The tension existing between the impulse to respond to pressing human need with charitable compassion and the desire to change the system that so often creates the need is very real for people concerned about poverty and its impact on inner city communities.
Most people who act against the symptoms of poverty move most naturally toward charity.
I think I understand why that is true. Acts of charity and compassion usually seem obvious. If a person is hungry, compassion provides food. If someone is ill, charity calls for a doctor.
Usually, charity is not too complicated. It can be demanding, but it is seldom all that complex.
Providing charity feels good.
If I can meet a need, lift a load or ease some pain, the benefit flows in two directions, doesn't it? After all, "it is more blessed to give than to receive."
Forgive me, but my cynicism needs to be heard at this point.
Charity is also a very nifty way for people with economic power to maintain control of that power while performing good work that often leads to their being recognized as good people in a community. Charity, on its own, seldom, if ever, challenges existing power structures, even when these power structures are responsible for much of the poverty being addressed by donor largesse.
So, it is not hard to see why most of us gravitate toward charitable responses to poverty in inner city communities.
Philanthropic institutions, such as local, state and national foundations, both public and private; usually don't think "outside the box" of charity. For example, large foundations seldom cooperate with one another to develop community-wide strategies for attacking poverty. Foundations normally do not consult with community-based organizations to seek counsel on just how resources could best be allocated. Rather, the community groups usually try to figure out what foundations want to fund and then tailor requests in that direction.
The unintended consequence of a good deal of our charitable activity is the creation of an unhealthy dependence among the poor on services that do not lead people out of their pressing need.
Paternalism becomes a cruel structural reality when charity continues in a thoughtless manner.
We know that charity has its place. We also are very aware of the limits of its benefit to people who live in poverty.
So, what's a non-profit to do?
All I can tell you is where we are here in Dallas.
Several years ago the question of a good friend prompted us to define more carefully what it is that we actually do as a community building organization.
Here's a summary of what we came up with.
1. We do a lot of "Good Samaritan" stuff. You can read the story in Luke 10. If you are found stretched out on an East or South Dallas sidewalk, we will reach out to you, stay with you, and address your needs as best we can for as long as we need to. Your only responsibility is to keep breathing! Much of this work feels like charity. We intend for it to go further for your benefit and for that of your community.
2. We focus on your talents. Once you are up on your feet, we will remind you that you have something to contribute to the community. You are a person of talent, ability and great potential. This is the parable of the talents (Matthew 25). Here you will be offered training. You will be taught how to play the game of Dallas by the current rules. If you indicate that you would rather take your talents and bury them in a local crack house, we will challenge you to re-think your plans. If you don't, we will show you to the door, but we will leave it open for your return if you so choose.
3. We challenge unfair rules. We know from experience and observation that the rules aren't fair for everyone. Like Jesus, we have been known to turn over a few tables, make an angry speech or two and call rule-makers to task (John 2). We do this with the community and among the community.
Everyone likes us when we do number one! Like I say, charity is a "feel good" deal. Lots of volunteers show up and lots of people are helped temporarily.
Number two is harder, but again, people love it, especially those who are learning to identify and maximize their talents. We witness movement to better lives and hope for improved futures. Business people love us at this point.
Number three makes people nervous. Some folks tell us that we should leave this alone. It is hard, complicated, tedious, time-consuming work. The payoff is slow coming. Often the best we can do is raise questions and hopefully educate the people involved.
In this spectrum we do our work and find our purpose.
Poverty is a cruel and evil reality. Thoughtful, comprehensive strategies are demanded.
Something beyond charity must be our goal.
Applause!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you already planned to do this, but could you expand on #3? Specifically, how do you assess fairness, and what are some examples of rules worth fighting against?
Charles, thanks for the question. Our work on "fairness" to date has involved us in lobbying for and against various issues relating to poverty and our friends in the city. The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is an example. We have talked to state legislators about restoring funding and making the program more user friendly. We have worked on other matters like the Food Stamp program, Section 8 funding, the budget crisis at our public hospital. We have also published a number of editorials in our local, major newspaper on various issues related to the poor and justice.
ReplyDeleteOur law firm has gotten one bill through our legislature that changed the family code in Texas. Another group got a bill through this past session that benefitted doctors who are trying to help the poor.
We are involved in a class action against the state of Texas related to how the Medicaid program does not work well in Texas. That has been interesting.
We also are continually trying to educate the public and our supporters. We host a monthly event that we call Urban Engagement Book Club. Each month we provide lunch and a book review of some very significant book relating to poverty. We have seen this effort grow steadily and several public officials attend, as do business people.
We are hoping to grow even more active. We are trying to organize in our communities where very low income people live. Creating new social capital and political power is a challenge, but one we feel a need to tackle.
It's interesting how many rules there are to challenge. Many times, we don't even realize that we are obeying those rules; they are so ingrained in us that we follow them without question. In the "poverty industry" that Larry often describes, one of the strangest rules is that organizations with similar missions should avoid working together.
ReplyDeleteThis happens in community development programs throughout the country. We all think that our program is the best, that our services are more important, that our curriculum provides the best opportunities, etc. And so we refuse to work together, despite the fact that we all have the same goal. And despite the fact that there is limited funding available.
This makes no sense to me.
CDM is challenging that mentality. The organization is actively reaching out to other organizations in the city -- "it's competitors" -- to see how they can work together in the service of those who need their help (their "charity"). This is difficult work, but it is slowly convincing our community leaders that we can achieve far more by working together. Perhaps this will lead to the development of partnerships that can effectively meet the need for charity, so that we can begin working on actual justice?
Unfortunately, we're a long way from that point. Much of this is due to the second "unspoken" rule that even community leaders take for granted: that we are "just non-profits." As if it is acceptable to run an inefficient business simply because we consider ourselves do-gooders.
This mentality infuriates me.
Earlier today, I was at a luncheon for one of CDM's peer organizations here in Dallas. One of the group's volnteer board members got up to praise their CEO, who has been with the organization for over ten years. She was thrilled to announce, with a hint of gleeful surprise in her voice, that he "actually runs the place like a business!"
Those were here exact words. "Like a business."
"Non-profit" is a tax status, nothing more. Non-profit organizations ARE businesses just as much as any other organization. They earn revenue, pay expenses, provide goods/services, etc. Considering the importance of their mission, they should be some of the most serious businesses around.
Sadly, that is not the case for many organizations.
CDM is working to change that perception. As it works towards more effectively dealing out charity and building justice in communities, the organization is working to build a stronger non-profit business community. They are aided in this effort by a host of other non-profits, private foundations and for-profits who are looking to build a stronger, more supportive community for ALL of its businesses.
By challenging these rules, CDM is asking all of us to challenge our own perceptions about the roles that we play in these systems. As I see it, this is leading us all to a greater understanding of our purpose on this world.