Voluntary organisations can no longer rely on “guilt and spare change” and must think like global businesses or risk irrelevance, according to an expert in the international voluntary sector.
“My sense is that most civil society organisations here are not used to thinking forward. We operate within this island, but that is not the way forward,” said Filippo Addarii, Director of International Strategy and Head of EuropeLab at The Young Foundation (UK).
“Wherever you operate, you need to consider the possibilities and the interrelations between your local place and the rest of the world. Malta is a small place, but it’s also currently at the centre of a global flow of people. Organisations should be basing their future on these trends. It’s what any corporation would do,” he said.
Mr Addarii was in Malta earlier this week to address an information session on Tuesday for voluntary organisations on impact, leadership and what donors look for, organised by the Inspirasia Foundation and the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector.
Forget social sticky plasters
“Donors are becoming very sophisticated. The ones with deep pockets are no longer interested in just giving a few pounds to keep the kids happy. Organisations cannot think of them just as rich people who can throw money away, or as corporations who make profit and so should pay. You have to make a value proposal that they will understand and will be valuable for them.
“So don’t bother with social sticky plasters. I want you to tell me something I don’t know. Then I’m paying you to prevent a social risk that will ultimately affect my business.”
The voluntary sector, according to Mr Addarii, has largely been spared the crisis of trust affecting public and private institutions and is now central in its ability to attract talent and funding.
The challenge now is to build on that trust to create value and engage the general public in innovative ways: “You have to articulate an offer which is not based on guilt or spare change in your pocket but on choice: the possibility to contribute to make real the society you believe would be the best society.”
Mr Addarii said organisations have to retain a focus on the public good but frame it in a new way: “They need to be even more strategic and creative than businesses. Business is limited by profit, but in principle, social organisations can move in all territories.”
The information session followed the first edition of the Malta Philanthropy Forum, organised by the Inspirasia Foundation and the European Venture Philanthropy Association on Monday to discuss best practices in philanthropy.
Mark Weingard, founder of the Inspirasia Foundation, said the response had been extremely positive, with both sectors keen to move forward together. He said a second edition of the forum would be held this autumn to build on the success of the first event.
“Malta is a country of generous people who want to give money and time to worthwhile causes,” he said. “The forum is a way of bringing them all together and creating a better impact for the money that is spent.”