their concerns prove to be accurate.Samuel Brunson, Professor of Law, Loyola University ChicagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1929832023-01-17T13:33:47Z2023-01-17T13:33:47ZAllegations that the charity George Santos claims to have run was fake highlight how scams divert money from worthy causes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504310/original/file-20230112-4958-9ryu0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=126%2C111%2C4847%2C2632&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Did he run an animal rescue?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/rep-george-santos-leaves-the-u-s-capitol-on-january-12-2023-news-photo/1456010506">Win McNamee/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rep. George Santos, the New York Republican whose 2022 election to the House of Representatives flipped a seat previously held by a Democrat, faces pressure to resign for having <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/11/nyregion/george-santos-resume.html">reportedly lied extensively</a> about his education, employment history and religious heritage. He also faces allegations that he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/01/11/george-santos-harbor-city-capital/">may have participated</a> in <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/02/politics/george-santos-brazil-fraud-case/index.html">financial fraud</a>.</p>
<p>When Santos apologized for having “<a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/12/27/george-santos-admits-embellishing-resume">embellished</a>” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/01/11/us/resume-of-george-santos.html">his resume</a>, he also said, “We do stupid things in life.”</p>
<p>Because I’m a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=FJ9Y6QMAAAAJ">nonprofit accounting scholar</a>, what has really caught my eye are the reports that Santos fabricated a charity. On an <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200811235634/https://georgeforny.com/about/">early version of his campaign website</a>, the freshman lawmaker claimed to have founded and run what has been alleged to be a fake nonprofit animal rescue group called <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3791375-list-of-george-santos-falsehoods-continues-to-grow-amid-apology-tour/">Friends of Pets United</a>.</p>
<p>Santos says the group rescued 2,400 dogs and 280 cats and that it trapped, neutered and released over 3,000 cats from 2013 to 2018. Trouble is, there’s no evidence that has been presented publicly showing the charity ever existed. </p>
<p>As media outlets have reported, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/nyregion/george-santos-ny-republicans.html">Friends of Pets United has no website</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/whstancil/status/1604841168851947521">There’s no record</a> of the Internal Revenue Service granting the organization nonprofit status or of a group by that name <a href="https://candid.org/research-and-verify-nonprofits/990-finder">annually filing the required paperwork</a> with the IRS. And it is further alleged that a fundraising event he held with <a href="https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/12/29/claims-by-us-rep-elect-george-santos/">another New Jersey animal rescue group</a> never received any of the funds it was promised.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1613537251904094213"}"></div></p>
<h2>Fake charities are a real problem</h2>
<p>If Santos’ animal rescue turns out to be the scam <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/19/george-santos-new-york-republican-resume">it is alleged to be</a>, it’s unlikely to be his <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/mysterious-unregistered-fund-raised-big-131005823.html">biggest legal</a> or <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/11/politics/george-santos-nassau-county-resign/index.html">political liability</a>.</p>
<p>Regardless of what the stakes are in Santos’ case, fake charities are a serious problem. Their <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/scam-charities-will-take-your-money-and-run">scams divert donations</a> that would probably <a href="https://theconversation.com/donor-beware-pause-before-you-give-to-any-cause-188117">otherwise support legitimate causes</a> that <a href="https://howcharitieswork.com/about-charities/what-is-a-charity/">benefit society</a> in one way or another. And they can <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2018.0027">undercut donors’ confidence</a>, discouraging charitable giving overall.</p>
<p>The term “fake charity” encompasses a lot of different schemes.</p>
<p>In one common scenario, someone <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/scam-charities-will-take-your-money-and-run">pretends to represent a real charity</a> and pockets money that should have gone to that organization. The fake charity in this case is the fraudster posing as someone authorized to raise money on behalf of the legitimate charity. The fraudster will ask deceived donors to give them money directly or to make a payment through a separate website that turns out to have no ties with the valid charity.</p>
<p>It’s also not unusual for someone to set up a fictitious charity – often with a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/07/how-to-avoid-charity-impersonation-scams-in-times-of-crisis.html">name that sounds much like a legitimate cause</a> – to fool donors into thinking they are giving to another, valid, organization. Some of these impersonators go to elaborate lengths to develop their scheme, perhaps building a website or even establishing a social media presence.</p>
<p>Sometimes charitable fraud is committed by the donors themselves. When that happens, the donor <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2022/08/former-independence-financial-adviser-charged-in-fake-charity-scheme-that-provided-tax-shelter-for-wealthy-clients.html">seeks out illegitimate tax deductions</a> by donating to groups they know are fake nonprofits.</p>
<h2>Role of the IRS</h2>
<p>All fake charities have one thing in common: They aren’t registered and approved by the IRS.</p>
<p>The IRS regulates charities and <a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-and-nonprofits">evaluates and approves requests for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status</a>.</p>
<p>This status provides two benefits. The roughly <a href="https://www.nptrust.org/philanthropic-resources/charitable-giving-statistics/">1.5 million groups</a> in this category – ranging from Planned Parenthood to your local food pantry and <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-a-church-that-can-depend-on-the-eye-of-the-beholder-or-paperwork-filed-with-the-irs-130517">neighborhood church</a> – generally don’t have to pay taxes on their income.</p>
<p>In addition, some of their donors can deduct any donations they make from their taxable income through the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/charitable-contribution-deductions">charitable deduction</a>, which is an incentive to support those groups.</p>
<p>Charities must first register within their state and then apply with the IRS for recognition. </p>
<p>To be a valid charity, the organization must pay a fee to have its charitable application reviewed and must declare its intended <a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/exempt-purposes-internal-revenue-code-section-501c3">charitable purpose</a>. The application process can take as <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/501c3-application-online/">little as four weeks</a> or over six months for more complex applications. </p>
<p>The IRS maintains a <a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search">list of valid charities</a>. Charities must comply with <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-a-990-form-a-charity-accounting-expert-explains-175019">tax return filing requirements</a> to stay on the approved list. If not, the charitable status will be revoked, although the charity may submit an application for reinstatement. </p>
<p>If a charity does not appear in the IRS database, it could simply be that it’s still being launched and awaiting approval. Charities can begin operating while their IRS application is pending and have their charitable status retroactively recognized. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3y_C03YkAjs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Saturday Night Live’ lampooned fake charities by concocting an imaginary group that gives men’s sweatshirts to chilly, single women.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Don’t be fooled</h2>
<p><a href="https://nonprofitrisk.org/resources/articles/a-violation-of-trust-fraud-risk-in-nonprofit-organizations/">Nonprofit fraud</a> constituted about 9% of all fraud cases reported in 2022, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners said in its <a href="https://legacy.acfe.com/report-to-the-nations/2022/">annual international report</a>.</p>
<p>Nowadays, fake donation requests also occur with crowdfunding platforms, when people pretend to raise funds informally to exploit the public. In one prominent example, three people have been found guilty of orchestrating a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/nyregion/katelyn-mcclure-gofundme-scam-sentenced.html">GoFundMe scam</a> that raised more than US$400,000 in 2017 from 14,000 donors who were duped into believing they were helping a homeless veteran.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764014555987">news media</a> and <a href="https://www.charitynavigator.org/">charity monitoring websites</a>, such as Charity Navigator, try to keep track of these scams. </p>
<p>But the public has a role to play too. If you suspect that a charity <a href="https://www.charitynavigator.org/donor-basics/protect-your-giving/avoid-charity-scams/?bay=content.view&cpid=6506">asking you for donations is a fake</a>, you can help stop them by <a href="https://tips.fbi.gov/">reporting any suspected fraud to the FBI</a> or local law enforcement.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192983/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Webber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When a fake charity is uncovered, headlines abound with details of the fraud, while donors are eager to make sure they weren’t one of the victims of the scheme.Sarah Webber, Associate Professor of Accounting, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1904072022-11-21T17:57:47Z2022-11-21T17:57:47ZWhy it’s time to end child sponsorship<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491444/original/file-20221024-8945-cyleto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C18%2C3995%2C2329&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Charities often promote the benefits of child sponsorship. However, the practice perpetuates damaging patterns of thinking. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/why-it-s-time-to-end-child-sponsorship" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Language about the <a href="https://www.worldvision.ca/stronger-together/home">benefits of child sponsorship</a> is common in the charity sector. The narrative we are given is that sponsoring a child in the Global South is a way to make a positive difference in their lives. </p>
<p>However, this narrative inaccurately frames children and their families as lacking, backward, inferior, and longing for the standards of the Global North. It does not speak to the greater injustices and inequities impacting these children’s lives, or the role the Global North has played in producing them.</p>
<p>Millions of children are sponsored worldwide <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-22472455">raising billions of dollars per year</a>. Yet, the more things change, the more they stay the same: the misguided motivations for sponsors becoming involved, lack of public education around issues of poverty and inequity and the level of denial for the role played by the Global North in reproducing problematic patterns of thinking and relationships all remain unchanged. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491962/original/file-20221026-18530-fqnmkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Words on a smartphone screen read: Making a better world." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491962/original/file-20221026-18530-fqnmkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491962/original/file-20221026-18530-fqnmkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491962/original/file-20221026-18530-fqnmkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491962/original/file-20221026-18530-fqnmkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491962/original/file-20221026-18530-fqnmkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491962/original/file-20221026-18530-fqnmkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491962/original/file-20221026-18530-fqnmkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Child sponsorship raises billions of dollars a year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://newint.org/features/2022/04/04/feature-please-continue-not-sponsor-child">I have been researching child sponsorship since 2018</a>. My advice not to participate is typically met with blank stares or a retort that it is “better than nothing.” </p>
<p>Unfortunately, it’s not. Child sponsorship is highly successful at escaping questioning and reproach because it is viewed as a well-intentioned and benevolent act on the part of good people who want to help. Failure to ask sponsors to think and act differently and to challenge their comfortable roles as well-intentioned, good people, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-103-the-afternoon-edition-sask/clip/15916615-u-r-prof-says-homework-opening-wallet-sponsor">is a problematic pattern of thinking</a>.</p>
<h2>Why people sponsor children</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v9i8.5574">Motivations for becoming a child sponsor are numerous</a>, including the sponsor’s guilt over their own privilege, the need for a personal connection, the desire to support development or even the belief that sponsoring a child is apolitical. </p>
<p>People are also drawn to child sponsorship for altruistic reasons. But, as geographer <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2012.04.006">Frances Rabbitts</a> observes: “Despite the common association of charity with altruism…charitable gifts are shown to be inextricably bound up in webs of reciprocity and relations of power.” </p>
<p>Take the standard practice of letter writing between sponsor and child. As writer Peter Stalker explains, “<a href="https://newint.org/features/1982/05/01/keynote">there’s nothing like writing a regular thank-you letter to keep you in your place</a>.”</p>
<p>For some, motivation is tied up in those glossy photos of children living in poverty — images designed to tug at a donor’s heartstrings. International development consultant <a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2021/4/20/time-to-end-aid-agency-child-sponsorship-schemes">Carol Sherman</a> describes the persuasive marketing techniques used for child sponsorship as “much like those found on online shopping sites or dating apps.” </p>
<p>Other motivations are based in a belief that child sponsorship is an apolitical way to advance the project of “development” by helping innocent victims of chronic poverty. But that belief is framed primarily by and for the Global North to make the Global South feel the need to catch up. Post-development theorist Arturo Escobar calls for a shift away from the concept of development, calling instead for “complex conversations” which will “<a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691150451/encountering-development">provide alternative understandings of the world.</a>”</p>
<p>As sociology professor <a href="https://camosun.ca/peter-ove">Peter Ove</a> says, “<a href="https://www.beyondchildsponsorship.ca/why-not-child-sponsorship/">child sponsorship is never going to be the solution to the problem. And I think the faster we realize that, and change our core assumptions, the better off we’ll be</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491452/original/file-20221024-6143-nwfk3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A hand placing a coin into a wooden box." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491452/original/file-20221024-6143-nwfk3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491452/original/file-20221024-6143-nwfk3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491452/original/file-20221024-6143-nwfk3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491452/original/file-20221024-6143-nwfk3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491452/original/file-20221024-6143-nwfk3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491452/original/file-20221024-6143-nwfk3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491452/original/file-20221024-6143-nwfk3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Child sponsorship avoids complex conversations and is framed primarily by and for the Global North.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sponsorship lets people off the hook</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, society tends to discuss global poverty as simply a case of being fortunate or unfortunate. But that utterly disregards the role played by the Global North in producing and sustaining the conditions of the South through, for example, <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/structural-adjustment-9781842773895/">structural adjustment programs</a>, <a href="https://blendedfinancecritique.ca/">foreign policies</a> and <a href="https://newint.org/features/2019/01/07/just-open-and-green-action-trade">global trade regimes</a>. </p>
<p>Viewing the global poverty discourse through a fortunate/unfortunate lens takes people in wealthier countries out of the power relationship and <a href="https://www.developmenteducationreview.com/issue/issue-19/critical-literacy-theories-and-practices-development-education">reproduces problematic historical perspectives and relationships</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.beyondchildsponsorship.ca/how-do-charity-justice-and-solidarity-relate-to-cs/">“Charity lets people off the hook by not requiring them to recognize their position within a relationship based on power,</a>” says international development scholar <a href="https://www.uregina.ca/arts/politics-international-studies/faculty-staff/faculty/granovsky-larsen-simon.html">Simon Granovsky-Larsen</a>. Agencies do not encourage sponsors to examine their role in global injustice nor do they attempt to reverse or undo the structural conditions that have produced it.</p>
<p>But, as Granovsky-Larsen says, actions based on justice “require a difficult look at who you are, what your role is in imbalanced relationships of power, and how you can act — sometimes at a cost to yourself — to undo the structural conditions that have produced that injustice.”</p>
<h2>Education and engagement instead</h2>
<p>Instead of sponsorship, we need to engage with and support education and advocacy work being done in the Global South. For example, <a href="https://www.devp.org/en/">Development and Peace Caritas Canada (DPCC)</a> works on ecological justice, democracy, citizen participation and peace and reconciliation with their Global South partner organizations. </p>
<p>DPCC also educates Canadians on the root causes of global poverty. We need to understand that poverty in the Global South is intimately <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-the-monarchy-has-benefited-from-colonialism-and-slavery-179911">linked to the wealth of those in the industrialized Global North</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491741/original/file-20221025-18-nsh8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People on a small boat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491741/original/file-20221025-18-nsh8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491741/original/file-20221025-18-nsh8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491741/original/file-20221025-18-nsh8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491741/original/file-20221025-18-nsh8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491741/original/file-20221025-18-nsh8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491741/original/file-20221025-18-nsh8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491741/original/file-20221025-18-nsh8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Villagers cross a flooded area in Sindh province, Pakistan. Climate change was blamed for the ferocity of this year’s floods. While the richest countries produce the majority of the world’s pollution, poorer countries like Pakistan often suffer the consequences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Fareed Khan)</span></span>
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<p>We can support and act in solidarity with grassroots groups and campaigns for change around the world, while also putting pressure on our governments to shape policies and laws. </p>
<p>This can take a number of forms: exercising one’s right to vote with a global citizenship lens; supporting NGOs that promote a change in foreign aid conditions; participating in civil engagement and divestment actions to hold companies accountable when they are linked to violence and harm in communities in the Global South.</p>
<p><a href="https://newint.org/features/1982/05/01/keynote">In the words of Stalker</a>, who warned people off child sponsorship forty years ago: “Alleviating the problems of the poor is one thing. But solving them involves much more difficult choices.” It’s time to make difficult choices and move beyond child sponsorship.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190407/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathleen Nolan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Child sponsorship is often billed as a significant way of improving children’s lives. However, sponsorship is based on narratives that fail to address the role of rich countries in global poverty.Kathleen Nolan, Professor, Faculty of Education, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1927762022-11-06T18:29:38Z2022-11-06T18:29:38ZLiverpool’s unsung COVID heroes: how the city’s arts scene became a life support network<blockquote>
<p>Culture was always a large part of my life. But when we all had to rush home in March 2020, I felt like I lost it on the way – as if I’d left it on the bus in a bag. It’s making me question my future: what will be left when all this ends? How many venues, how many bands, how many theatres, how many art galleries?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You are never far away from culture in Liverpool. The forthcoming host of the <a href="https://www.ebu.ch/news/2022/10/liverpool-to-host-eurovision-song-contest-2023-on-behalf-of-ukraine">2023 Eurovision Song Contest</a> on Ukraine’s behalf has long pioneered the idea of “arts as life support” – via initiatives such as <a href="https://www.liferooms.org/">The Life Rooms</a>, which uses a library and theatre (among other sites) to engage people in cultural activities as part of its social health model.</p>
<p>While COVID required the temporary suspension of many in-person arts offerings, it also sparked a remarkable shift in how the city’s arts organisations and charities operated. As government health and welfare services shut down or struggled to adapt to the crisis, cultural organisations stepped in to provide vital support – including, in some cases, fundamentals of food and heating – to their networks of participants and audiences whose usual care was falling short. As one Liverpool arts organiser <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.753973/full">recalls</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was phoning people asking: “Have you got food, have you been to your GP, did you get your prescription sorted?” But sometimes they just wanted to have somebody to have a laugh with – some human interaction.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Liverpool has long struggled with some of the poorest mental health levels in the UK. For those most at risk of loneliness and mental distress, COVID delivered a further devastating blow. At the peak of the pandemic in November 2020, <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/%7E/media/phi-reports/pdf/2021-03-vulnerable-groups-profile-liverpool-city-region">almost one in five adults</a> in the Liverpool City Region were suffering from a “common” mental health problem such as depression or anxiety – exacerbated by some of the <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/%7E/media/phi-reports/pdf/2021-03-vulnerable-groups-profile-liverpool-city-region">highest deprivation indicators in England</a>.</p>
<p>Our <a href="http://livcare.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/COVID-19-CARE-report_final.pdf">new research</a> shows that access to arts activities during lockdown was a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.753973/full">crucial lifeline</a> for many people throughout Liverpool. One interviewee referred to cultural contacts as their “lifeblood” during those days of isolation, while another said: “Online arts activities opened a locked door, letting in some light during a very dark time for me.”</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u47l_jiyS-M?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Exploring the mental health impacts of restricted access to arts during COVID across Liverpool.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Picking up the pieces</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.choirwithnoname.org/about?gclid=Cj0KCQjwj7CZBhDHARIsAPPWv3c_VKHNJ87seBdLrk6OoAzr7FwaPQwrW6J6LN9xzgdjOgAIb_jVkCMaAtkQEALw_wcB">Choir With No Name</a> is a national charity with choirs in London, Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff and Coventry as well as Liverpool, all supporting people affected by homelessness. Prior to the pandemic, the Liverpool branch would meet once a week – first to catch up socially, then to rehearse a forthcoming gig before finally sharing a hot meal cooked by volunteers. </p>
