By now most of you in the know will have heard about the decision by the Office of Third Sector to withdraw grants previously offered to a number of small to medium sized charities. I won't go into the details behind the case, information about that is already available in abundance but needless to say, I and my colleagues at Red Foundation are shocked at the way this situation has been handled and extend our sympathy and support to those charities affected.
What I want to reflect upon is how we, as the third sector, have to unite to make our voices heard on this issue. NCVO, supported by NAVCA, have taken up this case and have so far led the call for charities and voluntary groups to sign a petition to lobby the OTS, and are exploring the legal ramifications to ascertain if a case can be brought against them. Both NCVO and NAVCA are to be applauded. Both charities rely heavily on OTS funding and are showing considerable courage and leadership on an issue that affects us all.
And this is an issue that affect us all, make no mistake about that. If we allow the OTS to get away lightly with this decision then we open the doors for future governments to feel it is acceptable to treat the third sector in this way. These projects may have been small previously unheard of charities, but they are part of our sector and as such we need to show our support for them.
The petition set up by NCVO via their www.Louder.org.uk website has so far only attracted 200 signatures. Frankly that's a pretty poor show so far. There are at least a thousand charities on Twitter alone, not to mention those on Facebook and the charities that subscribe to NCVO, NAVCA etc. So why the poor turnout? It's not for lack of awareness I'm sure - Third Sector magazine alone have given the issue extensive coverage so far - so I suspect it may be more down to apathy.
It's very easy to sit back and ignore issues that may not affect us directly and I can understand that many charities that receive government funding may not want to rock the boat and be seen to be biting the hand that feeds them. But one day it could be any of us on the receiving end of such an outrageous policy decision and who would we look to to support us in our time of need?
The one thing that we as a sector have in abundance is our voice, and now is the time to make it heard. The government cannot be allowed to treat any charity in this way and only by uniting our voices to create a big enough noise will government, and the other powers that be, hear us and take notice.
NCVO and NAVCA cannot fight this case alone. They need every CEO, director, co-ordinator and manager of every charity and third sector organisation out there to make sure that the Office of the Third Sector understands in no uncertain terms that this sort of decision making is unacceptable.
Please show your support by signing this petition www.louder.org.uk/otscampaign today and offering any support you can. Your help today could make all the difference.
Jamie Thomas is Chief Executive of Red Foundation
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You can follow the campaign on twitter (#OTScampaign)
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of a poem by Pastor Martin Niemoller, a pastor of a German Church
ReplyDeletewho spent eight and one-half years in a Nazi concentration camp (there are lots fo different versions of this, excuse me if I've picked the wrong one!)
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out--
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists
and I did not speak out--
because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out--
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me--
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
It might not be our funding - but let's speak out before national and local government all think they can get away with acting like this.
I've signed the petition - have you?
I'm writing to my MP and the minister - are you?
Really appreciate your post here Jamie - you've highlighted the importance of what, on the surface, could easily be seen as an inconsequential choice about a relatively tiny pot of goverment money. The implications, however, are clearly much deeper, both for sector/government relations, but also in terms of the way the government views campaigning - and by extension, dissent, criticism and other hallmarks of a democratic society.
ReplyDeleteI would only disagree that apathy is to blame - the sector - in all its forms - is fighting a lot of battles at any given time, and thus it can be difficult for a lot of groups to immediately see what the benefit of this particular fight would be.
Even more importantly, I would wager that the of the sector press isn't read by the vast majority of the sector. Therefore, all the Third Sector pieces covering the story will only get the word out so far... Within their limits, TS have done a great job of keeping the sector up-to-date...
I think those of us that are connected in these circles (TS readers & Tweeters) need to reach outside of these worlds - through our email lists, our events, public events, and make sure the rest of the sector a) KNOWS the situtation, and b) knows what they can do to take action. Hopefully those of us already 'in-the-know' can help to facilitate the action - across the sector - needed to push for a reinstatement of the fund.
Thanks for the comment... I think TS is prbably read by more sector people than you suggest but agree we need to get awareness out there; however there are a fair few on Twitter and other 'in the know' circles and if they at least all unite then we'll have a formidable voice - so far we're still looking at barely 300 signatures on the petition and Twitter alone should be generating far more than this.
ReplyDeleteBut well done to you guys, and to NAVCA who I've added into my post, for leading the way, I really hope your work pays off!
Great to read these comments. I've been impressed with Twitter's ability to keep something in the public eye. Perhaps underwhelmed by the numbers on the petition so far but they are growing. I think there is an enormous sector out there that is not reading any kind of trade journals at all. We may get to them through cascading through the CVSs and the CENs. In the end I don't think it's apathy but a rather sensible lack of surprise at such poor treatment - "who did you think you were that you could get protection from a 'compact' when everyone else got shat on already". That's just what politicians do...
ReplyDeleteAnd all systems (like the civil service) exist to serve the Great Status Quo which will survive all petitions and placards.
On the other hand, nothing stands still and our great power is that we are better rooted if we have two feet firmly on the ground.
(Jess Steele, Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust, one of the #OTScampaign 'cut' organisations)
Yes they are growing, almost 300, but it's slow going... i think it's sad if we truly belive that our lot is to be treated badly by government - I used to work in government and there is a lot of genuine goodwill amongst civil sernats, but every now and then a Minister has a strange notion and soetimes you just can't change their minds, no matter how crazy it might seem.
ReplyDeleteI know that NCVO are looking at options to mount a legal challenge. You might want to talk to these guys, they successfully took DWP to Juducial Review over and Equality Impact Assessment and they specialise in fighting government grant cuts - why not call them, they would welcome a chat to outline some of the options you have available. Good luck!
http://www.pierceglynn.co.uk/aboutus/about.htm
I recently did a 5 months secondment in CLG myself and I have a great deal of respect for many civil servants, and some ministers, but that inside experience has given me an even fiercer horror about the way the System consistently fails to generate public goods, provide value for money or support innovation. It appears specifically designed to ‘grind you down’!
ReplyDeleteLol, ok I'll have to agree with some of that, I did at times find it extremely frustrating to make things happen, there just seemed to be so many barriers...
ReplyDelete