Here in the United States, I’m used to seeing advertisements. A newer this, a shinier that. Car commercials, toy commercials, food commercials. And, at this time of year, charity commercials. Yes, charities market for your dollars, just like any other vendor. Except, we often don’t realize that it’s occurring. We tend to view charities in a different way than the average corporation. However, from a strict dollar-for-dollar standpoint, they all want your money, and they are each jockeying to make as much as they can this season.
We don’t consider ourselves as making a purchase from a charity. Instead, we believe we are giving a contribution to a cause. This is true, but every time we put our dollars toward something, we are effectively purchasing some solution to some problem. When you purchase a hamburger, you are solving your hunger problem. When you contribute to a feeding program at a shelter, you are solving someone else’s hunger problem. Commercials are part of marketing, and they all attempt to tell a story that will spur you to a particular action: purchasing the solution that particular group is offering.
Charity Commercials
Charity commercials follow a proven theme: an animal or person in a desperate situation – most often a child – stares at you with wide, pleading eyes. A voice, perhaps of a celebrity, talks about how difficult a situation a group of people, animals, or even the environment is in. Sad music plays. Your feelings of sadness at what this group is facing build. Then, the voice tells you that for a small dollar contribution, you can stop hunger/help literacy/provide medical solutions. Suddenly, there is hope. You know the solution to this problem: pay some money. Or do you?
Compare this to the average food delivery commercial: a team is hungry while working late – they look tired. A voice talks about how frustrating it is to have to go out in the cold. Plodding music plays. Your feelings of sympathy based upon a time you were hungry and strapped for time build. Then, the scene changes, and you see that someone ordered food from an app on their phone, and they are soon eating fast food and smiling. Suddenly, there is hope. You know the solution to this problem: pay some money. Or do you?
What if the problem that needs to be solved is an over-tired team? Maybe the solution is everyone going home, and getting some sleep. What if the problem was a difficult boss, who perpetually drives people to produce too much within time constraints? Maybe the solution is getting rid of bad management. We all know, at least on some level, that the food delivery vendor is setting up a simplistic scenario, so that we buy into their solution. That is, we recognize people needing sleep, or removing toxic management, are very real possibilities. But we know, and the vendor knows, that those solutions won’t spur you to purchase through the food delivery app. The company presents a plausible scenario, but then presents only one solution, which can be solved through their product of service.
Breaking Free of Commercials
Oddly enough, although we are sometimes aware of, and to a degree sanction, this simplistic commercial storytelling across all industries, we tend to ignore how charities present themselves in the same way.
- Here is a starving child: pay money – solution
- Here is a drug addict: pay money – solution
- Here is an abused dog: pay money – solution
Except, we haven’t really “solved” the problem, have we? What if the problem that needs to be solved is a stable job so the child’s parents can provide for the family? Maybe the solution is accepting that some products we purchase would cost more, as individuals are paid higher wages? What if the problem for the drug addict was a long-term change in the practice of distributing prescription opiods? Maybe the solution is to make companies and practitioners increasingly liable, recognizing that that may be passed on to us via changes in health care costs? What if the problem of the abused dog, is that humans are often abusive and cruel? Maybe the solution is having a waiting and review period when someone purchases an animal?
I’m not suggesting that the above solutions are “the” solutions, either. As with the tired work team, where there are various explanations for being hungry while working late, there are many explanations – some of them competing – for social ills. What I am suggesting is that we stop believing a single story about charity. If giving monthly were enough to stop hunger, addiction, and abuse, we’d be able to stop those horrors rapidly. It’s not that simple. We all know it. The horrors around us are part of a larger struggle between economies, countries, cultures, and individuals; a complex system tends to reinforce many of the things we so desperately wish to change.
Many worthy charitable causes that are fighting nuanced problems are engaging in simplistic marketing. There is much to be said for the work these charities are doing. I support some of them financially. Yet we need to break free from the commercialization of charity. We need to move beyond a food delivery commercial in how we choose to give. We need to become part of the solution, not someone who only purchases a solution.
From Purchaser to Partners
The fundamental problem of commercialized charity is that we participate as consumers, not as partners. One of the best ways to shift from someone who purchases a solution, to someone who partners in a solution, is to commit to personally engaging in a particular cause. Give money to help abused animals. And show up to volunteer. And commit to reading or talking with someone at a shelter about the history and laws in your area. And consider reasons why this problem is occurring. And feel free to consider many ways to stop problems a few steps before they occur. Recognize that breaking out of the commercialization pattern will take a lot more time than engaging in the commercialization pattern. It will also cause you to focus on one area, which leads to a stronger long-term commitment.
We can leave charity commercials in their proper place – part of marketing, which we should largely ignore for purchases – and recognize we can instead engage in a more thoughtful long-term process of contributing. Responding to a need is a wonderful trait of a soft heart. Responding to your personal calling in changing many horrors around us is equally laudable. The better solution is partnership, and the good news is you can choose that at this time of year, and long into the future.
Photo courtesy of Paweł Czerwiński