<p>According to the choir’s manager: “For many of our [homeless] members, it’s the only sense they get of sitting down and sharing food as a family. Sometimes coming in and getting a hug can be the only physical contact they’ve had all week.”</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>This story is part of Conversation Insights</em></strong>
<br><em>The Insights team generates <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218">long-form journalism</a> and is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects to tackle societal and scientific challenges.</em></p>
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<p>When COVID struck, choir members – who were typically in the “middle ground” of need – were largely left to fend for themselves by the authorities. The choir’s volunteer staff had been used to helping them deal with GPs, housing, police and other services. But when many of these services suddenly shut down, the volunteers were left “picking up the pieces – and picking them up quickly”:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There were so many people who lost the ability to get food from anywhere … People who were street homeless actually had better provision of care than people in a bedsit, where you were just abandoned. I spent a lot of time in those first months sorting food for people and making sure they had electricity. One member’s housing provider left them with no water for four days because they didn’t understand how to communicate with somebody who was vulnerable, so we had to step in.</p>
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<p>What soon became clear, says the choir’s manager, is that the more informal nature of many arts charities enabled them to fill crucial gaps where they were needed:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>An organisation like ours works in an unofficial way – we’re not the social worker or housing association. We’re left with a lot more freedom to support people in the way they actually need to be supported, instead of ticking the boxes that these statutory services have to tick.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For Liverpool-based charity <a href="https://www.thereader.org.uk/">The Reader</a>, arts provision and social care proved inseparable during the pandemic. Having grown out of a single reading group in Birkenhead library, The Reader brings people together in a variety of health, community and secure care settings to read short stories, novels and poetry aloud. According to its head of teaching and learning:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>An awful lot of what we do is directed towards mitigating the disastrous effects of loneliness and social isolation. But that lifeline was immediately taken away by COVID. A big area of our work is in care homes, and a lot of our volunteers just could not get inside them at that time.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This led to Reader volunteers setting up a big screen in the lounge of one Liverpool care home so that its residents – otherwise completely isolated from the outside world – could gather around the screen to hold their readings. “Lifeline packs” of stories and poems were also supplied: “We knew if we could get them into the hands of somebody working on the premises, they could distribute them.”</p>
<p>The Reader also partnered with homeless charities to offer shared reading sessions over the phone for people suddenly living alone in a single room 24 hours a day. One recipient told us that getting this call was “a highlight of my week … a salvation”.</p>
<h2>A digital crash-course</h2>
<p>Vulnerable as small arts organisations were to the economic impacts of lockdown, their relative freedom from bureaucratic constraints – coupled with their energetic creativity – meant they could adapt quickly to the new COVID conditions, including by delivering their shows, events and workshops online.</p>
<p>Prior to the pandemic, the use of online technology had been viewed with some scepticism. A video or audio version seemed counterintuitive for an activity whose raison d’etre is the power of in-person performance and connections.</p>
<p>“If you’d have asked me the week before the theatre closed [for lockdown] whether our drama activities could translate into something digital, I’d have been really sceptical,” recalls the <a href="https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/liverpool-playhouse-theatre">Liverpool Playhouse</a>’s then-director of social learning. “Yet so enormous was the impact of lockdown on our group members, we started our drama Zoom events the following week.”</p>
<p>“Not being the massive organisation that the NHS is” meant the Playhouse could quickly establish a creative wellbeing programme, running between eight and 15 sessions each week.</p>
<p>The speed of the pivot to online provision among Liverpool’s cultural organisations was remarkable. Within three weeks, The Reader was delivering shared Zoom reading sessions not only to its Liverpool members but internationally, twice weekly. It also developed a series of programmes for national prison radio that reached 120 prisons every day.</p>
<p>COVID proved a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/17579139221080055">powerful catalyst</a> for arts organisations to make the switch to digital offerings. As one creative writing practitioner puts it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’ve all had a crash course in the feasibility and practicality of online delivery of arts. That probably wouldn’t have happened with such speed or sophistication if it hadn’t been driven by the necessity of a global pandemic.</p>
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<p>According to the partnerships manager at the <a href="https://www.liverpoolphil.com/current-events/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrqao8qfJ-gIVdYBQBh2cWArSEAAYASAAEgKr0_D_BwE">Royal Liverpool Philharmonic</a>: “The pandemic has highlighted that we were missing a trick previously as to the diversity of ways of working with people through digital engagement. Some people feel safer online than being physically somewhere.”</p>
<p>In Liverpool, as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17579139221080055">elsewhere in the UK</a>, online performances, cultural events and workshops were a crucial buffer against loneliness during the pandemic. The account of woman who hadn’t spoken to anybody for a whole week so “found herself talking to the wheelie bin” was not unusual in our research. A beneficiary of the Playhouse theatre’s creative wellbeing programme says that without it: “I would have fallen back into my PTSD stress [as] I’d have been left in the lurch.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-magic-of-touch-how-deafblind-people-taught-us-to-see-the-world-differently-during-covid-191698">The magic of touch: how deafblind people taught us to 'see' the world differently during COVID</a>
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<p>Retaining cultural connections during the COVID lockdowns has been <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.753973/full">highlighted as critical</a> for people who were at increased risk of psychological ill-health – with an emphasis on providing them with meaningful activities, not just check-in calls.</p>
<p>A photographer describes how her online sessions led to people “using photography as a way to document what was going on for them. It became quite a cathartic process for many – a therapeutic way to counteract the negative feelings of the lockdown experience.”</p>
<p>Similarly, a creative writing group leader says members processed the emotions that were coming up during the pandemic through their writing – “whether that was grief, anger at the government, or feelings of loneliness”.</p>
<h2>Overcoming digital poverty</h2>
<p>In its five-year action plan <a href="https://moderngov.merseytravel.gov.uk/documents/s52817/Enc.%201%20for%20Cultural%20Compact%20Strategic%20Action%20Plan.pdf">published in February 2021</a>, the Liverpool City Region Cultural Partnership paid tribute to “the creative organisations and people who, despite the odds, were able to reach out to our communities and vulnerable groups to offer a moment of joy [during the pandemic]”.</p>
<p>Yet only a year earlier, at the onset of COVID, the financial and employment situation of many of these organisations had looked perilous. In addition to a severe loss of income from visitors to the city, as many as 60% of Liverpool’s estimated 15,000 freelance creative workers <a href="https://moderngov.merseytravel.gov.uk/documents/s52817/Enc.%201%20for%20Cultural%20Compact%20Strategic%20Action%20Plan.pdf">faced redundancy overnight</a>.</p>
<p>Due to the complex nature of professional contracts in the creative industries, many employees did not qualify for the government’s furlough or self-employed support schemes. Across the entire region, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard-Anderson-19/publication/357226930_Playing_In_Exploring_the_effect_of_COVID-19_on_music_makers_across_the_Liverpool_City_Region/links/61c2523b8bb20101842a0cc8/Playing-In-Exploring-the-effect-of-COVID-19-on-music-makers-across-the-Liverpool-City-Region.pdf">62% of musicians</a> were unable to benefit from either scheme.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-will-not-forget-our-colleagues-who-have-died-two-doctors-on-the-frontline-of-the-second-wave-148152">'We will not forget our colleagues who have died': two doctors on the frontline of the second wave</a>
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<p>In March 2020, Arts Council England announced a £160m <a href="https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19/emergency-response-funds">Emergency Response Package</a> to help alleviate the immediate pressures faced by arts organisations and artists. Across Liverpool, some organisations used this fund to ensure continued connectivity among their members, recognising that digital poverty was as fundamental an issue to overcome in tackling social isolation as the provision of food and heating.</p>
<p>An arts centre running a programme for people with learning disabilities found that many participants had neither mobile data nor wifi – so it used some of the emergency fund to purchase iPads and data for them. There was an added bonus to this kind of initiative: distributing laptops and other digital hardware helped organisations sustain contact with their hardest-to-reach members – asylum seekers, refugees and vulnerable migrants – when “official” support organisations had closed their doors.</p>
<p>But while this rapid switch to digital was both necessary and valuable, arts providers and recipients still describe their sense of loss at moving online – both in terms of the unfulfilling quality of some digital experiences, and missing the wider enrichments that go with in-person cultural experiences and events. </p>
<p>“In a room you can read the energy – you read how people are feeling,” says the co-director of one dance organisation. “Over 20 years of leading dance activities, I might have a plan for a class but it always alters slightly depending on the people in the room. We can do that to an extent online, but if people aren’t sharing the things you can see in a physical space, you’re unable to respond.”</p>
<p>When the COVID lockdowns finally lifted, organisations echoed one another in describing their “joyous” responses as in-person activities resumed – “just that joy of connection … that joy of being able to come back into a space”.</p>
<h2>Collaborating with the NHS</h2>
<p>The importance of Liverpool’s cultural organisations to the city was underlined by the closeness of many partnerships with healthcare providers during the pandemic.</p>
<p>Royal Liverpool Philharmonic had already been working for more than a decade with Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust on a music in mental health programme. When COVID struck, it held Zoom sessions in secure hospitals for people sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Hospital staff reported resultant changes in the ward environment, describing “a happy, warm atmosphere with patients feeling calmer, more positive and having more fun”.</p>
<p>The Liverpool Playhouse, which had begun a partnership with Mersey Care just before the pandemic, found that at the start of lockdown, the NHS trust wasn’t allowed to use Zoom because of governance issues. So their partnership model shifted, with the theatre taking the lead and the trust signposting vulnerable patients to it.</p>
<p>“While officially we couldn’t use the NHS badge,” the theatre’s former director of creativity and social learning explains, “we could see when people really needed support and help – suddenly losing benefits or getting ill – and identify where safeguarding was necessary”. She suggests this has led to an exciting opportunity to “think outside the box”, not just in Liverpool but nationally:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is going to be a huge increase in the need for wellbeing services, which are already overstretched and oversubscribed. [We need to] think more about how the arts and health sectors can work more closely together.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The recent creation of NHS England’s <a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/integratedcare/what-is-integrated-care/">Integrated Care Systems</a> (ICS) is an endorsement of the value of working with community groups, activities and spaces to deliver better health outcomes. Liverpool is now part of the Cheshire and Merseyside ICS, with a mission to work jointly with a wide range of local partners to tackle inequality and “improve the lives of the poorest fastest”.</p>
<p>Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s partnerships manager says their experiences during the pandemic have led them to consider “whether we should be focusing our attention more at a neighbourhood level, connecting with GP surgeries in our immediate vicinity”. She is encouraged by the way funding organisations “are now looking at how arts and mental health can be embedded in the NHS’s long-term planning”.</p>
<p>According to The Reader’s head of shared reading programmes, there is now a “really, really exciting” opportunity to create a “radical” shared platform with people working in direct healthcare. People could use the voice they gain through contact with cultural and creative organisations to let healthcare services know what the best form of care is for them.</p>
<h2>A new sense of art’s value</h2>
<p>Some Liverpool arts organisations are building on their digital successes during the pandemic to design new in-person activities for local communities. <a href="https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/house-of-memories/my-house-of-memories-app">My House of Memories</a> is an app based on memory sharing linked to activities offered by <a href="https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/">National Museums Liverpool</a>. Designed to support people living with dementia as well as their carers and families, the number of users increased to tens of thousands during the first lockdown.</p>
<p>The app’s success has inspired <a href="https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/house-of-memories/on-the-road">House of Memories On The Road</a>, a 30m² immersive cinema and exhibition space that can be taken into local communities. This physical version offers immersive walks through local landmarks, a trip on Liverpool’s overhead railway, and visits to a 1950s grocery store and 1930s wash day – complete with objects to touch and smell, to stimulate users’ sensory responses and memories.</p>
<p>House of Memories works with community partners to identify those neighbourhoods or elder groups who are experiencing loneliness. Its director explains: “We can drive into local spaces, hospital trust settings, a GP car park or a supermarket. The idea is that we bring the museum to you, wherever you are.” </p>
<p>She adds that a world without arts and culture “would be a very dark and cold place”: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The NHS is there to help us when we’re unwell, but to remain well in the rest of our lives, that’s where arts and culture can play a massive role. What COVID gave us was a real opportunity to shine a light on that value of how important the arts are.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Such initiatives also represent an important part of the “slow return to normality” as the pandemic threat recedes. According to the director of a Liverpool arts centre:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The cultural scene could play a massive part in bringing in people who are less keen to come back because they’re still very worried about COVID. [If] shops and going for a meal aren’t enough to tempt them out, something that’s more meaningful to them like coming to an exhibition, a workshop, the theatre or a concert could be really important for getting people back out, reconnecting and active.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As Liverpool emerges from the ravages of the pandemic, the hit to the city’s creative sector is particularly concerning given its importance to the local economy. Amid a continued risk of closures and loss of creative talent, reduced access to arts and culture for the city’s most vulnerable groups could be very damaging in light of <a href="https://www.thenhsa.co.uk/app/uploads/2021/09/A-Year-of-COVID-in-the-North-report-2021.pdf">recent research</a> showing the severe impact of the pandemic on mental health across the region.</p>
<p>Yet we have also seen a deepening appreciation of the importance of arts provision during COVID. Liverpool City Region’s 2021 <a href="https://moderngov.merseytravel.gov.uk/documents/s52817/Enc.%201%20for%20Cultural%20Compact%20Strategic%20Action%20Plan.pdf">strategic action plan</a> identified a “culture-led and creative response” as being “most likely to be transformational and result in new ways of doing things” – not only in the arts, but for health and wellbeing more generally.</p>
<p>Perhaps just as importantly, the experience of sustaining themselves and others through the COVID ordeal has helped Liverpool’s diverse cultural organisations understand more clearly their role and significance for the regional population – both in-person and online.</p>
<p>Despite the dance tutor’s concerns about what was lost without in-person performances, she highlights that “we now have people from all over the world doing classes when normally we’re [restricted to] Liverpool. It was a really exciting opportunity to share cultures, practices and dance styles.”</p>
<p>Similarly, having been “kind of reluctant” about switching to digital for their annual festival, a writing charity’s programme manager agrees the experience has “highlighted to us the power of what we can do online – this will change the way we work forever”.</p>
<p>Throughout Liverpool and far beyond, we have seen many arts providers step up – despite severe personal challenges – during a period of extraordinary need. And they will surely continue to play a crucial role in processing the pandemic’s impacts for years to come. As The Reader’s head of shared reading programmes concludes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There’s an embodiment of grief in people now – some of it very real, but also bereavement at having lost almost two years of our lives. So if you don’t create spaces to connect with how we feel, and the thoughts we find difficult to have – whether that’s through music, dance, theatre or literature – I worry that we’re going to be “baking in” fractures into our future society.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>This article is part of an Insights series developed with <a href="https://www.ukri.org/about-us/">UK Research and Innovation</a> (UKRI) to explore the wider impacts of research carried out during the pandemic. <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/english/research/featured-research/covid-19-care/">COVID-19 CARE</a> is an <a href="https://www.ukri.org/councils/ahrc/">AHRC</a>-funded project; here is its <a href="http://livcare.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/COVID-19-CARE-report_final.pdf">final report</a> and <a href="https://livcare.org.uk/">online resource</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>For you: more from our <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Insights series</a>:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-magic-of-touch-how-deafblind-people-taught-us-to-see-the-world-differently-during-covid-191698?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">The magic of touch: how deafblind people taught us to ‘see’ the world differently during COVID
</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-inside-story-of-recovery-how-the-worlds-largest-covid-19-trial-transformed-treatment-and-what-it-could-do-for-other-diseases-184772?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">The inside story of Recovery: how the world’s largest COVID-19 trial transformed treatment – and what it could do for other diseases
</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-human-body-has-37-trillion-cells-if-we-can-work-out-what-they-all-do-the-results-could-revolutionise-healthcare-185654?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">The human body has 37 trillion cells. If we can work out what they all do, the results could revolutionise healthcare
</a></em></p></li>
</ul>
<p><em>To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-newsletter-2?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK"><strong>Subscribe to our newsletter</strong></a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192776/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josie Billington receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council, UKRI</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ekaterina Balabanova receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council, UKRI. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanne Worsley receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council, UKRI</span></em></p>New research shows the region’s arts organisations were a critical source of support for vulnerable people during lockdownJosie Billington, Professor in English Literature, University of LiverpoolEkaterina Balabanova, Professor of Politics and Media, University of LiverpoolJoanne Worsley, Research Associate, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1827542022-05-13T02:51:25Z2022-05-13T02:51:25ZWe all lose when charities compete with each other. They should join forces<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462934/original/file-20220513-12-s96mpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C154%2C788%2C393&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>You want to help Ukrainians in need. Should you donate to UNICEF, UNHCR, Red Cross, World Vision, Caritas, Save the Children or some other charitable organisation? </p>
<p>There are so many charities, and charitable causes, to choose from. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-responsibly-donate-to-ukrainian-causes-178391">How to responsibly donate to Ukrainian causes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Australia, for example, has more than 57,500 registered charities (for a population of 25 million). The UK (population 67 million) has more <a href="https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/voices/there-are-more-than-twice-as-many-charities-in-the-uk-as-you-ve-been-told.html">more than 200,000</a>. The US (population 350 million) has close to <a href="https://nccs.urban.org/publication/nonprofit-sector-brief-2019#finances">1.5 million</a>.</p>
<p>They’re vying against direct competitors as well as every other charity and cause. Suicide prevention is up against wilderness conservation. Cancer research against climate change activism. Refugee aid against the arts.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/celebrity-charities-just-compete-with-all-other-charities-so-why-start-one-70711">Celebrity charities just compete with all other charities – so why start one?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Not all actively fundraise – in Australia only <a href="https://fia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FIA-Infographic.pdf">about 40% do</a> – but that still leaves thousands competing for your money. </p>
<p>And that competition is hurting them.</p>
<h2>The downsides of competition</h2>
<p>Research by University of Washington economist Bijetri Bose suggests greater competition among non-profits marginally increases aggregate donations but <a href="https://econ.washington.edu/sites/econ/files/old-site-uploads/2014/11/Bose_jmpaper.pdf">reduces average donations</a> per organisation. Fundraising costs also escalate with greater competition.</p>
