Can we get more out of our giving?

A significant proportion of our population still faces multidimensional forms of poverty. The capacity and efficiency of state-run or donor-funded social programmes in reaching out to the poor leaves much to be desired. Another important source of meeting the needs of the poor are the individual acts of giving that does indeed help make the lives of people in need easier. Yet, with the possibility to harness to create a much bigger impact. Before discussing how to maximise the impact of individual giving, it is necessary to understand the extent and forms of philanthropy in our country.

According to the World Giving Index for 2017, Pakistan ranks 78 out of 139 countries based on data collected in 2016. This is hardly impressive and contrasts starkly with estimates made by the Pakistan Centre of Philanthropy (PCP), which takes a much more generous view of charitable giving in the country. According to PCP, Pakistan’s per capital contributions (around one per cent of GDP) was comparable to much more prosperous countries, such as Canada and the UK.

The World Giving Index relies on a very small survey size of 1,000 questionnaires. Comparatively, the PCP study was based on a much larger sample of about 10,000 households from across Pakistan. While the study itself was published in 2016, it reflected on data gathered in 2013 and 2014, same years during which Pakistan’s ranking on the Global Giving Index had remained modest.

While it is difficult to reconcile the variance in perceived generosity, the PCP study did also aim to take a much deeper look at the patterns of giving within Pakistan. It aimed to understand the variance in giving across the four provinces, and to look more closely at how people give, to whom and why.

Generosity in our country seems largely fuelled by religious sentiments, mostly in the form of Zakat, Sadqa and Fitrana. Moreover, individual giving does not only include donations in cash but also in-kind donations and volunteering for needy causes. Most individual donations go directly to individuals.

Supporting poor people through individual acts motivated either by religious obligation or compassion does play an integral role in Pakistan’s social safety net. However, to realise the full impact of philanthropy for more sustained development efforts, the individual tendency of giving needs to be redirected towards more-structured efforts.

Sporadic individual giving may help poor families purchase food or help meet the healthcare or other one-off expenses, but they cannot be expected to build schools, provide safe drinking water or help poor people begin earning self-sustainable sources of income. Individual giving channelled to organisations working on development issues that create long-term impacts can amplify the benefits of spur of the moment giving, but only if these organisations are well run, and implement programmes that efficiently deliver sustainable development.

There is presently significant public distrust of charitable and development organisations, particularly NGOs. Fear of misuse, wastefulness, and lack of tangible impact are plausible reasons discouraging people from contributing through such organisations. The government also fuels such suspicions by accusing NGOs of misappropriation or working on foreign agendas. Moreover, most NGOs which work on development issues have not yet developed the requisite infrastructure to collect small and sporadic donations, which is often how individual giving takes place. In comparison, mosques and madrassas do a much better job of tapping individual giving due to their high visibility and door-to-door campaigns.

NGOs need to expand their fundraising networks, and also do more to demonstrate how they can help achieve greater impact than individual acts of giving. They also must do more to demonstrate accountability and transparency in the use of individual contributions. Paying attention to such issues can provide NGOs another reliable stream of indigenous revenue, and reduce their dependence on external sources of funding.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2018.

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