Fund-raising and charity donations in the context of the IGC Award

[Boyd Roberts]

Fund-raising and charity donations in the context of the IGC Award

    

    
    Many schools raise funds for charities. It seems appropriate, then,
    to spend a little time considering the place fund-raising might play
    in the IGC Award.

   

    Young people – and their teachers – can see that raising funds for
    good causes may be a way to address some challenges and help to make
    things better. Some global challenges, like poverty, or climate
    change or habitat destruction, seem overwhelming and we cannot see
    how we can do something about things ourselves. Raising funds for “a
    good cause” is seen as one way in which we can help to make a
    difference.

   

    But there have been some concerns about fund raising, particularly
    in schools. These concerns have been shared by some of the leading
    development agencies and charities.

    Fund-raising can use young people in a manipulative way, without
    them being fully engaged and involved in decisions. Young people can
    be used as tools to do things that adults want.

    Fund-raising does not necessarily, and in itself, lead to a greater
    understanding of the underlying issues being addressed, nor how
    these challenges can be addressed. It becomes an end in itself.

    Raising money for a good cause through arranging events can be
    undertaken for less noble reasons. Arranging a school disco where
    funds go to charity, may bring other benefits or be done for reasons
    other than helping the cause that is benefitting financially.

   

    This also applies to those “donating” money. Paying money to wear
    “normal” clothes, to attend a school disco, or to buy cakes in a
    bake sale does not necessarily lead to any greater understanding of
    the issues for which funds are being raised. It does not imply any
    deliberate support for the charity – but could simply be because the
    donor wants to dance, or eat cakes!

    Fund-raising can lead to a simplistic view of how things can be
    changed. Young people focus on fund-raising as the ONLY thing they
    can do to make a difference, without considering the implications of
    their own choices and lifestyle, or more demanding ways in which
    they might be able to get involved. (This is why the IGC Award
    focuses on personal global footprint and actions related to everyday
    life that have implications for other people and the environment,
    and which young people can change or undertake.)

   

    In a Thinkpiece on fund-raising, Matt Jackson of Oxfam comments
    that: “Whilst we believe in supporting young people to fundraise if
    that is what they have chosen to do, bad fundraising can create an
    impression that giving money is either a quick fix or makes a
    problem go away. That’s why it’s important that money is not seen as
    the only answer to global poverty. Whilst its direct impact on the
    lives of people in the global South is enormous we should always be
    encouraging young people to ask ‘is there more we can do?’”

   

    But well handled, fund raising can be a very valuable source of
    income to worthwhile causes and help young people begin to tackle
    challenges they care about. Fund-raising should be viewed as part of
    an educational process in which young people learn about the world,
    how they relate to it, and how they can change things for the
    better.

    The context in which fund-raising is undertaken in schools is
    therefore very important.

   

    The Development Education Association in the UK, working with a
    variety of leading charities, has produced a very helpful and brief
    set of guidelines concerned with fund raising in schools.

    It emphasizes that young people should

    •    take an active role in all decisions relating to fund-raising –
    not be used to put the ideas of others into action

    •    learn about the issues being addressed by the charities or
    agencies they are fund-raising for

    •    learn about how charities actually set about addressing these
    challenges.

    http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/teachersupport/fundraising_suppor...

   

    Oxfam has more extensive guidelines and advice for those involved in
    fund-raising in schools:

    

      http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/teachersupport/fundraising_support/

   

    As part of the IGC Award to individual participants a donation is
    made to a charity chosen by the participant. This can be to one of
    three charities nominated by the IGC Award (Oxfam, WWF, and Kiva) or
    to another charity chosen by the participant.

    In some cases donations will be made directly by the school, or by
    the students directly, or through a charge made by the school for
    the Award.

    Within the spirit of the Award, and following general good practice,
    it is important that the participants are choosing actively, that
    they inform themselves about the charity concerned and the issues
    being addressed, and that they reflect on these issues.

   

    It also seems entirely appropriate that the funds donated in
    association with a participant’s IGC Award could be raised by the
    participants themselves, individually or as a group, as part of
    their IGC Award programme. But it is important that fund raising
    follows good practice, and the guidelines outlined in the DEA
    document will be very helpful here. There is scope for participants
    to raise awareness about issues and charities (as well as funds) as
    part of the advocacy component of the Award.