<p>There are concerns aggressive marketing, from phone calls to junk mail to “edgy” advertising, is turning people off donating to any charity. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/charities-are-contributing-to-growing-mistrust-of-mental-health-text-support-heres-why-179056">Charities are contributing to growing mistrust of mental-health text support — here's why</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A classic example is the UK <a href="https://pancreaticcanceraction.org/">Pancreatic Cancer Action’s</a> “I wish I had” campaign. It compared the 3% survival rate for pancreatic cancer to 97% for testicular cancer and 85% for breast cancer. The campaign attracted attention, but not <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2014/feb/12/pancreatic-cancer-action-controversial-advert">in the way</a> the organisation hoped.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The UK Pancreatic Cancer Action's 'I wish I had breast cancer' campaign proved controversial." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462373/original/file-20220511-24-gk9ng9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462373/original/file-20220511-24-gk9ng9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462373/original/file-20220511-24-gk9ng9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462373/original/file-20220511-24-gk9ng9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462373/original/file-20220511-24-gk9ng9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462373/original/file-20220511-24-gk9ng9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462373/original/file-20220511-24-gk9ng9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The UK Pancreatic Cancer Action’s ‘I wish I had breast cancer’ campaign proved controversial.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UK Pancreatic Cancer Action</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Though there’s no hard data proving competition is contributing to donor fatigue, there is strong anecdotal evidence. </p>
<p>The UK’s Fundraising Regulator has been cracking down on aggressive fundraising since a 2015 case in which a 92-year-old woman committed suicide after receiving <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40490936">466 mailings from 99 charities</a> in a year. Last month it updated its service to stop direct marketing communications from charities, allowing people to block <a href="https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/more-from-us/news/fundraising-regulator-strengthens-fundraising-preference-service-following">ten charities at a time</a>.</p>
<p>In the US, the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy has found that even though total donations have been increasing, the share of Americans donating has declined – from two-thirds in 2000 <a href="https://philanthropy.iupui.edu/news-events/news-item/latest-data-shows-new-low-in-share-of-americans-who-donated-to-charity.html?id=363">to half in 2018</a>. </p>
<p>The report doesn’t speculate on the causes, but given the well-established phenomenon of choice overload, it’s reasonable to assume too much competition plays a part.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-choice-overload-you-it-depends-on-your-personality-take-the-test-122196">Does choice overload you? It depends on your personality – take the test</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Unfair competition</h2>
<p>As well as the issues already mentioned, competition generally disadvantages smaller charities.</p>
<p>This was highlighted in <a href="https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/charities-competitive-behaviours-in-contracting-negatively-impacting-beneficiaries.html">a 2020 report</a> by Britain’s National Council for Voluntary Organisations, warning of competitive behaviour’s “negative impact on the sector, people and places”. </p>
<p>The report’s focus was mostly on competition in bidding for government service contract. but its conclusions also apply to competition for public donations </p>
<p>The “uncool” causes also lose out. This is well-known in conservation fundraising, where large and cute animals outdo <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/are-ugly-animals-lost-cause-180963807/">ugly ones</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="WWF advertisement featuring dolpphins." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462699/original/file-20220512-23-exx33b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462699/original/file-20220512-23-exx33b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462699/original/file-20220512-23-exx33b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462699/original/file-20220512-23-exx33b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462699/original/file-20220512-23-exx33b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462699/original/file-20220512-23-exx33b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462699/original/file-20220512-23-exx33b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most people would rather save dolphins than blobfish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">WWF</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It also occurs <a href="http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/77283/">with diseases</a>. The breast cancer lobby in Australia, for example, has been likened to a “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/pink-steamrolls-all-on-path-to-cancer-kudos-20110108-19j9n.html">pink steamroller</a>”, diverting funding and public awareness away from other forms of cancer. </p>
<p>Celebrity power has contributed to this. Breast cancer survivor <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/oct/26/olivia-newton-john-i-dont-wish-cancer-on-anyone-else-but-for-me-it-has-been-a-gift">Olivia Newton-John</a>, for example, has been a passionate fundraiser for research, establishing the <a href="https://www.onjcancercentre.org/">Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Olivia Newton-John addresses the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Research Conference in Melbourne in September 2019." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462687/original/file-20220512-5542-pm0lu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462687/original/file-20220512-5542-pm0lu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462687/original/file-20220512-5542-pm0lu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462687/original/file-20220512-5542-pm0lu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462687/original/file-20220512-5542-pm0lu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462687/original/file-20220512-5542-pm0lu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462687/original/file-20220512-5542-pm0lu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Olivia Newton-John addresses the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Research Conference in Melbourne in September 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Crosling/AAP</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So too has champion cricketer Glenn McGrath, who established the <a href="https://www.mcgrathfoundation.com.au/">McGrath Foundation</a> after his wife Jane died of breast cancer. The foundation has a high-profile association with Cricket Australia, which hosts the annual <a href="https://www.pinktest.com.au/">Sydney Pink Test</a> to raise money for breast cancer services.</p>
<h2>Is more co-operation possible?</h2>
<p>Could charities compete less and co-operate more? </p>
<p>Co-operative marketing structures are common in sectors such as agriculture. They are also used in retailing, where small independent stores, travel agents and newsagencies have pooled their marketing resources to compete with large corporate rivals.</p>
<p>Applying this approach would mean, for example, that cancer charities – breast, bowel, leukaemia, lung, myeloma, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate – would fund campaigns coordinated by an umbrella organisation. Proceeds could then be split more equitably, based on expert input about research and support needs. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-market-is-not-our-master-only-state-led-business-cooperation-will-drive-real-economic-recovery-141532">The market is not our master — only state-led business cooperation will drive real economic recovery</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The benefits of greater co-operation have been <a href="https://www.charityconnect.co.uk/post/5-ways-charities-can-benefit-from-collaboration/145">talked about for years</a> with no much progress made. </p>
<p>But there’s nothing like an idea whose time has come, and with every passing year the case for charitable co-operation grows.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182754/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Competition is hurting charities and the causes for which they raise funds. There must be a better way.David Waller, Associate Professor, University of Technology SydneyPhillip Morgan, Associate lecturer, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1824042022-05-10T18:25:18Z2022-05-10T18:25:18ZFederal budget delivers long-overdue policy changes for Canada’s charities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462118/original/file-20220509-15-30xmfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=491%2C108%2C4542%2C3592&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Canadian charity sector has significant social impact and is committed to providing unwavering support to every aspect of people’s lives.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has <a href="https://www.imaginecanada.ca/sites/default/files/Sector-Monitor-Ongoing-Effects-COVID-19-Pandemic-EN.pdf">dealt a catastrophic blow</a> to Canada’s charitable and non-profit sector. Representing almost nine per cent of the country’s GDP and employing over two million people, the sector experienced an <a href="https://sscf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SSCF-Vital-COVID-Focus-2021-Report-Web.pdf">overwhelming demand for services</a> with fewer staff and even less volunteers to meet increased demand during the pandemic.</p>
<p>Beyond the sector’s substantive <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/211004/dq211004d-eng.htm">economic contribution</a>, it has an extraordinary social impact and commitment to providing unwavering support to every aspect of people’s lives. </p>
<p>Charities were expected to pivot quickly in response to the crisis. Coupled with profound capacity challenges, this translated into staff feeling overworked, leading to <a href="https://thephilanthropist.ca/2021/07/pulse-check-with-sector-leaders-on-mental-health/">burnout and other mental health problems</a>.</p>
<p>More than half of charities also experienced declines in revenues, leading to <a href="https://pavro.on.ca/resources/Documents/Career%20Ads/Imagine%20Canada%20pre-budget%20submission%20-%20Budget%202021%20(January%202021).pdf">depletions of their operating budgets for two reasons</a>. On one hand, significant revenue losses are attributed to cancellations of numerous in-person fundraising campaigns and a delay in shifting to online fundraising, as it required different skills.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A volunteer organizing cardboard boxes at a food bank." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462119/original/file-20220509-19-pi08y8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462119/original/file-20220509-19-pi08y8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462119/original/file-20220509-19-pi08y8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462119/original/file-20220509-19-pi08y8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462119/original/file-20220509-19-pi08y8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462119/original/file-20220509-19-pi08y8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462119/original/file-20220509-19-pi08y8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In the past six months, the Daily Bread Food Bank and its member agencies have seen an average of 105,000 client visits each month, a 51 per cent increase compared to previous year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the other hand, as people grappled with job losses and limited financial resources, charitable donations — <a href="https://www.imaginecanada.ca/sites/default/files/2019-05/30years_report_en.pdf">one of the key sources of revenue streams for charities</a> — also declined. </p>
<p>While charity financial data is slowly becoming available to confirm the impact of COVID-19 on the sector, <a href="https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/npo-current-state-report-covid-19-summer-2020.pdf">community evidence suggests</a> that <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/nonprofits-charities-pandemic-closures-1.5625165">a handful of charities ceased operations</a>, especially those in the areas of sports and recreation, arts and culture, and religion.</p>
<h2>Support for charities was temporary</h2>
<p>While the federal government did attempt to support Canada’s charities during the pandemic, it introduced only temporary measures. Programs such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance and the Canada Emergency Business Account only offered <a href="https://imaginecanada.ca/en/360/ongoing-impacts-covid-19-crisis-charitable-sector">42 per cent of charities some relief</a>. </p>
<p>The government also offered charities serving vulnerable populations assistance via the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/emergency-community-support-fund.html">Emergency Community Support Fund</a> worth $350 million. This funding was distributed in the summer and fall of 2020 by three national partners — United Way Centraide Canada, Community Foundations Canada and Canadian Red Cross — according to eligibility criteria.</p>
<p>In January, the federal government announced an additional one-time $400 million investment as part of the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2022/01/government-of-canada-launches-call-for-proposals-for-national-funders-to-support-charities-and-not-for-profits.html">Community Services Recovery Fund</a>. It is likely that this fund will be distributed through the same three national funders, but <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/social-development-partnerships/community-services-fund.html">the decision hasn’t been finalized yet</a>. </p>
<p>While this kind of support is welcome, it is partial and only available for charities registered with the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/charities-giving/giving-charity-information-donors/about-registered-charities/what-difference-between-a-registered-charity-a-non-profit-organization.html">Canada Revenue Agency</a>, which excludes many non-profits. </p>
<p>After a two-year struggle to remain afloat, charities and non-profits continue to endure financial and capacity challenges, leaving their daily existence in question.</p>
<h2>New reforms for charities</h2>
<p>Charities and non-profits in Canada will finally get a break as the <a href="https://budget.gc.ca/2022/home-accueil-en.html">2022 federal budget</a> implements long-needed regulations to support the charitable sector. Two new amendments will take effect. </p>
<p>As part of the first amendment, charity funders with investment assets exceeding $1 million will be required to increase their annual funding to five per cent from 3.5 per cent. Taking effect on Jan. 1, 2023, this rate increase will translate into an additional $2.5 billion in annual funding. </p>
<p>Foundations with investment assets below $1 million and above $25,000 will continue to grant at 3.5 per cent, with the rest remaining fully exempt from granting obligations. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman standing and speaking behind a podium. She holds a bundle of papers in one hand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462120/original/file-20220509-11-shi01k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462120/original/file-20220509-11-shi01k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462120/original/file-20220509-11-shi01k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462120/original/file-20220509-11-shi01k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462120/original/file-20220509-11-shi01k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462120/original/file-20220509-11-shi01k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462120/original/file-20220509-11-shi01k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland holds a copy of the budget during a visit to Dalhousie University in Halifax on April 12, 2022. The new budget implements long needed regulations to support the charitable sector.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>While the proposed regulatory change to granting foundations is framed as a response to the pandemic, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360427251_How_Foundations_Spend_Is_the_Current_35_Asset_Disbursement_the_Right_Public_Policy">researchers have long asked</a> the federal government to adopt a scale-based payment policy specifically for the outlined reasons.</p>
<p>The benefit of regulating charitable funders in this way is twofold. First, significant funds will be channelled back to the charitable sector, allowing it to recover financially and rebuild its capacity. Second, a <a href="https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/cpp.2014-033">scale-based payment policy like this</a> considers the ability-to-pay principle, which helps maintain a financially healthy charity sector. </p>
<p>Crucially, the second amendment will allow granting foundations to provide <a href="https://pfc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/budget-2022-member-advisory-en.pdf">funding to organizations outside of those registered with the Canada Revenue Agency</a>. This means that other non-profit organizations will become eligible for financial support, as long as certain accountability requirements are met. </p>
<h2>A new home for charities</h2>
<p>While the details of the two amendments are still being confirmed, these policy changes are encouraging steps forward for the charitable sector. </p>
<p>However, to ensure its long-term health, the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/corporate-reports-information/advisory-committee-charitable-sector.html#8">Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector</a>, which represents voices of community leaders, non-profit sector stakeholders and researchers, is calling on the federal government to <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/corporate-reports-information/advisory-committee-charitable-sector/report-advisory-committee-charitable-sector-february-2021.html#h11_2">create a “home” in the government</a> for charities. </p>
<p>Like <a href="https://agriculture.canada.ca/en">Agriculture Canada</a> for farmers, or <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage.html">Canadian Heritage</a> for artists, this home will create and support programs relevant to charities and non-profits. It will also communicate on behalf of these organizations with other government departments. It is needed because charities are crucial for our society. We need to continue to support this vital part of Canada’s social fabric for everyone’s well-being and for overcoming future crises.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182404/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iryna Khovrenkov receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Grant for "Impact Assessment of Actions Taken by Canadian Grantmaking Foundations in Response to Social Inequalities and the Environmental Issue” project.</span></em></p>The 2022 federal budget implements long needed regulations to support the charitable sector.Iryna Khovrenkov, Associate Professor, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1791892022-03-27T12:55:18Z2022-03-27T12:55:18ZAirbnb cash transfers to Ukrainians can help, but they’re disrupting charities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454011/original/file-20220324-15-4n5k9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C0%2C6204%2C4741&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A man sweeps his apartment ruined by Russian shelling in Kyiv on March 21. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As we all watch the horrific crisis unfolding in Ukraine, many of us are asking: What’s the best way to send money to Ukrainians to do the most good?</p>
<p>The answer has just become more complicated than ever.</p>
<p>The conflict in Ukraine has generated a new way to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/airbnb-ukraine-war-invasion-booking-1.6373477?cmp=rss">transfer money</a> to Ukrainians directly: Airbnb bookings by people who do not intend to use them. It’s a trend that is “going to be very disruptive for charities,” says Kate Bahen, managing director of <a href="http://www.charityintelligence.ca/">Charity Intelligence Canada</a> (CIC), which measures the impact of charities.</p>
<p>In a Twitter post on March 11, 2022, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky wrote that 434,000 nights had been booked so far on the platform, equivalent to $15 million transferred to hosts within Ukraine – <a href="https://www.redcross.ca/about-us/media-news/news-releases/canadian-red-cross-helping-people-affected-by-ukraine-conflict">a quarter</a> of the amount donated to the Canadian Red Cross as of March 10, excluding government-matched amounts.</p>
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<h2>About trust and speed</h2>
<p>Bahen says an advantage of giving funds directly to Ukrainians is that it empowers them to use funds as they see fit. “It’s about trust. It’s dignified; there are no strings attached,” she says.</p>
<p>And this is not the first time Canadian donations are going directly into people’s bank accounts. During the 2016 wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alta., the Canadian Red Cross arranged almost <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.3579180/red-cross-gives-cash-transfers-worth-50m-to-fort-mac-evacuees-in-unprecedented-move-1.3579568">$50 million in direct cash transfers</a> for those fleeing their homes.</p>
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<img alt="A giant fireball is seen behind cars on a highway." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454014/original/file-20220324-25-7srjjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454014/original/file-20220324-25-7srjjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454014/original/file-20220324-25-7srjjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454014/original/file-20220324-25-7srjjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454014/original/file-20220324-25-7srjjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454014/original/file-20220324-25-7srjjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454014/original/file-20220324-25-7srjjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A giant fireball is visible as a wildfire rips through the forest near Fort McMurray in May 2016. The Red Cross sent millions in direct cash transfers to people affected.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward</span></span>
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<p>University of Guelph social scientist Ryan Briggs points to the method’s other strengths: the speed of money transfer, the high credibility of the platform and that benefactors are emotionally rewarded for helping specific people — “something many of us find very motivating.”</p>
<h2>‘100 per cent efficient’</h2>
<p>“You can think of it as 100 per cent efficient,” says Steve Killelea, founder of the <a href="https://www.economicsandpeace.org/">Institute for Economics and Peace</a>, an Australian-based research organization. </p>
<p>But despite its efficiency, there is little research on the use of commercial services to make cash transfers in this way, says Briggs.</p>
<p>Bahen says we can look to organizations that have been directly transferring cash to people in developing countries for years. One such organization, <a href="https://www.givedirectly.org/beta/">GiveDirectly</a>, writes that when given direct transfers, “people use cash in impactful and creative ways.”</p>
<p>Most of the research GiveDirectly references is on longer-term initiatives in developing countries. A <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD011135.pub2/full">2017 multiple-study analysis</a> showed that unconditional cash transfers “may improve some health outcomes.” A <a href="https://odi.org/en/publications/cash-transfers-what-does-the-evidence-say-a-rigorous-review-of-impacts-and-the-role-of-design-and-implementation-features/">2016 literature review</a> also found that cash transfers increased household spending, school attendance and the use of health facilities while decreasing poverty and gender-based abuse by a male partner.</p>
<p>But by United Nations standards, Ukraine is considered <a href="https://ukraine.un.org/en/105324-ukraine-inches-forward-human-development#:%7E:text=Ukraine's%20HDI%20value%20for%202019,of%20189%20countries%20and%20territories.">highly developed</a> and may not qualify to be lumped in the same category.</p>
<h2>Questioning charities’ impact</h2>
<p>From CIC’s work, Bahen estimates that <a href="https://www.charityintelligence.ca/giving-with-impact/top-impact-charities">40 per cent</a> of Canadian charitable giving “doesn’t have a high impact” due to inefficient organizations and high overheads.</p>
<p>And there is little correlation between an organization’s impact and dollars received. According to one list, Canada’s <a href="https://www.moneysense.ca/spend/best-charities-for-charitable-impact/">most impactful charities</a>, such as the <a href="https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/againstmalariafoundation/">Against Malaria Foundation of Canada</a> and the <a href="https://foodgrainsbank.ca/">Canadian Foodgrains Bank</a>, are not among those that <a href="https://www.charitycareerscanada.ca/size-matters-biggest-nonprofits-canada/">receive the most donations</a>.</p>
