3 Steps To Donating Responsibly
Do good. Share your privilege. Help the less fortunate. Earn good karma.
How many of those (and alike) have you come across lately?
2020 has been the year of many personal, professional and global crisis. At a time like this, when previously healthy and hearty families have experienced financial setbacks - what about those who were needy all along?
Does the pitch sound familiar? Or has the thought crossed your mind?
The development aka the “do-good” sector relies on funding, in order to do-good and help the less fortunate. It has also growingly become a passage for the world to “do their bit”.
For obvious reasons, the development sector has experienced an unprecedented setback of its own this year. Which means, your favourite cause – whether it was health, hygiene, education, refugees, homelessness and so on – is suffering helplessly due to the funding being withdrawn, budget cuts and donors backing out.
Therefore, the on-going crisis within this sector have only severed during the pandemic.
However, have you wondered how much good were these “do-good” bodies actually achieving before the COVID19 crisis?
According to Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission “Over half the allegations of fraud received by the ACNC have related to the conduct and activities of senior and entrusted members of the charity, including the chief executive officer (CEO), directors (those on the governing body) and financial officers (such as the treasurer).”
Tax evasion and corruption as well as the lack of accountability and transparency on behalf of major international NGOs and responsible government departments have often caused them to come under scrutiny.
In addition, the extensive advertising budgets to bring in more donations and throwing elaborate fundraisers have also been debated to detract the budgets from the cause.
As per the data collected by charitynavigator.org some charities directed as low as 5% of its total budget towards the meaningful programs and services, as compared to the hefty percentage spent on for-profit fundraising.
Some of the malpractices within the sector range beyond that of funds mismanagement.
As noted by Robert Chambers, many development practitioners find themselves stuck in what he coined as the “capital trap”. “Field visits outside the capital have become more difficult to find time for and rarer. And when donor staff from OECD country headquarters say they are visiting ‘the field’ they often mean the capital city of a recipient country.”
As a result of this neo-liberal state of the world and in particular, that of the development organisations - the already compromised lives of the undeveloped communities have been subject to more compromises.
The lack of learning and participation of behalf of development organisations has inevitably shown to result in a top-down model of functioning, therefore, negating the very purpose of most development initiatives – the empowerment and upliftment of the impoverished communities.
Paulo Freire recognises this as “The Pedagogy Of The Oppressed”. The developed global north continues to proceed from its own idea of what’s required and needed by the undeveloped global south. Henceforth, re-creating the concept of “colonizing” as it deprives the people in need of their basic right of participation, voicing their concerns and needs.
Amidst these very common malpractices, how can you make sure your hard-earned donations are best serving the cause close to your heart?
3 Steps To Donating Responsibly
INTENT MATTERS
The purpose is not to simply donate, it goes beyond to making sure that your donations are serving the cause. Read and research about your cause thoroughly – ask yourself, what is it that you want to help make a difference to? As well as narrow down the impact you want your donations to create, what should come out as the result of it? Then find an organisation whose vision and mission aligns well with your own, as well as, has a satisfactory track record with success and transparency.
BE RESPONSIBLE WITH YOUR CHOICES
In the wake of the COVID19 crisis, your donations can make a huge difference. Therefore, conduct the due diligence necessary to make sure the organisation is reputable and dedicated in its efforts. Study their previous and current initiatives: what is their theory of change and plan for implementation, what strategies for monitoring and evaluation have been employed, and what has come of it. Monitoring and evaluation-based changes serve as the catalyst to determining an NGO or charity’s promise to its cause for it shows their own willingness to modify and best service the people.
ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IS YOUR RIGHT
It is your duty to ask and theirs to provide. Organisations that follow-up on your donations with reports and number or show willingness to share, are less likely to commit unethical and irresponsible acts.
It may sound like a lot of work, but trust us, it is not. Treat this like any other investment you’d make, you would ask the necessary questions and look for factors that determine a promising return. The social-welfare sector exists to bring about long-lasting meaningful changes in the lives of the people who much need it and as an investor, it is your duty to keep a check on where your hard-earned money is going.
Disclaimer
None of what we’ve said in this article is to sound ungrateful and unappreciative of the many great things accomplished over the years by the development sector. The demand of the article required bringing to light some of the not so appreciable aspects and therefore, we have presented exactly that with reliable research and facts.
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REFERENCES
I. Fraud
II. Participation For Development
III. Charity Navigator
IV. Freire, P., 1996. Pedagogy of the oppressed (revised). New York: Continuum.
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