Our story
There’s a well-known parable which says that if you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will immediately try to climb out. However, if you place it in warm water and turn up the heat very slowly, it doesn’t perceive the danger it’s in. The frog stays in the saucepan and eventually boils to death*.
The moral of this story is that it isn’t just frogs which sometimes fail to detect change until it’s too late.
Today the temperature of the voluntary and community sector ‘saucepan’ is rising. The Boiling Frog is for charity and other not-for-profit ‘frogs’ seeking to understand the challenges we face; we’ll give you the strategies for making that vital leap to a more sustainable future.
*Biologists have disputed how true this is, but we love frogs so please don’t try it at home. . .
7. Charities Are No Longer Relevant in the Digital Age
Charities are no different to any other sector in that they are being challenged by the rise of digital. But their slowness to adapt means they face being left behind.
6. Charities Have Lost Their Moral Compass
It once seemed that charities could do no wrong, but in recent years the misdemeanours of a high-profile few has put the whole sector on the back foot with the public.
5. Charities Spend Too Much on Admin
Charities are often accused of frittering money on unnecessary ‘admin’. Are donors right to favour charities that have the lowest administration costs?
Thought of the week
Charities are no different to any other sector in that they are being challenged by the rise of digital. But their slowness to adapt means they face being left behind. Whatever the size of your organisation, the time to engage is now.
4. Are There Too Many Charities?
People complain that there seem to be hundreds of charities often working for the same cause. Surely the sector would be more efficient if there were fewer charities. . .
3. Charities Lead to Favouritism, not Fairness
For all the good causes charities work on, donors will always choose to give to causes that appeal to them. But these are not necessarily the causes where there is the greatest need.
2. Charities Only Target Symptoms, Not the Causes
Does the work of charities paper over the cracks of serious issues and allow the state to escape its responsibilities?
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