<p>Physician and <a href="https://humanitarianu.com/our-story/">humanitarian response educator</a> Kirsten Johnson says that charities too often “end up deciding what people get and it’s not necessarily what they need.” She says that they should be more accountable and reveal where money is spent.</p>
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<img alt="A woman in a kerchief cleans up broken glass surrounded by the shards of a broken window." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454013/original/file-20220324-17-bq96f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454013/original/file-20220324-17-bq96f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454013/original/file-20220324-17-bq96f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454013/original/file-20220324-17-bq96f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454013/original/file-20220324-17-bq96f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454013/original/file-20220324-17-bq96f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454013/original/file-20220324-17-bq96f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A woman cleans the staircase of broken glass at an apartment building damaged by bombing in Kyiv on March 23.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)</span></span>
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<h2>Airbnb cash transfers poorly targeted?</h2>
<p>While some charities have an accountability issue, unused Airbnb bookings have the problem of being poorly targeted, says Briggs. Killelea agrees: “It’s probably not going to the poorest people in Ukraine.”</p>
<p>Furthermore, in order to use the funds, Bahen says, recipients need functioning markets — something that Ukraine <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/02/1084033817/russian-attacks-have-disrupted-ukraines-supply-chain-which-may-cause-food-shorta?t=1647561368297">may not have right now</a>. “Cash will only help if there’s something to buy,” <a href="https://www.cgdev.org/blog/people-around-world-are-booking-airbnbs-ukraine-help-people-need-will-it-work">writes Washington-based Anit Mukherjee</a>, a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development.</p>
<p>Another concern is that platforms aiming to directly connect donors with affected people are prone to cyber-threats, fraud and misdirection of funds, says an official for the humanitarian arm of the U.S. State Department.</p>
<p>As an example, <a href="https://skift.com/2022/03/07/ukraine-bookers-on-airbnb-get-duped-despite-heartfelt-support/">according to one recent media report</a>, funds could be inappropriately diverted to people outside of Ukraine who manage properties in Ukraine.</p>
<h2>Alternatives</h2>
<p>Briggs says if people simply want to do the most good per dollar spent, the Airbnb idea “will never beat donations of anti-malarial bed nets” or any top development charity <a href="https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities">listed by GiveWell</a>, a company that researches the impacts of charities and their cost-effectiveness.</p>
<p>But Johnson says funding an acute disaster response requires a distinct approach because more co-ordination from stakeholders needs to occur. “This isn’t development; this is a war,” she says of Ukraine, “and health-care interventions in emergency situations save lives.”</p>
<p>Finally, Briggs says the most efficient way of helping may actually be free: Canadians can <a href="http://welcomeukraine.ca/">write letters</a> to their MPs requesting help for Ukrainians who seek refuge in Canada.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179189/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Fong is a physician volunteer for charity Canadian Medical Assistance Teams, currently providing medical aid to Ukrainian refugees along the Poland-Ukraine border.</span></em></p>Giving directly to Ukrainians via unused Airbnb rentals is a fast and efficient way to help. But there are some drawbacks.Anthony Fong, Global Journalism Fellow, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1730562021-12-02T05:58:48Z2021-12-02T05:58:48ZAre charities being silenced? Why a new law is alarming activists and could scuttle their election campaigns<p>The final two sitting weeks of parliament this year have provided both good and bad news for Australian charities.</p>
<p>Last week provided the good news, with <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2021L00863">new government regulations</a> that would have curtailed the ability of charities to engage in protest <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/25/senate-scuttles-coalition-crackdown-on-charity-advocacy-work">disallowed by the Senate</a>, meaning they will not take effect. </p>
<p>Charities were relieved to see this, as many faced the prospect of having to pull back on certain advocacy activities.</p>
<p>But this week brought the bad news, with <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6752">changes to electoral laws</a> passed by parliament that will impose more regulation on charities and other organisations that engage in the electoral process. </p>
<p>Despite intense lobbying by a coalition of charities, a last-minute <a href="https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2021/12/charities-shocked-and-angry-as-deal-done-on-political-campaigners-bill/">deal between the Morrison government and the opposition</a> led to the bill’s passage, albeit with some amendments that slightly lessen its negative impact.</p>
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<h2>What the new law does</h2>
<p>One of the main changes in the new law is the introduction of a lower threshold for organisations having to register as a so-called “political campaigner”.</p>
<p>Previously, an organisation had to register as a political campaigner if it exceeded $500,000 in electoral expenditure (money spent on campaigns, advertising and any other advocacy work seeking to influence voters in an election) in any of the past three years. The bill sought to lower this threshold considerably to $100,000. </p>
<p>As part of the deal between the government and opposition, this threshold was changed to $250,000 in the final version of the bill that was passed. This is an improvement on the original proposal of $100,000, but it still means many charities will be captured by the change.</p>
<p>More charities will now be required to register as political campaigners and be subject to the additional reporting obligations this entails, including identifying their larger donors. </p>
<p>Opponents of the bill fear it will act like a spending cap, with charities stepping back from campaigning to not trigger the additional requirements that come with being a political campaigner.</p>
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<p>In addition to lowering the threshold, the bill also broadens the type of expenditure that is relevant for determining if an organisation is subject to any reporting and other obligations. </p>
<p>Now, any expenditure “in relation to an election” must be counted, but there is no guidance as to what this actually means. This is a significant source of uncertainty for charities, and again may lead many to be more cautious when engaging in the democratic process.</p>
<p>Another problematic element of the bill is the fact it will apply retrospectively to money already spent by an organisation. Charities will have to look back at their spending and see if it constitutes an “electoral expenditure” using the more vague definition now in place, and determine whether this places them in the category of a political campaigner. </p>
<p>Pages and pages of legal advice will be needed, but lawyers won’t have much to go on given the scant detail provided in the bill.</p>
<p>One positive outcome, however, is that “political campaigners” will actually no longer be referred to by this name – the term will change to “significant third parties”. </p>
<p>This is a welcome change, given the term “political campaigner” could lead to people conflating charities and other organisations with political parties – despite the fact they are not seeking elected office and focus on issues-based campaigning.</p>
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<h2>Advocacy by charities is important and already regulated</h2>
<p>Ultimately, the bill is a problem because it will hinder the advocacy activities of charities. And advocacy is <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-the-limits-to-charities-advancing-political-causes-71466">one of the key ways</a> that charities can address the root causes of the social and environmental challenges they seek to ameliorate. This often requires changing government policy. </p>
<p>Charities can lobby and campaign to do this – provided they stop short of endorsing and supporting particular parties or candidates.</p>
<p>Advocacy activities can still take place in the context of an election, though. For example, charities can take out advertisements outlining or critiquing the positions of different political parties on issues as diverse as climate change or the amount of JobSeeker payments.</p>
<p>Charities are already regulated when they incur “electoral expenditures”, with the <a href="http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_act/cea1918233/">Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918</a> imposing various obligations on them (and any other organisations similarly involved in the electoral process).</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-is-clamping-down-on-charities-and-it-could-have-a-chilling-effect-on-peaceful-protest-163493">The government is clamping down on charities — and it could have a chilling effect on peaceful protest</a>
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<p>They may be classified as a “<a href="https://www.aec.gov.au/parties_and_representatives/financial_disclosure/guides/third-parties/index.htm">third party</a>” organisation or need to register as a <a href="https://www.aec.gov.au/Parties_and_Representatives/financial_disclosure/who-needs-to-register.htm">political campaigner</a>“. </p>
<p>A certain level of such regulation is necessary, in the interests of promoting transparency and integrity in elections. The problem with the bill is that it takes things too far.</p>
<h2>A poor process leads to a poor outcome</h2>
<p>Otto Von Bismarck is believed to have once said, "Laws are like sausages. Better not to see them being made.”</p>
<p>The statement rings true given the developments this week. The changes to electoral laws were rushed through parliament, without even being referred to a committee inquiry to examine the details of the bill and its implications. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-a-snapshot-of-charities-and-giving-in-australia-66672">Infographic: a snapshot of charities and giving in Australia</a>
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<p>A last-minute deal saw some of the problematic elements of the bill wound back, but what was passed remains deeply flawed.</p>
<p>More charities will now be subject to additional reporting and other obligations under the electoral laws, and there is now more uncertainty about what spending counts as “electoral expenditure”. </p>
<p>This may mean charities will be more reluctant to engage in advocacy, especially where any link can be made between their work and an election. This would lead to less debate about the various social and environmental challenges we confront as a nation. </p>
<p>We need more engagement in our democratic process in Australia, not less, and this bill represents a setback in that regard.</p>
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<p>_Correction: The article has been amended to clarify the change to the definition of the electoral expenditure contained in the bill. _</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173056/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Krystian Seibert was an adviser to a former Australian Assistant Treasurer between 2012 and 2013, where he oversaw the establishment of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and its regulatory framework, including the Charities Act 2013. He has provided advice and support to Hands Off Our Charities, an alliance of charities that opposed the bill.</span></em></p>Charities fear the new law will act like a spending cap, forcing them to step back from campaigning to avoid triggering additional reporting obligations.Krystian Seibert, Industry Fellow, Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1654242021-08-16T13:22:04Z2021-08-16T13:22:04ZCanadian election 2021: Risk-averse charities, civil society groups must show up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416324/original/file-20210816-18-tajrho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4350%2C2871&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Marco Lambertini, director general of World Wildlife Fund International and Megan Leslie, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund Canada in Montréal in 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Election campaigns are one of the most important opportunities for civil society organizations — running the gamut from environmental groups to labour unions — to engage Canadians in debates on public policy issues. These critical issues include everything from health care to climate change and Indigenous rights. </p>
<p>Citizens who don’t normally think much about public policy pay more attention during election campaigns. Their votes can determine the contours of public policy for years to come. </p>
<p>Canadian civil society organizations — both non-profits and charities — represent a wealth of first-hand experience and research on wide-ranging public policy issues. It’s important for Canadians to hear their perspectives, especially during election campaigns. </p>
<h2>Disappearing act</h2>
<p>But data from Elections Canada indicates that civil society organizations largely <a href="https://johndcameron.com/data-on-ngo-advocacy-in-canada/">go silent during election campaigns</a>, especially those with charitable status. The <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-2.01/">federal Elections Act</a> requires all individuals and organizations that spend more than $500 to promote their public policy positions during election campaigns must register with Elections Canada and report on that spending.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-canadas-environmental-charities-are-afraid-to-talk-about-climate-change-during-the-election-122114">Why Canada’s environmental charities are afraid to talk about climate change during the election</a>
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<p>The act also stipulates spending limits and prohibits funding from outside Canada. </p>
<p>The purpose of these regulations is primarily to prevent the type of unlimited spending allowed in the United States via Political Action Committees (PACs). Since 2010, what are known as Super PACs have become major players in American elections, enabling wealthy individuals to exert enormous political influence, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/11/1-4-billion-and-counting-in-spending-by-super-pacs-dark-money-groups/">spending more than US$1.4 billion</a> in the 2016 election and over <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/17036/outside-spending-super-pac-spending-in-us-elections/">US$2.7 billion</a> in the 2020 election. </p>
<p>By contrast, my analysis of Elections Canada data from the 2019 federal election shows that 127 third-party organizations reported spending a total of $11.1 million to promote their positions on public policy issues. Another 20 organizations registered with Elections Canada but did not report any spending. The third-party groups that reported spending included 31 labour unions, 26 private sector lobby groups, seven individuals, six charities and 57 non-profit groups, representing perspectives from across the political spectrum. </p>
<h2>Must remain non-partisan</h2>
<p>Viewed in the context of the <a href="http://sectorsource.ca/research-and-impact/sector-impact">170,000 registered non-profit groups</a> in Canada, including 85,000 with charitable status, these numbers should be concerning. Since 2019, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/charities-giving/charities/policies-guidance/public-policy-dialogue-development-activities.html">Canadian regulations for charities</a> explicitly allow them to engage Canadians in public policy debates and to advocate for changes in public policies, as long as they remain non-partisan and stay focused on their organizational mandates. </p>
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<img alt="A volunteer wearing a mask collects bags of donated food from the back of a vehicle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416184/original/file-20210815-17-1bqkfll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416184/original/file-20210815-17-1bqkfll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416184/original/file-20210815-17-1bqkfll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416184/original/file-20210815-17-1bqkfll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416184/original/file-20210815-17-1bqkfll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416184/original/file-20210815-17-1bqkfll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416184/original/file-20210815-17-1bqkfll.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Volunteers collect bags of donated food from vehicles at the Daily Bread Food Bank’s Spring Drive-Thru food drive in the Toronto area in April 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Non-profit organizations without charitable status are only required to <a href="https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/en/">report on government lobbying</a> and on any spending over $500 to boost their policy positions during election campaigns. </p>
<p>So why do so many Canadian non-profits and charities stay silent during election campaigns and give up key opportunities to engage Canadians on important public policy issues? </p>
<p>The reasons for this self-censorship are connected to interpretations of Canada’s Elections Act and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02255189.2019.1629885">a long history</a> of government efforts to discourage public policy engagement by civil society organizations, particularly charities. For many groups, <a href="https://www.fasken.com/en/knowledge/2018/08/political-activities-of-charities-a-new-world/">memories of the crackdown by the Stephen Harper government</a> on organizations that criticized its policies still serves as a vivid warning against involvement in public policy debates. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="The Canada Revenue Agency headquarters in Ottawa in 2011." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416185/original/file-20210815-19-h50q1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416185/original/file-20210815-19-h50q1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416185/original/file-20210815-19-h50q1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416185/original/file-20210815-19-h50q1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416185/original/file-20210815-19-h50q1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416185/original/file-20210815-19-h50q1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416185/original/file-20210815-19-h50q1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Canada Revenue Agency headquarters in Ottawa in 2011, when the Harper government provided it with extra funding to audit Canadian charities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Between 2009 and 2015, the Harper government <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/harper-government-stifling-dissent-civil-society-groups-say-in-report-1.3115362">cut funding</a> to organizations that spoke out against its policies and provided extra funding to the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/taxes/cra-charity-audits-creating-confusion-fear-at-tax-time-1.2952509">Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)</a> to audit the public policy activities of Canadian charities. </p>
<p>The result was a <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/silence-of-the-charities/article24025714/">climate of fear</a> and a self-silencing effect on many Canadian non-profit and charitable groups, particularly those focused on environmental issues, human rights and social justice. </p>
<h2>Liberals changed the rules</h2>
<p>The Liberal government radically changed the regulations for <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/charities-giving/charities/policies-guidance/public-policy-dialogue-development-activities.html">public policy engagement by charities in 2019</a>. However, the legacies of distrust and fear remain deep in many organizations. Attitudes of risk-aversion towards public policy engagement remain widespread, even among organizations with mandates to address issues like health care and climate change that are directly impacted by federal laws and policies. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The Syncrude oil sands extraction facility is seen, reflected in a body of water in front of it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416186/original/file-20210815-23-p3fydn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416186/original/file-20210815-23-p3fydn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416186/original/file-20210815-23-p3fydn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416186/original/file-20210815-23-p3fydn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416186/original/file-20210815-23-p3fydn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416186/original/file-20210815-23-p3fydn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416186/original/file-20210815-23-p3fydn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Syncrude oil sands extraction facility is seen in June 2014. Environmental Defence and Stand Earth were among the civil society organizations that released a damning report on emissions from the oil and gas sector in Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=pol&dir=thi/ec20227&document=index&lang=e">Elections Canada regulations</a> for registration and reporting on third-party political advertising are straightforward. For small organizations with few paid staff members, the regulations may be more than they can cope with, so avoiding activities that could be perceived as political advertising during election campaigns is their only option. </p>
<p>But for larger non-profits and charities with paid, professional staff, the registration and reporting requirements are no excuse for staying silent. Some organizations do try to engage Canadians with public policy issues without spending any extra money (through social media, for example), thereby avoiding the requirements to register and report. </p>
<p>However, the opportunity to foster public debate on key public policy issues during election campaigns is too important for civil society organizations to stick to low-cost, low-impact strategies. </p>
<p>In this election campaign, charities and other non-profit organizaions that want to engage with Canadians in public policy debates need to quickly register with Elections Canada and get ready to report on their spending. At the same time, federal politicians, Elections Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency should reassure Canadian civil society organizations that engaging Canadians with public policy issues is not just tolerated, but encouraged.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165424/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John D. Cameron receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). </span></em></p>Charities and non-profit organizations must make their voices heard this election. At the same time, Elections Canada and the CRA should reassure them their involvement is encouraged.John D. Cameron, Associate Professor, Department of International Development Studies, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1634932021-07-02T02:05:08Z2021-07-02T02:05:08ZThe government is clamping down on charities — and it could have a chilling effect on peaceful protest<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409405/original/file-20210702-19-9al2f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=389%2C30%2C3259%2C2714&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Australian government introduced <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2021L00863">new regulations</a> last week that could have a major chilling effect across Australia’s diverse charities sector. </p>
<p>The government’s <a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/michael-sukkar-2019/media-releases/coalition-government-strengthens-governance-standards">aim</a> was clear: the regulations are intended to target “<a href="https://www.financeminister.gov.au/assistant/media-release/2020/12/13/charities-supporting-unlawful-behaviour-will-not-be-tolerated">activist organisations</a>”, and specifically crack down on “unlawful behaviour”. </p>
<p>Despite this rhetoric, there is no evidence unlawful behaviour by charities is a problem of any significance. By clamping down on charities in this way, the government is not only curtailing their ability to organise peaceful protests, it is imposing more unnecessary red tape on an already highly-regulated sector.</p>
<h2>What would the regulations do?</h2>
<p>The regulations would give the <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/">Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission</a> (ACNC) new powers to take action against a charity if it commits, or fails to adequately ensure its resources aren’t used to commit, certain types of “<a href="https://www.mcv.vic.gov.au/criminal-matters/criminal-offences/summary-offences#:%7E:text=Summary%20offences%20are%20usually%20less,you%20should%20seek%20legal%20advice.&text=You%20should%20seek%20legal%20advice%20if,been%20charged%20by%20the%20police.">summary offences</a>”.</p>
