| Charity Leaders’ Exchange |
Championing Unpopular Charity Causes
One of the things I have always thought is very difficult in the charity sector is the fact that some causes are just less popular than others.
My first job in the sector was for a charity supporting lonely, vulnerable older people on low incomes. While we knew that the work we were doing was needed and effective, it was still a tough gig to explain to other people, get support for and to shout loudly enough when the public has so many other (and more cute or appealing) charities to donate their money to. Over time, of course we sought to sharpen our message and find phrases which resonated with people, but the fact remained that some causes are less popular, more complicated, or less easy to 'sell' than others.
I was once at a roundtable event where I met people from small charities. Some of them worked on causes- for example supporting refugees or immigrant groups- that some of the public were actually upset that they were assisting. They had no easy poster images and no simple solutions but I am sure that they made a huge difference to the lives of the people they worked for.
I was thinking of this when I saw this interesting article on the topic, in the Guardian.
I don't think that any charity has an 'easy' job. Every charity faces challenges, every charity has competition for resources. However, as a sector I think it's important that we don't forget the niche causes. It is my view that charities are often ahead of the societal curve, supporting groups of people whose needs are presently not well understood by the mainstream. Time after time, charities have been the first to champion causes that were initially shocking to a lot of people and now are seen by most as the basic rights of a fair society.
Alex
My first job in the sector was for a charity supporting lonely, vulnerable older people on low incomes. While we knew that the work we were doing was needed and effective, it was still a tough gig to explain to other people, get support for and to shout loudly enough when the public has so many other (and more cute or appealing) charities to donate their money to. Over time, of course we sought to sharpen our message and find phrases which resonated with people, but the fact remained that some causes are less popular, more complicated, or less easy to 'sell' than others.
I was once at a roundtable event where I met people from small charities. Some of them worked on causes- for example supporting refugees or immigrant groups- that some of the public were actually upset that they were assisting. They had no easy poster images and no simple solutions but I am sure that they made a huge difference to the lives of the people they worked for.
I was thinking of this when I saw this interesting article on the topic, in the Guardian.
I don't think that any charity has an 'easy' job. Every charity faces challenges, every charity has competition for resources. However, as a sector I think it's important that we don't forget the niche causes. It is my view that charities are often ahead of the societal curve, supporting groups of people whose needs are presently not well understood by the mainstream. Time after time, charities have been the first to champion causes that were initially shocking to a lot of people and now are seen by most as the basic rights of a fair society.
Alex
