When does a charity become too political? Patrick Butler's thought-provoking piece about Oxfam and others in The Guardian caused me to reflect on this question.
I have been chief executive of a national and international charity for the past five years and previously ran a local charity for five years. Neither are campaigning charities, yet our work inevitably leads to some lobbying, advocacy and campaigning.
So would I have run a campaign like Oxfam's? (This parodied a film poster of The Perfect Storm to examine the causes of poverty in today's Britain.) No is the short answer. Not because I feel there is anything intrinsically wrong with it. My reasoning is that I don't think it will improve outcomes for any of the families most adversely affected by austerity.
The debate has become about the role of charities versus politicians, not about the effects of government policy on the most vulnerable. Of course, big media campaigns can often increase donations, so, yes, there can be a reward in grabbing the headlines with political campaigns.
There is absolutely a role for charities in speaking truth to power and highlighting inconvenient truths, but to be effective in improving outcomes for those that charities seek to represent, they must be in the room when decisions are made.
The charities that get the best results get involved in the minutiae of policy and its enactment and ensure their ideas are heard and used, at best, to change approaches or, at least, to ameliorate the effects of policy on the vulnerable.
At the other end of the scale, danger to charities lies in being too close to government. Those charities who are too circumspect, those who have too many overly-cautious trustees who don't want to rock the boat and those who become too cosy with governments of any stripe, diminish their own purpose and threaten their existence. Far too many charities got too close to New Labour and paid a heavy price when the government changed and money disappeared.
It's a hard line to walk but it can be done. Constructive and robust engagement is vital. Using the media to get attention focused on an issue is fine, but using the media to carry an argument you should be having in Whitehall is counter-productive.
Andy Elvin is chief executive at the charity CFAB (Children and Families Across Borders).
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