<p>These are generally a less serious type of criminal offence, and can include acts such as trespassing, unlawful entry, malicious damage or vandalism.</p>
<p>If the ACNC commissioner believes a charity is not complying with the regulations, they would be able to take enforcement action, which may include deregistering the charity. This would lead to the charity losing tax concessions — one of the incentives for people to donate to them.</p>
<p>In effect, the regulations mean that if a charity organised a protest in front of a government department and initially refused to leave, this could be considered trespassing. And this could then be grounds to have the charity deregistered.</p>
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<h2>Are these regulations necessary?</h2>
<p>There is little, if any, evidence of a need for the regulations. </p>
<p>First, a <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/publication/p2018-t318031">comprehensive review</a> of the ACNC legislation commissioned by the government in 2018 did not identify any issues with unlawful behaviour by charities.</p>
<p>In fact, the review recommended removing the ACNC’s existing power to take action against charities that commit serious breaches of the law. It pointed out that charities must already comply with all laws that they are subject to, and it is not the ACNC’s responsibility to monitor compliance or impose sanctions for breaches. </p>
<p>Despite this, the new regulations would extend the reach of the ACNC and expand its existing powers even further.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/animal-rights-activists-in-melbourne-green-collar-criminals-or-civil-disobedients-115119">Animal rights activists in Melbourne: green-collar criminals or civil 'disobedients'?</a>
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<p>And importantly, there is no evidence charities — or their staffs or volunteers — are engaging in widespread unlawful activity. When questioned at a recent Senate Estimates hearing, ACNC Commissioner Gary Johns <a href="https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2021/06/acnc-head-says-very-few-charities-are-acting-illegally-despite-crackdown/">said</a> the commission’s data did not indicate this was a problem. </p>
<p>Even the government’s own <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2021L00863/Explanatory%20Statement/Text">regulatory impact assessment</a> asserts only a “small number” of charities have engaged in unlawful behaviour. However, even this claim is not backed up by solid evidence, with the assessment saying it is based on </p>
<blockquote>
<p>media coverage in recent years in relation to protests on forestry, mining and farming lands.</p>
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<h2>Charities are already highly regulated</h2>
<p>Charities in Australia are already highly regulated and subject to a <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/for-charities/manage-your-charity/obligations-acnc">broad range of obligations</a>. They must also abide by any number of laws, for example, occupational health and safety and criminal laws. </p>
<p>And the ACNC already has extensive <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/raise-concern/concerns-about-charities/what-acnc-can-investigate#:%7E:text=ACNC%20powers%20to%20investigate,requirements%20to%20keep%20appropriate%20records">investigation</a> and <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/raise-concern/regulating-charities/how-we-ensure-charities-meet-their-obligations">compliance</a> powers. If charities breach any of the laws they are subject to, they can be sanctioned just like other organisations — and the same applies to their staff.</p>
<p>In addition, charities are <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/for-charities/manage/governance-standards/governance-standard-5-duties-responsible-persons/what-are">already required</a> to take steps to ensure their directors comply with duties, such as acting with reasonable care and diligence. This includes monitoring and managing risks arising from a charity’s activities.</p>
<h2>Drafted in a vague way</h2>
<p>Perhaps most concerningly, the proposed regulations are worded in a very vague manner, and although improvements were made in response to <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2021-149084">public consultation</a> on a draft version, major problems remain.</p>
<p>First, they require a charity to “maintain reasonable internal control procedures” to prevent its resources from being used to promote unlawful activities. </p>
<p>According to the regulations, this could cover things such as who can access or use a charity’s funds, premises or social media accounts, and what kind of training charity directors and employees must undertake.</p>
<p>What is “reasonable” in this context involves making very subjective judgements. While the ACNC will provide guidance to charities on this, many organisations will still face considerable uncertainty.</p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-charities-are-well-regulated-but-changes-are-needed-to-cut-red-tape-72877">Australian charities are well regulated, but changes are needed to cut red tape</a>
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<p>Further, the regulations would not require a conviction, the laying of charges, or even a formal allegation of an offence being committed before the ACNC can take action. The wording only refers to “acts or omissions that may be dealt with” as a summary offence. </p>
<p>This is very open-ended language, but the crux of it is that a charity could be deregistered because it did something the ACNC commissioner thinks is a summary offence. The action itself, however, may not actually meet the criteria for a summary offence because that’s something only a court can determine.</p>
<p>The ACNC commissioner is the ultimate decision maker on these matters. The regulations do not include any factors or criteria that need to be considered when making a decision, other than saying the ACNC “may” (there’s that word again) consult with law enforcement or other relevant authorities. </p>
<h2>The chilling effect of the regulations</h2>
<p>Even if a charity is deregistered but then successfully <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/about/corporate-information/corporate-policies/reviews-and-appeals">appeals a decision</a>, it may no longer have access to tax concessions, it may lose its donors and other supporters, and it may have its reputation tarnished within the community.</p>
<p>The ACNC seeks to implement the law as it understands it. Its focus is on providing guidance to charities rather than using strong enforcement powers straight away. But the vagueness and breadth of the regulations may lead to misunderstandings or regulatory overreach, and create a more uncertain environment for charities. </p>
<p>They will also impose yet another requirement that charity boards and management must consider. Given charities are already well-regulated, if anything, they need unnecessary red tape removed rather than having more of it imposed on them.</p>
<p>And the regulations will likely have a chilling effect. Charities will be more cautious when it comes to organising public advocacy activities such as peaceful protests — or steer clear of them altogether — in order to avoid falling afoul of the regulations. Such activities are an important part of Australia’s democracy.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409404/original/file-20210702-13-sc9ao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409404/original/file-20210702-13-sc9ao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409404/original/file-20210702-13-sc9ao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409404/original/file-20210702-13-sc9ao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409404/original/file-20210702-13-sc9ao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409404/original/file-20210702-13-sc9ao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409404/original/file-20210702-13-sc9ao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Protesters with the environmental group Friends of the Earth take to the water in an attempt to blockade a coal ship in Brisbane.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Six Degrees/PR Handout Image/AAP</span></span>
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<h2>Can the regulations be stopped?</h2>
<p>Although the regulations have been made, they cannot come into force until they have been tabled in both chambers of parliament, and the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/Brief_Guides_to_Senate_Procedure/No_19">disallowance period</a> has passed. </p>
<p>If a disallowance motion is successful in the House or Senate, then the regulations will be invalid and will not take effect. Given the government does not have a majority in the Senate, this is a possibility. </p>
<p>Much is riding on the crossbenchers — not just the impact the regulations would have on individual charities, but also the kind of society we want Australia to be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163493/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Krystian Seibert was an adviser to a former Australian Assistant Treasurer, and in this role he was responsible for overseeing the establishment of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and its regulatory framework. He is currently a Member of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission's 'Sector Forum' which is a consultative body comprising charity sector representatives. He also works for Philanthropy Australia, the peak body for philanthropy in Australia, which made a submission opposing the draft regulations.</span></em></p>There is no clear evidence that new regulations intended to crack down on ‘illegal behaviour’ are even needed. Most not-for-profit organisations are law-abiding and heavily regulated.Krystian Seibert, Industry Fellow, Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1532542021-01-31T14:00:11Z2021-01-31T14:00:11ZHow COVID-19 could transform non-profit organizations<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380891/original/file-20210127-15-1whjzx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3940%2C2664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how non-profit organizations operate and how they're funded. Whether it will be enough to help the non-profit sector address growing social problems remains to be seen. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Piqsels)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID-19 has been disruptive to non-profit organizations that are, in many cases, <a href="https://charify.ca/challenges-of-npos/">already operating on a shoestring</a>.</p>
<p>Our research team has spoken with leaders from front-line non-profit organizations, and their funding partners — like public and private foundations — to better understand how the pandemic is affecting organizations across Canada. </p>
<p>Preliminary findings indicate that traditional funding practices have eroded the resiliency of charities and their ability to build sufficient capabilities that can be drawn upon during tough times. </p>
<p>But the pandemic has also emboldened funders and non-profits to rethink traditional models and implement changes that have enormous potential to strengthen the non-profit sector. </p>
<h2>How non-profits operate</h2>
<p>Operating on small budgets is standard for many front-line, non-profit organizations like food banks, youth support organizations and homeless outreach organizations. Doing more with less is a badge of honour. </p>
<p>We spoke to officials at one non-profit delivering youth programming who recounted how visitors to their organization had been impressed with the leanness of the organization. This “leanness” is baked into the non-profit DNA, reinforced by industry observers like <a href="https://www.charityintelligence.ca/">Charity Intelligence</a>. </p>
<p>This leanness is shaped by policies and long-held <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong?language=en#t-137559">beliefs about how non-profits should conduct themselves</a>. Traditional funding models allocate money to specific projects, like youth support programs or senior engagement initiatives, constraining how funds are spent. In addition, this funding must often be renewed annually. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-non-profits-can-use-business-as-a-force-for-good-121674">How non-profits can use business as a force for good</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In principle, pushing funding directly to a non-profit’s constituents makes sense. But it leaves little money to build organizational capabilities. The razor-thin budgets diminish organizational flexibility, capacity and resilience. </p>
<p>Taken together, this makes planning for the future difficult at the best of times. But it makes preparing for crises like the COVID-19 pandemic nearly impossible. </p>
<p>This is problematic because non-profit organizations are vital resources for marginalized and under-served groups. In Canada, communities are struggling and the need for social services far outpaces the supply. This <a href="https://www.imaginecanada.ca/sites/default/files/2019-08/imaginecanada_charities_sustainability_smart_growth_2016_10_18.pdf">social deficit</a> has been exacerbated by the global pandemic, increasing the prevalence of social problems and making the non-profit sector all that more critical. </p>
<h2>Non-profit responses</h2>
<p>Despite the myriad challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced, the non-profits we spoke with adopted creative and innovative approaches to executing their missions. </p>
<p>Make no mistake, the ability for non-profits to continue to serve their communities is a testament to their passion, with non-profit team members pouring their heart and soul into their organizations. </p>
<p>Mission, passion, will and determination have been integral to sustaining non-profits over this time. Across the organizations we spoke with, leaders described the personal sacrifices they and their teams had made. This included long hours, maintaining a flexible outlook and mental tenacity. </p>
<p>Employees of front-line organizations also faced personal risks due to daily interactions with clients and possible COVID-19 exposure. These realities have adversely impacted the mental health of employees in this sector. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman wearing a mask and carrying a clipboard checks on a homeless person in a tent." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380912/original/file-20210127-13-1fdf18j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380912/original/file-20210127-13-1fdf18j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380912/original/file-20210127-13-1fdf18j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380912/original/file-20210127-13-1fdf18j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380912/original/file-20210127-13-1fdf18j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380912/original/file-20210127-13-1fdf18j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380912/original/file-20210127-13-1fdf18j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A worker from a non-profit organization checks on homeless people in their tents during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto in April 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Funding partners have responded in significant ways too. The funding organizations we talked to recognized the need to alter traditional funding procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, many funders immediately removed spending restrictions on existing grants. </p>
<p>As one funder stated: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“You guys know your business better than we do. Use the money as you need it to help you with the adjustment.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The shift to unrestricted funds suggests heightened trust and a recognition that as funders, they did not know how the organizations they supported should best use the money. </p>
<p>This trust was monumental for many non-profit organizations. As one front-line non-profit leader stated:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“For the first time, all of a sudden, there’s access to operations funding, which we never had before … that’s been absolutely fantastic, to suddenly have money just to pay people to do what they’re doing.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In some cases, the access to unrestricted funding that could be used for the organization’s highest priorities was the difference between continuing to meet the needs of the community and shutting the doors. </p>
<p>It’s interesting that during a time of heightened stress and confusion, many funding partners looked within and found that they trusted the non-profits they were funding, transforming a traditionally paternalistic funding relationship. </p>
<p>What remains to be seen is whether these changes are temporary, or whether they open the door <a href="http://give5.ca/">for reimagining</a> funding relationships. </p>
<h2>New pathways forward</h2>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges but might also represent a critical inflection point for the non-profit sector. While we expect 2021 will <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/nonprofits-charities-pandemic-closures-1.5625165">be a challenging</a> year for non-profits, the <a href="https://imaginecanada.ca/sites/default/files/COVID-19%20Sector%20Monitor%20Report%20ENGLISH_0.pdf">sector’s response</a> to date indicates two important and related ways the sector could <a href="https://imaginecanada.ca/en/wake-up-call-report-download">build back better</a>. </p>
<p>First, the pandemic has spurred funders to reconsider their relationships with the non-profit organizations they fund. This may have long term implications for the sector. Many funding organizations are currently waiting for COVID-19 spread to slow, signalling that the time to build back is here. </p>
<p>As non-profits navigate through COVID-19, funding partners should seek a new balance. They can do this by releasing some control and shifting from short-term funding designated for specific projects to long-term unrestricted funding aimed at building non-profit capacity. </p>
<p>Second, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of capabilities and capacity — human resources, information technology and even extra staff and resources, all expenses that have traditionally been generally discouraged by funding organizations. Yet to build capacity for resilience, non-profits must be permitted and encouraged to build this capacity.</p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has let the light in when it comes to how non-profit organizations operate and how they’re funded. Whether it will be enough to help the non-profit sector address the growing social deficit remains to be seen. </p>
<p><em>Lynn Fergusson of Social Impact Advisors contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153254/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brent McKnight received funding from the Social Sciences Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Mitacs and McMaster University for research that appears in this article. This project also received funding from Social Impact Advisors, a B Corp providing strategy consulting to the non-profit sector.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Gouweloos received funding from Mitacs for research that appears in this article. </span></em></p>The COVID-19 pandemic shone a light on how non-profit organizations operate and how they’re funded. Is it enough to boost non-profit sector capacity to address social inequities post-pandemic?Brent McKnight, Associate Professor, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster UniversityJulie Gouweloos, Instructor, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1505302020-12-16T19:04:06Z2020-12-16T19:04:06ZThe dos and don'ts of donating — how to give wisely this Christmas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375018/original/file-20201215-18-cfi6ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Christmas is nearly here, and as we enjoy buying presents for family and friends, it’s also a time when <a href="https://mccrindle.com.au/insights/blog/donating-to-charity-replacing-traditional-gift-giving-this-christmas/">many of us</a> think about donating to charity.</p>
<p>As last summer’s bushfires <a href="https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2020/01/some-thoughts-on-the-bushfire-crisis-charity-and-giving/">showed</a>, the devastation caused by natural disasters can lead to an outpouring of generosity. </p>
<p>This Christmas is also different because of the very challenging year we’ve experienced. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/feeling-pressured-to-buy-christmas-presents-read-this-and-think-twice-before-buying-candles-150174">Feeling pressured to buy Christmas presents? Read this (and think twice before buying candles)</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Although Australia has escaped the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has still <a href="https://www.foodbank.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/FB-HR20.pdf?state=nsw-act">hit our communities hard</a>. Charities have been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/24/really-struggling-covid-19-puts-australian-charities-at-risk-just-when-they-are-needed-most">under increased pressure</a>, while at the same time, donations have dropped off and fundraising events have had to be cancelled. </p>
<p>So if you have the means to do it, this Christmas there’s even more reason to donate. Here are some tips to make sure you’re donating your precious funds wisely. </p>
<h2>First, do some research</h2>
<p>Making a donation will often reflect the causes we care about and where we think there’s a need. We will often be guided by our emotions and give on the spur of the moment, and there’s nothing wrong with that.</p>
<p>But it’s also worthwhile doing some research before you provide your credit card details. Even if you’re only giving a small amount, a few minutes of research can help inform your decision and provide you with more confidence about your choice.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman places money into a Salvation Army Christmas appeal bucket." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375020/original/file-20201215-13-18lv02j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375020/original/file-20201215-13-18lv02j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375020/original/file-20201215-13-18lv02j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375020/original/file-20201215-13-18lv02j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375020/original/file-20201215-13-18lv02j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375020/original/file-20201215-13-18lv02j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375020/original/file-20201215-13-18lv02j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Christmas is the most popular time for Australians to give to charity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rogelio V Solis/AP/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission is our national charities regulator. It has a <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity">free public register</a> where you can search for a charity and access all sorts of information about its activities, governance and finances. Before donating to a charity, it’s worth looking them up to check they are registered.</p>
<p>Many charities have websites and they have a wide range of information about their activities and how your donation will be used. It’s a good idea to have a read through their information before you donate. But be aware, if it’s a very small charity, it may not have a fancy website — so this does not necessarily mean it doesn’t do good work.</p>
<p>Doing some research is also important to make sure you are donating to the people you think you are. Scammers <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-07/australia-fires-sees-spike-in-fraudster-behaviour/11923174">can pose</a> as genuine charities to try and steal your money. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Scamwatch has <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/fake-charities">information</a> about what to look out for. This includes a lack of proper identification for those collecting in person. </p>
<h2>Next, read the fine print</h2>
<p>When making a donation, make sure to read the terms and conditions.</p>
<p>For example, if receiving a tax deduction is important, make sure the organisation you’re donating to is a so-called “<a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/income-and-deductions/deductions-you-can-claim/other-deductions/gifts-and-donations/">deductible gift recipient</a>”. This should be clear on the donation page, but it’s also something you can check yourself using the federal government’s <a href="https://abr.business.gov.au/Tools/DgrListing">ABN Lookup</a> tool.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beware-of-bushfire-scams-how-fraudsters-take-advantage-of-those-in-need-129549">Beware of bushfire scams: how fraudsters take advantage of those in need</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A donation made directly to a charity may be used for a specific appeal, but it may also be for the charity’s broader activities. So, bear that in mind.</p>
