The Government announced this week that it will give around 30 small charities grants and support for their campaigning work through a new scheme run by Capacitybuilders.
The £750,000 scheme, which they hope to develop and deliver over two years, aims to identify and promote innovative ways for the third sector to act as a voice for the most disadvantaged people in society.
The announcement brings up the time old question of whether charities should be engaged in overtly political activities. This was the subject of a debate yesterday on the BBC’s Today programme, between Liam Byrne, Minister for the Cabinet Office, and Jill Kirby, Director, Centre for Policy Studies.
Byrne said: “Everybody has got a right to be heard in this country and very often it’s charities and campaigning groups who give a voice to people who don’t get listened to enough...So what we want to do is find out how we can give those groups a megaphone too.”
Byrne continued saying that the Government is particularly interested in hearing from smaller charities representing people whose voices aren’t often heard in mainstream political debates, such as: “those representing people with learning disabilities or disaffected young people or people with mental health problems.”
Kirby, who believes that charities should concentrate less on lobbying and more on their work on the ground, responded to Bryne saying:
“I think many charities are already much too political...I think the danger in an initiative like this is it further emphasises the desire to turn charities into lobby groups, and I think actually they’re spending far too much time already lobbying…”
“CharityComms - the body that represents charity communicators who work to make sure that “voice” is heard - welcomes this announcement and eagerly awaits news of which 30 or so organisations are to benefit from funding,” said CharityComms Director Norma Johnston.
Further details of the scheme are expected to be announced later this spring. If you would like to read more about this issue you can find stories in the following: Third Sector, The Times and on the Today Programme’s website.