Rethinking Charity

We think of the business and charity sectors as fundamentally different. But at their core, they have the same purpose; to make money for other people. For businesses, it's their shareholders. Charities are beholden to the good causes they help to support.

And yet, if a charity spends more than the absolute bare minimum on staffing, admin or heaven help us investment in the future, then we're on their necks like a pack of howling dogs. For the business sector, this is essential. Without it, a venture simply won't be able to survive. Why do we feel that charities are unable to do the same? In the long run, isn't it better for the people that any given charity is trying to help to have a strong, healthy organisation that's going to be much more productive and capable of doing the very thing they were formed to do?

As charities are asked to do more with less funding and fewer resources in Cameron's laughable Big Society, it's time for us to reconsider charity, and more specifically our attitude towards it. Today, rather, than waffle on at length, I want to point you in the direction of a TED talk by activist and fundraiser Dan Pallotta, which calls for just such a rethink--and more importantly, how it might be achieved.

If you have any interest at all in the future of fundraising, then I urge you to set aside twenty minutes and watch this video. It might just change the world of charity for you.