<p>In recent years we’ve seen the rise of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/24/grand-my-cat-gap-year-rise-of-i-want-crowdfunding">third party platforms</a> that aim to make donating easier. It’s important to understand how they work.</p>
<p>If donating through a Facebook fundraiser, like Celeste Barber’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/celeste-barber-fundraiser-money-tied-up-legal-complications/11979108">bushfire appeal</a>, your donation is subject to <a href="https://www.paypal.com/au/webapps/mpp/givingfund/policies/donor-terms-of-service">various terms</a>. For example, you’re not actually donating to the charity nominated in the fundraiser, but the “PayPal Giving Fund Australia”. This is a public foundation that acts like a holding account before the donation is passed on. Importantly, it retains full legal control over the donation once you’ve made it. </p>
<p>If you’re donating through a platform such as GoFundMe, you may not be donating to a charity at all, but an individual or a group without charity status. They may still do excellent work and be able to respond rapidly to areas of need in a community, but there are fewer protections around how your funds are used.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/celeste-barbers-story-shows-us-the-power-of-celebrity-fundraising-and-the-importance-of-reading-the-fine-print-139379">Celeste Barber's story shows us the power of celebrity fundraising ... and the importance of reading the fine print</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If you’re setting up a fundraiser yourself, make sure you are fully across the terms of the fundraiser. This will help avoid the same sort of <a href="https://theconversation.com/celeste-barbers-story-shows-us-the-power-of-celebrity-fundraising-and-the-importance-of-reading-the-fine-print-139379">confusion</a> that we saw with Barber’s bushfire appeal, and how the funds she raised could be used. </p>
<h2>Remember, running a charity is complex</h2>
<p>Although it’s understandable donors often want all their money to go straight to the “frontline” as soon as possible, running a charity is complex.</p>
<p>Charities need to employ skilled staff, rent offices, and do due diligence on how they distribute their funds.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Comedian Celeste Barber at a bushfire relief concert." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375023/original/file-20201215-24-15oyctm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375023/original/file-20201215-24-15oyctm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375023/original/file-20201215-24-15oyctm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375023/original/file-20201215-24-15oyctm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375023/original/file-20201215-24-15oyctm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375023/original/file-20201215-24-15oyctm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375023/original/file-20201215-24-15oyctm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Comedian Celeste Barber’s Facebook effort raised $51 million for bushfire victims, but there was confusion about how it had to be spent.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joel Carrett/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So don’t begrudge charities that spend some of their donated funds on <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/for-public/understanding-charities/charities-and-administration-costs">administration and overhead costs</a> - in fact, be happy they do. <a href="https://pj.news.chass.ncsu.edu/2018/10/22/the-overhead-ratio-is-not-a-measure-of-efficiency/">Research</a> has shown the level of overhead costs is a very poor indicator of a charity’s effectiveness. Lower overheads can actually be associated with lower impact. </p>
<p>It’s also important to recognise charities are subject to extensive oversight and scrutiny, and will generally do their best to meet the needs of those they serve and the expectations of their donors.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/media/news/landmark-regulator-reviews-find-bushfire-charities-managed-funds-responsibly-despite">recent review</a> by the charities regulator found three high profile charities — the Red Cross, NSW Rural Fire Service and WIRES — were “credible and professional in managing donations” following last summer’s bushfires. </p>
<p>As the review also pointed out, responding to a disaster requires a phased response. When using funds, charities must balance immediate needs with those further down the path of recovery. </p>
<h2>But donate with confidence</h2>
<p>After reading this, you may think donating to charity is complicated. Rest assured, it isn’t!</p>
<p>Doing some simple research and being aware of some pitfalls isn’t hard, and it can help you give more comfortably. If you have the capacity to give, then it’s a great way to make a difference, because every dollar counts. </p>
<p>And if you have the ability to make a regular monthly donation, think about doing that as well. Charities rely on a steady income stream to really have an impact, so a regular donation is a really effective way to contribute to a cause that’s important to you.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150530/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Krystian Seibert also works as a policy adviser to Philanthropy Australia, the peak body for the philanthropic sector.</span></em></p>Christmas is the most popular time for Australians to give to charity. But it’s important to do some research first.Krystian Seibert, Industry Fellow, Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1460112020-09-27T11:48:02Z2020-09-27T11:48:02ZWE Charity demise shows why trust, transparency are so critical for NGOs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360024/original/file-20200925-20-e5wcsq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=168%2C0%2C5741%2C3562&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">WE Charity's Marc Kielburger, left, and Craig Kielburger, right, appear as witnesses via videoconference at a House of Commons finance committee hearing in Ottawa in July 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/we-charity-student-grant-justin-trudeau-testimony-1.5666676">scandal around the federal government’s questionable allocation</a> of a student grant program to WE Charity has led to the demise of the organization’s operations in Canada. </p>
<p>That’s prompted a renewed <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2020/07/28/we-charity-scandal-risks-tainting-entire-sector.html">debate about the trustworthiness and accountability of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)</a>.</p>
<p>When a crisis of NGO trustworthiness emerges, the public usually demands <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-help-the-public-trust-ngos-again-93625">more oversight</a> and formal accountability from the organizations. But does this actually lead to increased trust and transparency among donors, NGOs and the general public?</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-help-the-public-trust-ngos-again-93625">How to help the public trust NGOs again</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>I look at this question using previous research on trust and accountability inside the NGO sector.</p>
<h2>NGO trustworthiness</h2>
<p>Non-governmental organizations obtain their legitimacy largely from the trust that the general public bestows upon them. That means that <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-98395-0_3">NGO trustworthiness</a> — defined as the perceived ability, benevolence and integrity of these organizations — is a paramount element to guarantee the success of NGO welfare-delivery projects. </p>
<p>NGO trustworthiness becomes more relevant if we consider that most of these organizations fund their operations from taxpayer dollars, which is channelled through governmental agencies that act as donors. </p>
<p>Governmental donors establish accountability measures that rely on extensive administrative requirements and bureaucratic demands. But they often doing little to enhance project activities or to reach better co-operative relationships with NGOs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students laugh outside a school." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students in Haiti in front of a WE Charity school.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">WE Charity</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.e-ir.info/2018/08/10/building-trust-in-ngos/">Recent research</a> has shown that the current model of accountability in the NGO sector relies too much on a rational view of trust that conflates transparency and authenticity with bureaucratic accountability. </p>
<p>The WE Charity scandal demonstrates that despite the stringent accountability requirements that are dominant in the sector, relationships may fall apart due to the lack of real transparency that sustains the <a href="https://ipolitics.ca/2020/09/14/we-must-learn-from-the-we-charity-controversy/">public’s trust</a>. Current accountability models need to be reconsidered to recognize that trust is not only built on oversight mechanisms, but also on emotional components.</p>
<h2>Emotional elements of trust</h2>
<p>Trust is usually defined as the positive expectations regarding the actions of others. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sf/article/63/4/967/2232120">Sociological research</a> on trust highlights that this concept goes beyond the use of tangible evidence to predict the behaviour of others and involves emotions. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Craig Kielburger reaches down to touch the upraised hands of audience members." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Craig Kielburger, founder WE Charity, gets high fives from the audience at WE Day celebrations in Kitchener, Ont., in February 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robin</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Trust is not a simple tool used to make rational predictions about the actions of a counterpart. Instead, trust has an emotional dimension involving shared values, principles, goals and beliefs. These shared values allow people take leaps of faith when forming a co-operative relationship. </p>
<p>Simply put, no matter how many administrative and oversight requirements we impose on an NGO, we need emotional elements, such as shared principles and goals, that connect us. Trust is a mix of informational and emotional elements that increase the perceived trustworthiness about the partner. Such perceived trustworthiness is sustained through communication and transparency. </p>
<h2>Communication, transparency as trust enablers</h2>
<p>The demise of WE Charity and the public scrutiny on the Liberal government started with the failure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to recuse himself from the discussions about the award of the student program, as well as the lack of disclosure of questionable financial ties between WE Charity and Trudeau’s family.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1304461153846857728"}"></div></p>
<p>Aside from any political retaliations from opposition parties, what appears certain is that both the government and the charity failed to properly communicate and be completely transparent with the public. </p>
<p>But transparency here should not be understood as a just an act of dutiful compliance with regulations and oversight demands, but rather as the natural outcome of nurturing relationships where the important element is the common goal that connects everyone involved.</p>
<p>The preliminary results of my research into how trust and accountability interact in relationships in the NGO sector suggests that trust is enabled and enhanced by communication and transparency. That transparency is not understood as the fulfilment of bureaucratic accountability measures and administrative requirements, but instead as voluntary acts of openness and disclosure about important events that may impact the relationship. </p>
<p>In the case of WE Charity, it’s precisely the lack of communication and transparency with the public that led to the ultimate downfall of the intended collaboration.</p>
<h2>Trust eroded</h2>
<p>On paper, WE Charity could have been the best partner to implement the student grant program. It may have met all the requirements in terms of capacity and operational infrastructure, and it may have had the best intentions to connect students with volunteering opportunities. </p>
<p>But the failure to be transparent eroded the public’s trust and led to its organizational demise. </p>
<p>This suggests that stringent oversight measures — which in the current model of NGO accountability usually translates into bureaucratic paperwork — do not necessarily lead to enhanced trust and transparency in the relationships among donors, NGOs and the public.</p>
<p>Accountability requirements for NGOs are necessary — they help stakeholders check on the activities undertaken by these organizations. But these requirements should really focus on transparency, not as an exercise of simple box-checking. This will ultimately lead to enhanced trust relationships with NGOs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146011/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nelson Duenas receives funding from Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC) </span></em></p>On paper, WE Charity could have been the best partner to implement the federal government’s student grant program. But the failure to be transparent eroded the public’s trust and led to its demise.Nelson Duenas, PhD Candidate in Accounting, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1440352020-08-13T15:57:06Z2020-08-13T15:57:06ZCOVID-19 has exposed the limits of philanthropy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352086/original/file-20200811-24-8shwto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C85%2C5184%2C3158&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Charitable tax incentives enable the super-wealthy to redirect billions in tax dollars away from government programs toward their private philanthropic foundations and the causes they choose to support.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Against the backdrop of the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/we-charity-student-grant-justin-trudeau-testimony-1.5666676">WE Charity scandal</a> — and revelations of <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-trudeau-accused-of-cronyism-over-giving-we-charity-a-contract-to-run/">political nepotism</a> and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7203337/trudeau-we-charity-foundation-real-estate-holding-company/">charitable shell corporations</a> — Canadian philanthropic foundations have quietly distributed <a href="https://pfc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/pfc_insights_covid19_july_eng.pdf">more than $100 million in emergency funds</a> to support communities most impacted by COVID-19. </p>
<p>In the process, however, philanthropy has revealed its limits as a mechanism for addressing the societal inequalities magnified by the pandemic.</p>
<p>The health and economic impacts of COVID-19 have been disproportionately felt by <a href="https://theconversation.com/data-linking-race-and-health-predicts-new-covid-19-hotspots-138579">racialized</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-communities-at-increased-risk-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-142027">Indigenous</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pandemic-covid-coronavirus-cerb-unemployment-1.5610404">working-class</a> communities. This reality reflects pronounced inequalities in Canadian society that have been exacerbated by decades of tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, <a href="https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/jean-chretiens-austerity-made-canada-less-prepared-for-covid-19">alongside austerity policies and the hollowing-out of the welfare state.</a></p>
<p>Less attention, however, has been paid to the concurrent history of charitable tax incentives that enable the super-wealthy to redirect billions in tax dollars away from government programs toward their private philanthropic foundations and the causes they choose to support. </p>
<p>These policies represent a far greater threat to ordinary Canadians and the legitimacy of the charitable sector than the drama of the WE Charity scandal.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Marc Kielburger and Craig Kielburger appear on a screen in a government building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352083/original/file-20200811-14-alay7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352083/original/file-20200811-14-alay7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352083/original/file-20200811-14-alay7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352083/original/file-20200811-14-alay7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352083/original/file-20200811-14-alay7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352083/original/file-20200811-14-alay7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352083/original/file-20200811-14-alay7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marc Kielburger, left, and Craig Kielburger, right, appear as witnesses via videoconference during a House of Commons finance committee in Ottawa on July 28, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What are private foundations?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/charities-giving/charities/charities-giving-glossary.html">Private foundations</a> are privately run, privately funded and tax-exempt organizations that facilitate the charitable donations of the wealthy. When individuals give to their private foundations, they receive a charitable receipt they can use as a credit against the income taxes they owe the government. </p>
<p>Since 1995, the federal government has further incentivized this process by raising the maximum charitable tax credit someone can claim from <a href="https://www.ctf.ca/ctfweb/CMDownload.aspx?ContentKey=c2a5185b-5f03-4c9c-bf9e-fde870de7cb5&ContentItemKey=9edf849d-a321-40b8-80f3-388c9e9bf70a">20 per cent to 75 per cent of their annual income, and by extending the charitable credit to apply to donations of stocks, bonds and mutual funds</a>. </p>
<p>These policies have led to massive growth in the sector. Between 1995 and 2019, for example, the number of Canadian private foundations increased to approximately 5,915 from 3,000. And from 2008 to 2017, <a href="https://pfc.ca/resources/canadian-foundation-facts/">the total assets of private foundations grew to $49.6 billion from $16.82 billion</a>.</p>
<p>A considerable amount of these assets is concentrated in some of Canada’s most celebrated foundations, including the <a href="https://fondationchagnon.org/en/">Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation</a> ($1.96 billion in assets), the <a href="https://mcconnellfoundation.ca/">McConnell Foundation</a> ($629 million in assets) and the Rossy Family Foundation ($538 million in assets). </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1287789477495275528"}"></div></p>
<p>This expansion, however, occurs at the expense of government tax revenue. Philanthropic donations are dollars that have been redirected away from universal social services toward the causes of a philanthropist’s choosing. </p>
<p>Foundations are also only required to distribute 3.5 per cent of their total assets to registered charities in a given year, despite the fact that <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/may-2020/unlocking-the-expanding-wealth-of-charitable-foundations/">the financial assets of private foundations currently grow at approximately 10 per cent annually</a>. </p>
<p>These policies have contributed to an underfunded social safety net, and a philanthropic sector scrambling to fill in gaps that they are not well-equipped to handle. Philanthropy cannot operate anywhere near the scale that the public sector does. It cannot, for example, fund universal pharmacare or implement a nationwide affordable housing program.</p>
<p>And the vast majority of private foundation dollars find themselves <a href="http://pfc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/portrait-cdn-philanthropy-sept2017-en.pdf">in the pockets of universities, research centres and large cultural institutions</a>.</p>
<h2>Wealth taxes and private foundations</h2>
<p>Philanthropists who want to aid in the recovery process and make sure the most disadvantaged in society are not disproportionately affected by future crises need to think about philanthropy — the allocation of private resources toward a public good — differently.</p>
<p>One way is to follow the lead of groups like <a href="https://www.resourcemovement.org/tax-justice">Resource Movement</a> that are using their wealth, power and influence to support a growing list of voices across Canada advocating for <a href="http://behindthenumbers.ca/2020/06/18/wealth-tax-is-within-reach/">a tax on extreme levels of wealth</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352331/original/file-20200811-22-29l4zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Jagmeet Singh in a pale blue turban." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352331/original/file-20200811-22-29l4zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352331/original/file-20200811-22-29l4zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352331/original/file-20200811-22-29l4zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352331/original/file-20200811-22-29l4zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352331/original/file-20200811-22-29l4zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352331/original/file-20200811-22-29l4zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352331/original/file-20200811-22-29l4zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has said a super-wealth tax would raise $5.6 billion that could be invested in health care and housing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The super-wealth tax <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/jagmeet-singh-ndp-super-wealth-tax-hamilton-1.5277626">proposed by the federal NDP</a> would tax net wealth above $20 million at a rate of one per cent. Based on numbers from <a href="https://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/web/default/files/Documents/Reports/RP-2021-007-S/RP-2021-007-S_en.pdf">a recent report by the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer</a>, this would apply to roughly 0.2 per cent of Canadian families who own approximately 15 per cent of all wealth in Canada. </p>
<p>Most Canadians are in favour of such a tax. A <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/07/10/why-canadians-need-to-wake-up-about-populism.html">2019 Ekos poll</a> found majority support for a wealth tax across party lines and age groups, while a <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/broadbent/pages/7611/attachments/original/1590088079/Abacus_May2020_-_Report.pdf">May 2020 Abacus poll</a> found three in four Canadians endorse a wealth tax.</p>
<p>For a wealth tax to work, however, it must apply to the billions of dollars sitting in privately controlled foundations as well. This would signal an important step toward a fairer and more equitable society. </p>
<p>While philanthropists would still receive tax receipts for donations to their foundations, they would be incentivized to either distribute these funds quickly to charitable organizations, or pay a small tax on their wealth each year to contribute to a more robust social safety net.</p>
<p>In either case, a wealth tax would ensure that private foundations are working for the taxpayers who subsidize their charitable giving.</p>
<p>Philanthropy is best suited to act fast in times of crisis. But what COVID-19 has made clear is that the challenges we currently face — the gaps in income support, health and education, long-term care programs and housing — are not novel crises. </p>
<p>They are the product of decades of growing inequalities and a shrinking social safety net, in part hastened by a focus on private over public welfare funding.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144035/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Saifer receives funding from PhiLab, Mitacs, Philanthropic Foundations Canada, and the Chagnon Foundation. </span></em></p>The growth of private foundations in Canada has occurred at the expense of government tax revenue. Philanthropic donations are dollars that have been redirected away from universal social services.Adam Saifer, Postdoctoral fellow, Canadian Philanthropy Partnership Research Network, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1412342020-06-24T12:48:00Z2020-06-24T12:48:00ZPost-war voluntary action helped rebuild Britain – could it happen again after coronavirus?<p>Coronavirus has demonstrated that in times of emergency, ordinary citizens are often the people who step up first to help. As the crisis hit, across the UK, people quickly joined community mutual aid efforts. A mass mobilisation of volunteers to support the NHS took place. There were remarkable fundraising efforts and frontline work. </p>
<p>In the suspended animation of lockdown, everyone has been adjusting to new roles and routines. This includes rapidly improvised new relationships between voluntary action and the state - a new “partnership of necessity”. This is reminiscent of the 1940s when charities mobilised in response to the upheaval of the second world war. </p>
