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| Path: Main Street : Resources & Library : Research Articles : Feature Article |
Distrust and indifference hampers eastern European fundraisersAugust 28, 1995; Canadian FundRaiser
"The status of fund raising --- somewhere between a profession and a hobby, full of ambiguity and uncertainty in Eastern Europe --- produces particular reactions in Eastern European countries, situated as they are in an uncertain and ambiguous state. This is only natural in a country which is moving from one form of social organization to another," says Professor Mihai Coman, Dean of the College of Journalism & Mass Communication Studies at the University of Bucharest in Romania.
Speaking at the 14th International Fund Raising Workshop, Coman noted that many Eastern European countries do not view fundraising as a profession, afford the field a level of respect or permit societal position, so vital to the ability to do effective work. Operating in a climate of public distrust and indifference where it is difficult to differentiate between the honest man and the swindler, it is of little surprise that many volunteer fundraisers, fearful of the stigma or of being misjudged, never mention their noble activities to associates and colleagues.
Values of civil society unfamiliar
"Unfortunately," said Coman, "considering the politicization of the press and its orientation towards spectacular and negative events, the success of NGOs in Eastern Europe means nothing to the journalists. Thus NGOs don't appear on TV or in radio broadcasts or newspapers. They are not socially visible. Neither the ordinary man nor the company director will have any idea whether these institutions are efficient and credible or not. They don't know whether their donation will reach its destination or get lost in the corridors of bureaucracy. At the same time, for many people it is not clear why certain activities, usually considered to be the prerogative of government, should be undertaken by other organizations, and why the government (which is still thought of as an omniscient structure) should give away such prerogatives to the NGOs ... as the values and ways of functioning of civil society are not yet well enough known in Eastern Europe."NGOs blamed for social crises
Operating in an environment rife with misunderstanding and distrust, without credibility, visibility or social acceptability, and without any government support, organizations are forced to survive on funds received from foreign agencies - other NGOs. Add to this the problem of mixed images, and fundraising activities are very negatively impacted. Having presented themselves as "saving institutions, competing with governmental organizations, NGOs appeared to be substitutes for government offices, and so the failing of the latter appears to be the failing of the former ... thus NGOs are considered to be responsible for the social crisis.""Eastern Europeans," said Coman, "do not yet understand why 'minority' problems such as AIDS, orphans and the disabled find so much favour over what they see as 'majority' causes that benefit all people - things like medical care and school equipment." Broad international concern and financial support for these causes is viewed by many as an affront to national pride. The social symbolic representations portrayed by Coman clearly isolate fundraising activities from the act of philanthropy thereby rendering the practice ambiguous and foreign to many.
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