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Donkeys vs domestic violence: Brookes challenges public support

Governance | Vibeka Mair | 27 Oct 2009

The charity sector should ask why donkey welfare charities raise more income than domestic violence charities, according to Martin Brookes, director of New Philanthropy Capital.

Brookes highlighted the imbalance in funding in his NPC blog this week, questioning why the Donkey Sanctuary, with an income of £20m in April 2008, earned £3m more than the top three domestic violence charities - Refuge, Women’s Aid Federation and Eaves Housing for Women (£17m combined) in the same period.

“To remove any doubt,” Brookes wrote, “let me be clear – I think this relative lack of funding for domestic violence charities is wrong. It is unfair, it is immoral and needs to be addressed. There are good, effective charities tackling domestic violence which need support to do more great work. But… while it is ok to show this imbalance, questioning it is more dubious.”

Brookes went on to say he disagreed with the popular opinion that we should celebrate all giving and not pass judgement on where people in aggregate direct their donations:

“Where money goes and how it gets spent is enormously important in making the sector and individual charities as effective as possible,” he said. “Yes, I would like to encourage giving, but I also want donations to be made more thoughtfully with regards to need and impact.

“Many people shrug their shoulders at the balance of funding, or laugh at the vagaries and idiosyncrasies of donors. While that is understandable, it is not enough.

“Anyone who thinks the way money gets allocated is wrong should try to change things. NPC’s contribution is to produce research, encourage debate, help charities demonstrate their impact and to advise donors. All this in the hope that a more rational allocation of funding will emerge.”

In response, voluntary sector researcher Beth Breeze disagreed. "Of course people matter more than animals, but does anyone really believe that donkeys gain at the expense of domestic violence charities? Charitable giving is not a zero sum game because there isn't a finite amount of money available for donations.

"Instead of telling donors to re-order their priorities or suggesting that animal charities need to be less successful, isn't the onus on less popular charities to do a better job of explaining why they need support and what good they can achieve with additional income?"

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Directory: New Philanthropy Capital
Who's Who: Martin Brookes | Beth Breeze