<p>As part of its support for the coronavirus recovery, the UK government has pledged a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-sets-out-extra-750-million-coronavirus-funding-for-frontline-charities">£750 million rescue package</a> which will fund grants for charities. Around half of this will be directed towards supporting the work of smaller, local organisations at a time when demands on them are particularly intense. Even though the package has rightly been criticised as insufficient, never before have such sums been earmarked for the voluntary sector.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the government has worked closely with the Royal Voluntary Service in a call for volunteers to support the NHS in England. The <a href="https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/coronavirus/volunteer-army-ready-to-help-your-vulnerable-patients-05-05-2020/">NHS Volunteer Responders scheme now has an army of 750,000 people</a> offering to help support vulnerable people at home, through regular “check in and chat” phone calls and delivering shopping and medicines. The joint work to add voluntary resources to a core public service is worth noting – although the top-down approach has left many volunteers waiting to be deployed.</p>
<p>And at the local level, many voluntary organisations and grassroots community groups are working closely with councils to meet the social welfare needs of the most vulnerable and marginalised people.</p>
<p>In these ways, the state and voluntary action have become more closely aligned during the pandemic. There are some parallels with <a href="https://discoursesofvoluntaryaction.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/its-time-to-talk-8-page-bulletin.pdf">the 1940s</a> when the voluntary sector worked closely with the government to drive recovery. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cFBJz5BlX2c?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Imperial War Museum.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The second world war and post-war reconstruction revealed previously hidden social needs and accelerated changes towards state-provided welfare. But post-war austerity meant voluntary action was needed to meet these needs. Taken as a whole, the voluntary movement and the 1945-51 Labour government consolidated a “pragmatic partnership” that overcame initial suspicion on both sides.</p>
<h2>A partnership of necessity</h2>
<p>However, there is a key difference. The partnership back then was building on government support for grassroots community projects during the 1930s depression. It was part of a growing consensus on the creation of a cradle-to-grave welfare safety net, in which voluntary organisations would still play their part.</p>
<p>In 2020, however, the mobilisation follows on from a period characterised by a much more strained relationship between the UK government and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/volunteering-levels-static-since-the-1980s-despite-all-the-efforts-to-increase-them-96755">voluntary sector</a>. During the 2010s, the UK government made a big show of providing new opportunities for the voluntary sector via the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/jul/19/david-cameron-big-society-launch">“big society” agenda</a>. This was supposed to empower citizens and wider civil society to take action to meet local needs, but became mired in scepticism. People saw the emphasis on voluntary action as a cover for austerity – a sign that the government hoped it could cut public funding and others would step in to fill the gaps left behind. Meanwhile, there were efforts to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/nov/20/charities-call-for-end-gagging-law-lobbying-act-run-up-elections">restrict the campaigning role of voluntary organisations</a>. The state and charities have been working together in practice, but the relationship could more realistically be described as an “antagonistic collaboration”.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339451/original/file-20200603-130917-1phwlgk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339451/original/file-20200603-130917-1phwlgk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=150&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339451/original/file-20200603-130917-1phwlgk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=150&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339451/original/file-20200603-130917-1phwlgk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=150&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339451/original/file-20200603-130917-1phwlgk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=189&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339451/original/file-20200603-130917-1phwlgk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=189&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339451/original/file-20200603-130917-1phwlgk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=189&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Listen to Recovery, a series from <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-anthill-podcast-27460">The Anthill Podcast</a>, to hear more about how the world recovered from past crises, including an episode on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-shock-of-the-second-world-war-transformed-the-british-state-recovery-podcast-part-four-141324">recovery after the second world war in Britain</a>.</em></p>
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<p>The coronavirus “partnership of necessity” comes out of a decade of worsening relations between the state and voluntary action. During the pandemic, charities have been using social media campaigns and the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nevermoreneeded">#NeverMoreNeeded</a> to highlight the work they have been doing with the wider public, suggesting they <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-is-a-perfect-storm-for-charities-heres-why-the-sector-is-calling-for-help-134088">don’t feel they can rely on the government to support them</a>. </p>
<p>And although unprecedented resources are being directed towards the voluntary sector, the government’s package seems like an afterthought. It pales in comparison to the overall spending commitments to support some businesses and public services with “whatever it takes”. </p>
<p>The value of voluntary action has been widely recognised during coronavirus, for its ability to mobilise quickly, link services together and meet pressing needs. The pragmatic partnership of the 1940s lasted well into the post-war period. In due course, we will be able to observe if and how a closer working partnership of necessity endures in the reconstruction following the pandemic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141234/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Macmillan works at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article is based on research that was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (grant reference ES/N018249/1), with colleagues Irene Hardill (Northumbria University), Georgina Brewis (University College London), Rob Macmillan (Sheffield Hallam University) and Rose Lindsey (Southampton University). </span></em></p>Charities played a vital role in the reconstruction of post-war Britain. But they had a very different relationship with the government.Rob Macmillan, Principal Research Fellow, Sheffield Hallam UniversityAngela Ellis Paine, Research Fellow, Third Sector Research Centre, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1373652020-05-08T12:19:01Z2020-05-08T12:19:01ZDrive-thru iftars and coronavirus task forces: How Muslims are observing obligations to the poor this Ramadan<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332767/original/file-20200505-83736-1adpcoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5296%2C3477&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Volunteers distributing drive-thru iftar meals outside an Islamic center in Falls Church, Virginia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/volunteers-and-security-guards-wear-masks-as-they-news-photo/1211233175?adppopup=true">Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AF via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of the world’s <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/01/the-countries-with-the-10-largest-christian-populations-and-the-10-largest-muslim-populations/">1.8 billion Muslims</a> are experiencing the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-ramadan-is-called-ramadan-6-questions-answered-77291">holy month of Ramadan</a> differently this year – disrupted by social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>Ramadan, which began on April 24, is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-ramadan-is-called-ramadan-6-questions-answered-77291">ninth month on the Islamic lunar calendar</a> during which Muslims are required to fast from food, drink and sexual activity from dawn to dusk.</p>
<p>It is also a time for Muslims to renew their faith and remind themselves of the best that they can be by performing acts of compassion. For many Muslims, Ramadan is centered around helping the poor. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://philanthropy.iupui.edu/people-directory/siddiqui-shariq.html">scholar of Muslim philanthropy</a>, I have watched as people and institutions have adapted practices to accommodate social distancing rules. I have also observed how the crisis has exposed the vulnerability of Muslim nonprofits.</p>
<p>Muslims tend to give their “<a href="https://www-philanthropy-com.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/article/Ramadan-Fundraising-Is-Like-an/246287">zakat</a>” – obligatory annual charitable payments – during Ramadan. In the U.S., this has traditionally meant fundraising “<a href="https://www.peacecatalyst.org/blog/2018/6/6/ramadan-101-what-is-iftar">iftars</a>” – the evening meal to break daily Ramadan fasts – or congregational fundraising at community prayers or volunteering.</p>
<p>Social distancing has made it hard to keep up this tradition.</p>
<h2>Anti-poverty efforts</h2>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.ispu.org/american-muslim-philanthropy-a-data-driven-comparative-profile/">a 2018 survey of Muslim philanthropic practices</a> by the Institute of Social Policy and Understanding, U.S. Muslims make efforts to alleviate poverty in America a high priority when giving to Muslim charities. In fact, the poll found it was the second-most important focus of philanthropy after supporting their places of worship. Education and international relief rounded out their top four priorities. </p>
<p>When it comes to giving to non-Muslim charities, Muslims likewise spent more on groups that deal with poverty within the United States than other countries.</p>
<p>Civil rights organizations ranked below foreign and domestic anti-poverty efforts even as Muslims <a href="https://www.npr.org/local/309/2019/05/03/720057760/study-shows-islamophobia-is-growing-in-the-u-s-some-say-it-s-rising-in-chicago-too">face a rising tide of Islamophobia</a>. At a time when many Muslims in the U.S. are <a href="https://www.pewforum.org/2017/07/26/findings-from-pew-research-centers-2017-survey-of-us-muslims/">feeling marginalized or at risk of hostility</a>, they are still prioritizing the needs of others. In fact, they are just as likely to give to causes outside their faith as those within, and of all faiths are <a href="https://www.ispu.org/american-muslim-philanthropy-a-data-driven-comparative-profile/">the most likely to give to poverty causes</a> outside their religion.</p>
<p>Similarly, a <a href="https://www-alliancemagazine-org.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/feature/muslim-philanthropy-the-british-way/">recent survey of British Muslims</a> found that younger U.K. Muslims are passionate about reducing domestic inequality and poverty and that they are focusing on efforts within their own borders rather than Muslims in other countries.</p>
<p>The economic downturn caused by the coronavirus will have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/20/coronavirus-recession-could-plunge-tens-millions-into-poverty-new-report-warns/">inevitably pushed many families</a> – Muslim and non-Muslim alike – into poverty. Even before the crisis, <a href="https://www.ispu.org/whats-the-hidden-story-behind-american-muslim-poverty/">more than a third of Muslim Americans</a> were below the poverty line – a higher proportion than that of the general population.</p>
<h2>Direct aid</h2>
<p>Despite the challenges brought about by social distancing, Muslims organizations have still found ways to channel money to those in need. In the United States, the <a href="https://isna.net/">Islamic Society of North America</a> has, for example, helped establish a <a href="https://isna.net/covid-19/">National Muslim COVID-19 Taskforce</a>. </p>
<p>Local community organizations have come together to develop their own Muslim COVID-19 task forces in places like Indianapolis and Chicago.</p>
<p>Some congregations are providing iftar food for those in need through <a href="https://aboutislam.net/muslim-issues/n-america/atlanta-muslims-feed-the-fasting-in-drive-thru-iftars/">drive-thru services</a> because the traditional community meals are all canceled. Some congregations and organizations like <a href="https://www.icnarelief.org/policies-2/">ICNA Relief</a> are dropping off at homes and apartment buildings.</p>
<p>These local efforts are supported by national networks. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://philanthropy.iupui.edu/institutes/lake-institute/muslim-initiative/programs.html">Community Collaboration Initiative</a>, established by the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, where I am employed,“ has brought together 26 Muslim American nonprofits to find ways to collaborate.</p>
<p>While other Muslim relief organizations have increased domestic effort to distribute food and aid directly to people’s homes. </p>
<h2>Emergency funding</h2>
<p>Meanwhile <a href="http://fiqhcouncil.org/is-an-interest-bearing-loan-announced-by-us-government-under-cares-act-permissible-according-to-shariah/">guidance from religious bodies</a> like the Association of Muslim Jurists of America and the Fiqh Council of North America has meant that struggling Muslim families and businesses can apply for federal funds. They ruled that it was permissible to apply for loans under the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3548/text?q=product+actualizaci%C3%B3n">government’s CARES Act</a> despite the funds being subject to interest – which is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1047142445698534480">forbidden under Islamic law</a>. </p>
<p>I’ve already heard from a number of Muslim nonprofits that they are facing deep financial challenges as a result of the coronavirus crisis.</p>
<p>Muslim Americans represent <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/03/new-estimates-show-u-s-muslim-population-continues-to-grow/">around 1% of the U.S. population</a> and trend younger and poorer. This may explain why Muslim American nonprofits are vulnerable during times of economic hardship and may benefit from greater support from outside foundations and philanthropists. </p>
<p>Muslims in the U.S. have shown their resourcefulness in finding new ways of giving during the coronavirus-hit Ramadan. Many of the faith’s nonprofits may need to do likewise to keep afloat during the hard economic times to come.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklysmart">You can get our highlights each weekend</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137365/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shariq Siddiqui receives funding from Waraich Family Foundation, Proteus Fund, Islamic Relief USA, Doris Duke Islamic Arts Foundation, United Mission for Relief, PennyAppeal, Islamic Circle of North America, Mirza Family Foundation, Intuitive Solutions.
Shariq Siddiqui works for Indiana University.
Shariq Siddiqui serves on the board of Institute of Social Policy and Understanding and Center on Muslim Philanthropy,</span></em></p>Social distancing has made giving to the poor – an obligation under Islam – harder this Ramadan. Meanwhile Muslim nonprofits are feeling the strain of the economic downturn.Shariq Siddiqui, Assistant Professor & Director of the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, IUPUILicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1354862020-04-07T15:43:07Z2020-04-07T15:43:07ZStop calling coronavirus pandemic a ‘war’<p>In speeches, commentaries and conversations about the coronavirus pandemic, we keep <a href="https://publicinterest.org.uk/part-4-metaphors/">hearing</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/21/donald-trump-boris-johnson-coronavirus">war-like</a> <a href="http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2020/03/17/metaphors-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/">metaphors</a> being deployed. It happens explicitly (“we are at war”, “blitz spirit”, “war cabinet”) and implicitly (“threat”, “invisible enemy”, “frontline”, “duty”).</p>
<p>This, after all, helps project an interpretation of the extraordinary reality facing us which is readily understandable. It helps convey a sense of exceptional mobilisation and offers to decision-makers an opportunity to rise up as heroic commanders.</p>
<p>It is also true that the <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/whats-at-stake-in-a-viruss-name">language of biomedicine and epidemiology is already heavily militarised</a>. We “battle” a virus, and our body has “defence” mechanisms against the pathogens that “invade” it.</p>
<p>But the coronavirus crisis is an international, pan-human challenge. It certainly requires exceptional collective mobilisation, but no real weapons, no intentional killing of fellow human beings, and no casting of people as dehumanised others. Militarised language is unnecessary.</p>
<p>Explaining and encouraging community resilience and togetherness in the face of adversity by evoking images of war conjures up distorted myths and narratives of heroic past national glory and military campaigns. This might function as a cognitive shortcut to evoke collective effort, but the narrow narratives it reproduces are open to exploitation by opportunistic politicians.</p>
<p>We could just as much favour analysis of the evolving situation in calmer scientific and medical terms. You don’t need ideas about war to tell a story of the human race naturally coming together when faced by a common danger.</p>
<p>Indeed, one striking phenomenon has been the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-community-led-movement-creating-hope-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-134391">huge proliferation</a> of organic networks of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-community-led-movement-creating-hope-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-134391">mutual aid</a>. From street-level up, and often with the help of social media, a huge number of people have been organising solidarity networks to help each other – and especially the most vulnerable.</p>
<p>People have come together and organised within neighbourhoods, cities and regions – but also across nations – to help each other without needing to call it a “war” or military “duty”. The language of mutual aid and solidarity works just as well.</p>
<h2>Ideological appropriations</h2>
<p>Anyone interested in political theory and ideologies must be watching all this with some intellectual curiosity. Different perspectives come with different assumptions about human nature, the role of the state compared to other institutions, and so on.</p>
<p>War is the business of the state par excellence. Some argue it was <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/bringing-the-state-back-in/war-making-and-state-making-as-organized-crime/7A7B3B6577A060D76224F54A4DD0DA4C">war-making that actually made the modern state</a>. Framing the response to COVID-19 in military language will reinforce such statist thinking – and the statist project itself. It will reinforce the state and its power. </p>
<p>It is of course true that, given the political architecture in place as the crisis hit, states do hold much organisational capacity and power. They have a crucial role to play in tackling the current emergency. But other political entities matter too, from spontaneous bottom-up networks and municipalities to regional organisations and the World Health Organization. Military metaphors, however, either conceal their contributions or co-opt them by describing their efforts in military terms. </p>
<p>One could just as much pitch the crisis as being about medicine, health workers and human communities across the globe. One could analyse events around particular socio-economic classes, such as supermarket workers, delivery workers and essential equipment manufacturers, in every country affected by the virus. Looking at socio-economic classes across borders could also set up more searching discussions about homelessness, refugee camps, working conditions and universal healthcare.</p>
<p>An analysis based on class or social justice is just as appropriate as one revolving around military metaphors. But instead of reinforcing statist and military thinking, it would explain the crisis in <a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/topic/covid-19">anarchist</a>, <a href="https://jacobinmag.com/2020/03/david-harvey-coronavirus-political-economy-disruptions">Marxist</a>, <a href="https://www.wilpf.org/covid-19-waging-war-against-a-virus-is-not-what-we-need-to-be-doing/">feminist</a>, or <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/liberal-internationalism">liberal internationalist</a> terms, for example.</p>
<h2>Normalising war</h2>
<p>Language matters. It helps frame particular stories, interpretations and conversations while at the same time closing off alternative perspectives. It reinforces particular theories about how the world works, and sidelines others.</p>
<p>Framing political issues in the language of war both illustrates the prevalence of militarised thinking and further enables it. The more we use military language, the more we normalise the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/coronavirus-military-enforce-soldiers-armed-forces/2020/03/25/647cbbb6-6d53-11ea-a156-0048b62cdb51_story.html">mobilisation of the military</a> and the more we entrench military hierarchies. When the next international crisis arrives, rather than examining the deeper structural problems that caused them, we jump again to heroic narratives of national militarised mobilisation.</p>
<p>Who benefits from this? Politicians can project an image of decisive generals protecting their lot. Agents of state coercion can project themselves as dutiful and robust but popular administrators of the public will. They can then mobilise this (typically masculine) brand for their own political agenda later on. If you are Trump, perhaps you can even <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/whats-at-stake-in-a-viruss-name">egg up some anti-Chinese patriotism</a>. </p>
<p>Missed is the opportunity to develop a more nuanced understanding of human capabilities not restricted to national boundaries. Yet this international solidarity and these pan-human capabilities might be what we need to tackle other problems of international scale, such as the climate crisis.</p>
<p>When a crisis of global proportions gives rise to organic expressions of mutual aid, our imagination has grown so restricted that we find ourselves framing the challenge in statist and national terms. Instead of seeing the whole of humanity rising to the challenge together and observing the multi-layered outpouring of mutual aid, our imagination is restricted into encasing this in military language. </p>
<p>But that does not capture the full story. The human race will come out of COVID wiser if it does not frame its understanding of its response to it in narrow military language.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135486/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandre Christoyannopoulos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People can work together without talking about fighting an enemy.Alexandre Christoyannopoulos, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1340882020-04-06T11:29:06Z2020-04-06T11:29:06ZCoronavirus is a perfect storm for charities – here’s why the sector is calling for help<p>When the organisers of the London marathon <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/51878234">decided to postpone</a> the 2020 race from April to October, the decision doubtless came as a blow to the 40,000 or so runners planning to take part. More urgently, it left charities at risk of hitting a financial wall: the 2019 marathon raised <a href="https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/london-marathon-postponed-to-october-over-coronavirus.html">a record £66.4 million</a>. </p>
<p>Unfortunately this amount is very much the tip of the iceberg of the impact coronavirus could have on the voluntary sector’s finances. Sector umbrella bodies suggest the crisis is a perfect storm that will lead to a total loss in charity <a href="https://www.cfg.org.uk/Covid19survey">income of £4.3 billion</a> over a 12-week period. There are fears that many vital organisations could go under if assistance is not provided.</p>
<p>The UK’s charity sector is historically enduring – dating back <a href="https://www.intrac.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Briefing-Paper-38-The-history-of-UK-civil-society.pdf">nine centuries</a> at least. The <a href="https://data.ncvo.org.uk/profile/">167,000 charitable organisations</a> pack a financial punch, with a GDP equivalent <a href="https://almanac.fc.production.ncvocloud.net/impact/">to a small nation state</a>. They make <a href="https://almanac.fc.production.ncvocloud.net/impact/beneficiaries/">a vital</a>, if often unsung, contribution to life even in normal times.</p>
<p>The effects of coronavirus on the charity sector will be most obvious in three closely related areas: demand, workforce and financial viability.</p>
<h2>Demand for services</h2>
