Don't click on the DONATE button

Over the past year I, together with my partner Jonathan, have been setting up a charity.  When friends and colleagues hear of our plans some of them suggest we go to the Big Lottery, Children in Need….or a rich celebrity for money.

Charity has become synonymous with raising funds and my first job in setting one up is assumed to be raising as much money as possible. If you’re a registered charity you must be a worthy cause so, in the immortal (and slightly adapted) words of the Pet Shop Boys ‘Lets raise lots of money (money, money)’.

It’s easy to get caught up in this way of thinking – even though Jonathan and I have been working as charity ‘campaigners’ for the past 20 years.  Children Unite is, legally, a registered charity but we see it as a campaign as its purpose is about change.

The initial reason I started this blog was because people were asking what we were planning to do to raise the profile of Children Unite (and a higher profile is often assumed to bring in more money).  But then I read some blogs and some blogs about blogging and I have to say I wasn’t really very inspired. They all seemed to be either a narcisstic rant, or tips on how to make oodles of money from your blog, such as stick a whopping great DONATE button on your charity blog and get as many people as possible to click on it.  So, I went off the idea.

From my experience giving money is sometimes the easiest option – it can assuage guilt and ease our conscience and we feel like we’ve taken action (although we haven’t actually changed anything we do).  I’ve done it many times for all those reasons.

But you may notice that we don’t have a donate button yet (admittedly this may be simply due to a lack of organisation).  Perhaps we could take the radical step of NOT having a donate button?  Would that encourage people to take action?  Would people even notice? (Will more than 6 of my friends ever read this blog?)

In setting up this charity I want to think long and hard about these kinds of issues.  This, I’ve decided, is why I should write a blog – to give me a disciplined space each week to reflect on building an organisation that, ultimately, I am proud of.  So, it doesn’t really matter if only 6 of my friends read it! 

So, here goes. I do solemnly swear to do my best to write a weekly blog that reflects on my experiences in setting up a charity…I will try to be honest and punctual, I will try not to be narcissistic or to rant or to beg for money!