Charity federations in the social movement era: chapter and [fedi]verse

• In Event: Networks

Abstract

Charity federations – such as Girlguiding, Mind and RSPCA - are a significant and enduring but under-researched feature of the voluntary sector in the UK. They tend to involve a group of independent charities in some structural relationship with a central body, often (but not always) held together by a common name and brand, governance arrangement, history and ethos. The literature on federations, such that it is, tends to regard them through a managerial or governance perspective and often as rather problematic and cumbersome structures, increasingly challenged or out of date.

Amid a competing world of ‘super-charities’ with unitary structures and social movements organised around distributed governance structures, the commentary around federations is typically framed around the question, ‘Is the federated model still relevant?’ This perspective appears to assume a rather static, singular and structural notion of federations based on hierarchical governance and transactional resource relationships.

In this paper, we explore an alternative reading of federations based on a dynamic and relational understanding of their histories, dilemmas and possibilities. Drawing upon a recent study of the federated charity model in the UK, involving a survey of federations coupled with interviews and workshops with different stakeholders, we discuss different approaches across federations, the value of the federated model, and its putative futures.

Through this, we identify federations as fields characterised by evolution with moments of revolution. Post-covid, some of the old top-down hierarchical approaches are less evident than the literature might suggest. They emerge as organisations in perpetual beta, seeking in diverse ways to harness the power of networks, narratives, knowledge and affiliation. Dilemmas are many. They constantly balance a centrifugal push for local autonomy with a centripetal pull of control – though such forces are not necessarily in that order from the periphery or the centre. We found substantial variation within and between foundations, suggesting a landscape worthy of further inquiry.

We conclude that the federation model, despite frequent tensions around governance and the distribution of resources, is worth preserving. It offers a useful model for organisations increasingly seeking to address challenging problems at scale and local presence and accountability while helping organisations respond to renewed calls to rebalance power downwards to users.

References

Berkowitz, H., & Dumez, H. (2016). The Concept of Meta-Organization: Issues for Management Studies. European Management Review, 13(2), 149-156. https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12076
Bevan, J. (2016). Network as the Form: Reconfiguring Architecture for Humanity. Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/network-as-the-form-reconfiguring-architecture-for-humanity/
Brown, L. D., Batliwala, S., Ebrahim, A., Honan, J., & Wei-Skillern, J. (2007). Governing international advocacy NGOs and networks: Architecture, advocacy, performance and accountability. Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University.
Compute Canadian. (2018). Governance Best Practices from Other Federations. https://www.compute-canadian.ca/discussion-paper/05_governance_best_practices.html
Grossman, A., & Rangan, V. K. (2001). Managing multisite nonprofits. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 11(3), 321–337.
Milner, L. (2002). Research Study Of The Role and Best Practices of a Federation. USAID. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pnacw107.pdf
Mollenhauer, L. (2009). A framework for success for nonprofit federations revised. Mollenhauer Consulting.
Taylor, M., & Lansley, J. (2000). Relating the Central and the Local. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 10(4), 421–433. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.10405
Varda, D. (2018). Are Backbone Organizations Eroding the Norms that Make Networks Succeed? Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/backbone-organizations-eroding-norms-make-networks-succeed/
Widmer, C. H., & Houchin, S. (1999). Governance of national federated organizations. National Center for Nonprofit Boards.
Young, D. R. (1989). Local Autonomy in a Franchise Age: Structural Change in National Voluntary Associations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 18(2), 101–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/089976408901800203
Young, D. R., Bania, N., & Bailey, D. (1996). Structure and accountability a study of national nonprofit associations. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 6(4), 347–365. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.4130060405

Authors

• Karl Wilding, Centre for Philanthropy, University of Kent

• Rob Macmillan, Sheffield Hallam University

• Lorna Dowrick, Sheffield Hallam University