life after a front page furore. my biggest comms mistake seminar, 24 september 2015

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Disaster Down

Under

What a PR c@*k-up taught me

about the ideal

donor:charity relationship

24th September 2015

h Harvest. We help charities grow.

www.harvestagency.co.uk

2h

3h

@MrStevenDodds

steven.dodds@harvestagency.co.uk

4

5h

7h

Cocktails & canapés

paid for by Red Cross

donations

8h

9h

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 3

Residual Codes: Re ligious Vir tue & Obligat ion

• Charity and/or ‘caritas’ as a general loving-

kindness towards God and other people

• Giving of alms and tithes became part of the

Christian liturgy – during the offertory

• Charity very much coded as a religious act or a

concern of the state, e.g. the English Poor Laws

and establishment of almshouses/workhouses

Originally the Christian virtue of loving-kindness, charity became codified into a much more

practical and obligatory expression of helping others.

Charit y &

Fundraising

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 4

Residual Codes: Indust r ial Ph ilan th rop y

• 19th century writers like Alexis de Tocqueville

argued against nationalised relief on the basis

that it encouraged laziness & unproductivity

• Wealthy industrialist-philanthropists & preachers

like Joseph Rowntree & William Booth (founder of

the Salvation Army) established private charitable

organisations instead

Great personal wealth generated by the Industrial Revolution led to a privatisation of charitable

giving, as individuals established organisations outside of the Church.

Charit y &

Fundraising

10h

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 5

Residual Codes: Residual Re lat ionsh ip

An unquestionably top-down relationship is residually coded between the donor and the

recipient, with charitable organisations mainly as extensions of the donors.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor/Charity

Recipient

11h

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 6

Dom inan t Codes: Inst itu t ional Fundraising

• Long-established industrial or royal charities tend

to have acronymic names, much like banks or

corporations

• This codes them as powerful and effective but

also as faceless, mechanical and inhuman

• Brand communications often focus on building up

the brand over the people it helps

Over time, these Victorian charitable organisations took on the characteristics of the industrial

institutions taking shape at the same time: efficient but inhuman.

Charit y &

Fundraising

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 6

Dom inan t Codes: In st itu t ional Fundraising

• Long-established industrial or royal charities tend

to have acronymic names, much like banks or

corporations

• This codes them as powerful and effective but

also as faceless, mechanical and inhuman

• Brand communications often focus on building up

the brand over the people it helps

Over time, these Victorian charitable organisations took on the characteristics of the industrial

institutions taking shape at the same time: efficient but inhuman.

Charit y &

Fundraising

12h

| N ew Front ie r s in Fundr aising 8

Dom inan t Codes: Gap Betw een Donor & Recip ien t

• Donors still today depicted as powerful and

personable (e.g. celebrity spokespeople), while

recipients shown as unidentifiable examples of

suffering

• Gap between two reflects outdated mindsets of

colonialism and class-ism – donor and recipient

as unequal, inhabiting two different worlds

Heritage of institutional charities means that gap is opened up between donor (assumed to be

wealthy industrialist) and recipient (generic example of affliction).

Charit y &

Fundraising

13h

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 9

Dom inan t Codes: Dom inan t Re lat ionsh ip

The emergence of the charity as an institution has broken the direct link between donor and

recipient to the extent that it may code itself as a sort of gatekeeper or taxman.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

14h | N ew Front ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

15h

| N ew Fron t ie rs in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Front iers in Fundr aising 9

Dom inant Codes: Dom inant Relat ionship

The emergence of the charity as an institution has broken the direct link between donor and

recipient to the extent that it may code itself as a sort of gatekeeper or taxman.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

Donor Donor

Donor

DonorDonor

DonorDonor

16h

Harvest. We help charities grow. 17

Harvest. We help charities grow. 18

Harvest. We help charities grow. 19

Harvest. We help charities grow. 20

Harvest. We help charities grow. 21

22h

| N ew Fron t ie rs in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Fron t ie r s in Fundr aising 1 5

Em ergen t Codes: Em ergen t Re lat ionsh ip

Emergently, charitable activity is moving towards an ideal peer-to-peer relationship, where the

charity acts more as a network than as an institution in its own right.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

| N ew Front iers in Fundr aising 9

Dom inant Codes: Dom inant Relat ionship

The emergence of the charity as an institution has broken the direct link between donor and

recipient to the extent that it may code itself as a sort of gatekeeper or taxman.

Charit y &

Fundraising

Donor

Charity

Recipient

Donor Donor

Donor

DonorDonor

DonorDonor

Visit the CharityComms website to

view slides from past events, see what

events we have coming up and to

check out what else we do:

www.charitycomms.org.uk

Seminar

24 September 2015

London

#CommsMistakes

My biggest comms

mistake: why failure is

the key to success

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