Exploring local hotspots and deserts: investigating the local distribution of charitable resources

Abstract

This paper investigates whether regional patterns of uneven charitable distribution are evidenced at a local neighbourhood level. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative evidence of charitable resources in two case-study areas, one affluent and one deprived, it argues that there is a clear distinction between the case-study areas. Charities in the affluent area are more numerous, run by volunteers, and meet a broad range of social, community and cultural needs of that community.Charities in the deprived area are less numerous, meet urgent needs related to deprivation, and are more likely to be larger charities run by professionals with statutory funding. There is great concern, within the deprived area, about the impact of austerity cuts and measures, and what this will mean for the future of these charities, and the community which they support. Introduction:The question of the distributional effects of charitable activity is the central concern of a project at Southampton on quantitative and qualitative aspects of the geographical distribution of charities. It is well-known that the distribution of registered charities in the UK is uneven (Mohan and Rolls, 2006), but this tells us relatively little about where charitable activity takes place. Extensive work needs to be done on methods for apportioning expenditure by charities to geographical areas because it is unrealistic to assume that all expenditure can be allocated to the area in which an organisation is based. In a separate paper (Mohan, 2011) this topic is discussed in more detail. In this paper we argue for case-study research to investigate the flows of charitable resources, and of expenditure by charitable organisations, on a local scale. We explore the distribution of resources, the distinctive features of charitable activity, the barriers to organisational success and the challenges organisations are likely to face.A mixed method approach was taken, combining a desktop analysis of available accounts and annual reports of all the registered charities within the chosen case-study areas alongside up to 50 semistructured interviews with stakeholders and the managers/chairs of charities of a cross-section of registered charities in these areas.Two contrasting neighbourhoods that lie within 3 miles of each other in the same local government district were selected for study. One case-study area is a neighbourhood defined as one of the 20% most deprived areas in the country, dominated by social renting and high levels of reliance on state benefits, and characterised by relatively high population turnover. The other case-study area is one of the 20% least deprived areas in the country, a prosperous village with high levels of owner occupation

Charity Density and Social Need: A Longitudinal Perspective

“…Kim (2015) also found a negative correlation between nonprofit density and social need, as measured by racial/ethnic diversity and unemployment rate (a small, nonsignificant effect for poverty rate was estimated). Lindsey (2013) explored whether geographical variations in the distribution of charities also occurred at a local scale, in this case at the neighborhood level; drawing on a mix of quantitative and qualitative data for two case study areas in the United Kingdom (one affluent and one deprived), the study observed fewer registered charities in the more deprived area. Clifford (2012), drawing upon data for England from the 2008 National Survey of Third Sector Organisations, observed that less deprived local areas had a much higher prevalence of registered voluntary sector organizations than more deprived local areas.…”

Complying, Transforming or Resisting in the New Austerity? Realigning Social Welfare and Independent Action among English Voluntary Organisations

“…These roles are historically familiar but also illustrate a re-shaping of community action alongside welfare provision (Milbourne, 2013). While some VOs have engaged enthusiastically in local community action plans, criticism has emerged about top-down rhetoric stifling local empowerment (Padley, 2013) and around the burdens and growing geographic inequalities arising from over-stretched voluntary resources in poorer areas (Lindsey, 2013).…”

The economic recession and civic participation: the curious case of Rotterdam's civil society, 2008–2013

“…One mechanism is the organizational infrastructure of Rotterdam. The small increase in civic participation in disadvantaged neighbourhoods is somewhat counterintuitive, especially given the findings from the UK where disadvantaged areas seem to be most severely impacted by the 2008-9 recession (Civil Exchange 2015; Clifford 2017; Clifford, Geyne-Rahme and Mohan 2013; Jones et al 2016;Lindsey 2013). We proposed that the rate of participation in disadvantaged neighbourhoods is partly explained by the municipality's policy of supplying basic civic provisions in less advantaged neighbourhoods during times of austerity (Municipality of Rotterdam 2015; cf.…”

“…Given that local communities bear increased responsibility for continuing their civic organizations, these findings strengthen the expectation that organizations in affluent communities with strong social networks are more capable of dealing with the challenges of the 2008–9 recession, whereas organizations in deprived communities with weak social networks were less capable of handling the cutback in resources (cf. Lindsey ).…”

“…Many scholars anticipated that the recession would have an uneven impact on civil society (Kisby ; Lindsey ; Lowndes and Pratchett ; North ; Uitermark ). They argue that, in times of recession, with the corresponding austerity policies, affluent communities with strong social capital are better equipped to respond to changes in the civil domain than disadvantaged communities with less social capital.…”