<p>One of the <a href="https://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/library/impact-of-covid-19-on-the-charity-sector-briefing-from-the/">first surveys conducted among charities</a> on the impact of coronavirus suggested that 43% expected demand for their services to rise. Homeless charities <a href="https://www.homeless.org.uk/connect/blogs/2020/mar/26/emergency-appeal-for-help">have had to close shelters</a> due to the cramped conditions. Yet they are expected to play a vital role in achieving the government’s aim of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/21/uk-hotels-homeless-shelters-coronavirus">taking homeless people off the streets</a>, and in supporting them in temporary accommodation such as hotels. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-crisis-shows-why-homelessness-urgently-needs-to-become-a-thing-of-the-past-133302">Coronavirus crisis shows why homelessness urgently needs to become a thing of the past</a>
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<p>The threat to employment and questions over sick pay have prompted <a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/how-citizens-advice-works/media/press-releases/busiest-week-in-history-for-the-citizens-advice-website-with-over-22-million-views/">unprecedented traffic to the Citizens Advice</a> website, a trend likely to continue as more than <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52130036">900,000 signed up for universal credit</a> in the last two weeks of March. </p>
<p>Demand, or more precisely need, can be hidden, too. The charity Refuge, which runs the National Domestic Abuse helpline, said there had been a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52130036">25% increase</a> in calls and online requests for help since the lockdown began in the UK. Women’s Aid said that the crisis could <a href="https://www.womensaid.org.uk/covid-19-does-not-cause-homicide-abusers-do/">not have come at a worse time</a> after “years of debilitating cuts”.</p>
<h2>Staff and volunteers</h2>
<p>The ability of charities to respond to this demand will be affected by the most obvious HR risk in a pandemic: that staff will get sick or have to <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-advice/">self-isolate</a> following government guidance. The government’s assessment of likely sickness levels seems to have been <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/outsourcers-told-to-prepare-for-covid-19-absenteeism-11958932">around 20%</a>, at least before the lockdown on March 23. This implies that at any time 175,000 charity employees might be unable to work, although those with milder symptoms may be able to work from home. </p>
<p>Volunteers, a crucial part of the sector, will be affected, too. While clichés about “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324579145_Not_just_sweet_old_ladies_-_challenges_in_voluntary_work_in_the_long-term_care_services">old ladies making tea</a>” are far from the truth, those aged 65-74 are more likely to volunteer <a href="https://data.ncvo.org.uk/volunteering/demographics/">than any other age group</a>. They could be more seriously affected by the virus, and also more likely to be self-isolating. </p>
<h2>Funding</h2>
<p>Over <a href="https://almanac.fc.production.ncvocloud.net/sector-finances/income-from-the-public/#more-data-and-research">£8 billion per year</a> is donated by the UK public to charities each year. While around <a href="https://reports.mintel.com/display/858893/">a quarter of people</a> give via the relatively secure route of direct debit, the lockdown will have a much greater effect on ad hoc cash donations, which remain a <a href="https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/blog-home/public-affairs-blog/cash-is-king-for-donations-to-charities">popular form of giving</a>.</p>
<p>The same is true for public events. Sponsorship income traditionally rises in line with the better weather, with April to October the peak months, making the timing of the UK’s lockdown even more damaging. Meanwhile, legacy income – funds from people’s bequests – is predicted to <a href="https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/legacy-income-expected-to-fall-by-up-to-9-in-2020.html">fall by around 9%</a> from its current level of £3.1 billion, having previously been steadily rising. The likelihood of falling house prices and the reality of plummeting share values are major factors. Share devaluation also has a negative effect on charities’ own investment income, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/315540/economic_downturn4.pdf">as it did in 2008</a>.</p>
<p>Funding from statutory bodies and funding agencies should in theory be more robust. Many funders have <a href="https://londonfunders.org.uk/our-blog/we-stand-sector-funder-response-covid-19">relaxed reporting deadlines and other requirements</a>, while government advice is for local authorities to <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/874178/PPN_02_20_Supplier_Relief_due_to_Covid19.pdf">pay those who deliver public sector contracts</a> until at least June. But additional earned income, <a href="https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/coronavirus-save-children-cruk-british-heart-foundation-oxfam-close-shops/fundraising/article/1677551">from charity shops</a>, will dry up almost completely in this period.</p>
<p>Government measures, such as the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme">Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme</a> for paying furloughed staff, may help. So will existing reserves – charities usually set aside between three and six months’ worth of costs – or initiatives from philanthropists such as <a href="https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2020/03/i-m-making-p1m-available-to-fund-urgent-small-charity-coronaviru/">Martin Lewis</a>. Funders such as the Big Lottery have made <a href="https://www.national-lottery.co.uk/life-changing/community-fund?icid=lich-212:bd:2:scndry:tnl:lccomf:in:btn">dedicated funding</a> available and the National Emergencies Trust appeal on coronavirus <a href="https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/national-emergencies-trust-appeal-reaches-16m-fundraising-milestone.html">raised £16 million in its first two weeks.</a></p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-has-sparked-an-unprecedented-level-of-philanthropy-134858">Coronavirus has sparked an unprecedented level of philanthropy</a>
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<h2>Calls for more help</h2>
<p>Nevertheless, without additional action from government, many in the sector claim they will be prevented from helping the response, or even go out of business altogether. Small charities make up the majority of the sector: 96% turn over under £1 million per year and these little platoons of predominantly local organisations face an uncertain future. But even a household name such as <a href="https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/oxfam-to-furlough-two-thirds-of-its-uk-staff-in-response-to-covid-19.html">Oxfam is already taking drastic measures</a> to preserve funds, furloughing two-thirds of its UK staff.</p>
<p>By early April, no specific support package for charities had been announced by the Treasury. The <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23EveryDayCounts&src=typed_query&f=live">#EveryDayCounts</a> campaign, supported by a coalition of infrastructure bodies and individual charities, is pressuring government to step in immediately. It is seeking a cash offer to keep charities going, and a tweak to regulations which would allow staff on furlough to volunteer for their charity in a time of need. </p>
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<p>A sector which was once <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/03/charities-knitting-politics-brook-newmark">told by a minister</a> to “stick to its knitting and keep out of politics” now finds itself campaigning hard for a political solution to its existential crisis. Whether dealing with coronavirus proves itself to be a marathon or a sprint, millions depend on the outcome.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134088/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Brady does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With events cancelled, charity shops closed and finances stalling, charities in the UK are being hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.Andrew Brady, Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Management, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1322732020-03-08T19:01:28Z2020-03-08T19:01:28ZNext time, we’ve got to handle emergency donations better<p>As Australia burned over summer, many of us gave generously, donating an extraordinary <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/bushfire-donations-near-500-million-as-watchdogs-put-charities-on-notice-20200117-p53sg5.html">A$500 million</a> by mid-January.</p>
<p>Charities had to scramble, as did organisations directing us to charities. For its new year’s eve fundraiser the ABC chose the <a href="https://www.redcross.org.au/news-and-media/media-centre/media-releases/red-cross-welcomes-abc-new-year-s-eve-broadcasts-s">Red Cross</a>.</p>
<p>Weeks later, the New South Wales state MP for Bega, Andrew Constance, a local whose electorate was in the heart of the fires, attacked the Red Cross, and also the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul, arguing not all of the money was <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-22/andrew-constance-attacks-red-cross-for-bushfire-donation-delays/11890538">getting through</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The money is needed now, not sitting in a Red Cross bank account earning interest so they can map out their next three years and do their marketing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Red Cross responded, conceding it was using 10% of donations for administration but noting that it was handing out <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AustralianRedCross/photos/a.10150382567607222/10159381298317222/?type=3&theater">A$1 million</a> every day.</p>
<p>The confusion and negativity continued, with comedian <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/celeste-barber-fundraiser-money-tied-up-legal-complications/11979108">Celeste Barber</a> seeking legal advice over the fate of A$50 million she raised for the NSW Rural Fire Service. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/celebrity-concern-about-bushfires-could-do-more-harm-than-good-to-help-they-need-to-put-boots-on-the-ground-129627">Celebrity concern about bushfires could do more harm than good. To help they need to put boots on the ground</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It was too much for the fire service to spend quickly on running expenses and buying and maintaining equipment. And it was prevented by its trust deed from passing it on to other charities.</p>
<p>The fallout suggests we want to be sure our money is being used to help, but we’re not sure that it is.</p>
<h2>What can charities and donors do?</h2>
<p>My research into the role played by <a href="https://eprints.utas.edu.au/23941/">reputation</a> in donations indicates that it is important for charities to define their role clearly.</p>
<p>This includes stating plainly how they are meeting the reporting and other requirements imposed on them by the <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/media/news/charities-and-bushfire-disaster">Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission</a> and educating the public about those <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/media/news/charities-and-bushfire-disaster">requirements</a>.</p>
<p>We need to do our research, think carefully before donating, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-donate-to-australian-bushfire-relief-give-money-watch-for-scams-and-think-long-term-129445">watch out for scammers</a>. </p>
<p>It is important to be comfortable with each charity’s mission and objectives. They cannot act outside them without running the risk of being deregistered. </p>
<p>We can search for information on all charities using the commission’s charity search tool <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity">www.acnc.gov.au/charity</a>, or for smaller sets of charities using charity ranking sites such as:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://probonoaustralia.com.au/guide-to-giving/">Probono Australia</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://thirdsector.com.au/2018-most-reputable-charities-revealed/">Third Sector</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.changepath.com.au/guide.php">Changepath</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.thegoodcause.co/insights/2018/7/6/who-are-australias-best-and-worst-charities">The Good Cause</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm">Charity Navigator</a></p></li>
</ul>
<p>The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission already does a lot, but given the power, there’s more it could do.</p>
<h2>What can Australia’s regulator do?</h2>
<p>It could require funds raised for emergencies to be kept in trust, and reported on in more detail at regular intervals through a running statement of distribution of funds. </p>
<p>It could require further standardised reporting, although this would be expensive and charities are already heavily criticised for the percentage of funds used for administration.</p>
<p>It could also set up a one-stop shop for disaster relief.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brian May and Adam Lambert of Queen perform at the Fire Fight Australia relief concert in Sydney, Sunday February 16, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joel Carrett/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://dfat.gov.au/aid/topics/investment-priorities/building-resilience/humanitarian-preparedness-and-response/bangladesh-myanmar-crisis/Pages/bangladesh-myanmar-crisis-appeal.aspx">department of foreign affairs</a> set up one for foreign disasters that was first used for the Bangladesh-Myanmar appeal in 2017, bringing together eight Australian charities to create a single website and a single phone number that could be used to direct calls to each individual charity.</p>
<p>There are <a href="https://humanitarianadvisorygroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/HAG-Independent-Think-Piece-Joint-funding-mechanisms-July-2017.pdf">understandable calls</a> to do the same thing for domestic disasters.</p>
<p>Some charities might not welcome combined appeals, fearing they would reduce their own visibility and impose more hurdles. But the hurdles shouldn’t be impossible to leap. A <a href="https://www.emergency-appeals-alliance.org/">global</a> organisation has been set up to ensure best practice.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-select-a-disaster-relief-charity-83928">How to select a disaster relief charity</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The <a href="https://advancebushfireappeal.gofundraise.com.au/">Advance Global Australian Bushfire Appeal</a> set up by five charities during the bushfires shows what can be done, as does February’s <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/fire-fight-australia-concert-raises-almost-10-million-for-australian-bushfire-reliefhttps://www.sbs.com.au/news/fire-fight-australia-concert-raises-almost-10-million-for-australian-bushfire-relief">Fire Fight Australia concert</a>.</p>
<p>A government-certified single point of contact, backed up with specific reporting requirements, could provide a level of certainty that the public feel more comfortable with in times of emergency in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132273/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Debbie Wills received a one-off grant from AFAANZ to study accountability and charities in 2019</span></em></p>We’ve set up a single point of contact for foreign disasters, we could do if for Australian disasters as well.Debbie Wills, Lecturer in Accounting, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1330902020-03-06T12:15:06Z2020-03-06T12:15:06ZReporting #AidToo: how social media spaces empowered women in the 2018 charity scandals<p>A recent report from the UK’s <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/870390/The_Save_the_Children_Fund__Save_the_Children_UK__Inquiry_report.pdf">Charity Commission</a> into allegations of sexual harassment by senior staff at the charity Save the Children UK is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/mar/05/save-the-children-let-down-staff-and-public-over-sexual-misconduct-claims">incredibly damaging</a>. The report concluded that the charity failed the women who reported abuse as well as its staff and the wider public.</p>
<p>Save the Children’s handling of such matters was so poor in some respects that it amounted to mismanagement, the report concluded. The issue the Charity Commission examined related to allegations of inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment that came to light in 2018 about the charity’s former chief executive, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43162223">Justin Forsyth</a>, and former director of policy, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/18/brendan-cox-resigns-from-charities-amid-sexual-assault-claims">Brendan Cox</a>. </p>
<p>But the complaints against Forsyth went back as far as 2012, and 2015 for Cox. So why the delay in reporting on these and how did the matter finally come to widespread public attention?</p>
<p>Journalists such as Sean O’Neill, chief reporter of The Times, Simon Walters, political editor of the Mail on Sunday, and Manveen Rana of the BBC played a crucial role in bringing these problems to public attention. But also important was the way women working in the aid sector used social media to support each other and ensure justice was done.</p>
<p>Academics Chris Greer and Eugene McLaughlin call this process <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1362480616645648?casa_token=eYXTk4YmwToAAAAA%3A99bCrqphyCl4GGoxMC2h4T9vKsulkAqHdPSF_KpHCBT51hlrw1O2t3-2NgiHKRoPUw252curLZU">intermediatisation</a> – “the viral interaction within and between corporate and social media”. They describe scandal as a process with stages – latency, activation, reaction, amplification and accountability – to explain how a story can move from being an “open secret” to publication.</p>
<p>Having researched <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351173001/chapters/10.4324/9781351173001-35">the #AidToo scandals</a> that engulfed Save the Children UK and also Oxfam GB in February 2018, I believe it is clear that the scandal conforms to this model.</p>
<p>When the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-inquiry-oxfam-gb">Oxfam scandal</a> concerning abuse of the charity’s beneficiaries in Haiti first came to light in 2011, it received no more than a handful of short news stories. Brendan Cox’s departure from Save the Children UK <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3298572/New-charity-scandal-Save-Children-executive-quits-women-s-complaints-inappropriate-behaviour.html">merited a piece in the Mail on Sunday</a> but little follow-up from other nationals. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318945/original/file-20200305-106579-dzpacu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318945/original/file-20200305-106579-dzpacu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318945/original/file-20200305-106579-dzpacu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318945/original/file-20200305-106579-dzpacu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318945/original/file-20200305-106579-dzpacu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318945/original/file-20200305-106579-dzpacu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318945/original/file-20200305-106579-dzpacu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Under pressure: Oxfam has suffered reputational damage since allegations of sexual abuse made against its staff in Haiti came to light.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">D K Grove via Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But this did not mean that women were not using different media spaces to support each other. Women from aid agencies used WhatsApp groups to share information and support as well as closed Facebook groups. The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1594464844163690/">“Fifty Shades of Aid” Facebook group</a> launched in 2015 when its founder wrote an article for The Guardian’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/series/the-secret-aid-worker">Secret Aid Worker</a> series about “flaky aid boys and comedy dating stories” in the humanitarian world.</p>
<p>The group was originally full of lighthearted stories until one poster shared a story of being harassed and abused. In solidarity many started to share similar stories – 800 people joined the group in one week.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the <a href="http://humanitarianwomensnetwork.org">Humanitarian Women’s Network</a> was set up by aid workers working on the Ebola response in Guinea in Dec 2015 when they realised they had all experienced some form of discrimination and abuse. They launched an influential survey to which more than <a href="http://humanitarianwomensnetwork.org/">1,000 responded</a>, as well as a closed <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/HumanitarianWomen/">Facebook group</a> for women. So, while the stories around harassment of aid workers were limited in the mainstream media, online spaces were keenly debating the issue.</p>
<h2>Hashtag heroism</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/919659438700670976?s=20">#MeToo</a> campaign was also a very important moment. When that hashtag started circulating in October 2017 as the revelations around <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41594672">Harvey Weinstein</a> emerged, many of those I spoke to said it gave those in the aid world considering whether to tell their stories about abuse more courage to do so. The hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AidToo?src=hashtag_click">#AidToo</a> emerged, and the humanitarian website Devex hosted a <a href="https://twitter.com/devex/status/938453028696412161?s=20">tweetchat</a> on Dec 6 2017 to discuss this issue. </p>
<p>But the big revelations came two months later. O’Neill’s award-winning investigation <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/top-oxfam-staff-paid-haiti-quake-survivors-for-sex-mhm6mpmgw">about abuse by Oxfam in Haiti</a> was published in The Times in February 2018 and was followed by stories about Save the Children UK from <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8071953/Save-Children-boss-blames-sex-probe-lost-16m.html">Walters</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43287838">Rana</a>. These reports were undoubtedly hugely important in influencing the public debate. Donors <a href="https://www.alliancemagazine.org/blog/individual-donors-desert-oxfam-following-scandal/">started to desert the agencies</a>, senior staff resigned and the Charity Commission and UK parliament’s international development committee launched investigations.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1235533201587744769"}"></div></p>
<p>But, as the Charity Commission outlines in its report, Save the Children UK’s attitude to the media reports was “unduly defensive”. In fact the charity <a href="https://www.law.com/international-edition/2018/07/11/save-the-children-confirms-100000-harbottle-legal-fees-over-sexual-harassment-claims/?slreturn=20200205110553">spent more than £100,000 on lawyers</a> in order to try to shut down media reporting. But the result was that aid workers became more – not less – willing to speak, which meant the story would not go away.</p>
<h2>Finding a safe space</h2>
<p>In particular, the campaigners Alexia Pepper de Caires and Shaista Aziz led the formation of the intersectional feminist platform <a href="https://ngosafespace.org/">NGO Safe Space</a>, which gathered testimonies on sexual harassment, abuse and exploitation, and spoke out in many arenas about the issue. Meanwhile <a href="https://www.changingaid.org/">Changing Aid</a> set up an online open letter which was signed by more than 1,500 women aid workers calling for change and reform in the patriarchal structures of the aid world.</p>
<p>Others realised that social media was a potent way to get the message across; as one interviewee told me: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Every time I say something on Twitter … the Charity Commission listen; if I write to them on email, they don’t do anything.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So while mainstream media was clearly hugely influential in shining a light on abuse and harassment by Save the Children UK and Oxfam staff, it’s likely that the use of social media platforms, such as WhatsApp and closed Facebook groups, allowed women to connect with other women discussing their experiences, form new media spaces and strategise around how to liaise with mainstream media. </p>
<p>This meant that the scandals were not limited to the usual timescale that all mainstream media operate under but the pressure on aid agencies was kept up, and afforded women a voice that they felt they had been denied in previous times.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133090/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Glenda Cooper worked for Save the Children UK from March 2010 to December 2010.</span></em></p>The scandals that engulfed Save the Children UK and Oxfam in 2018 took a combination of tenacious journalism and social media activism to break open.Glenda Cooper, Lecturer in Journalism, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.