Welcome to the Social Sector!
The UK is unusual in the size and scope of its not-for-profit organisations. This ‘map’ shows just some of areas where not-for-profit organisations are active. Some are charities, others call themselves social enterprises. There are also housing associations (providing non-government social housing), voluntary and community groups, clubs, cooperatives and mutuals, assocations and membership bodies. Collectively they have been labelled the not-for-profit sector, the third sector, civil society or the VCSE sector. We prefer the label ‘social sector’ - this is because it is distinct from and equal to the public sector and the private sector, and we should define the sector by the social aims that unite it, not by what it isn’t or what it consists of.
Three sectors
First, what is the relationship between the three sectors and what are their key distinguishing features? The public sector is distinguished by politics and the power of elected individuals. By contrast, the private sector is distinguished by profit and loss and the power of owners and shareholders. Though many social sector organisations work with or gain funding from the public sector, the social sector is independent of government, and can offer innovation, specialisation, responsiveness and challenge that the public sector cannot. And while sector organisations must be financially viable, it is distinguished from the private sector by the passions, and power of its activists and the core aim to ‘do good’.
The growing role of the social sector
Both the social sector and the private sector are involved in the work of the state, through delivering services on behalf of the state. Over the last 40 years there has been a marked change in the volume of delivery that the social and private sectors have been commissioned to deliver. This has been a major contributor to the growth of the social sector and to our reliance on it. Whether that trend will change in the years to come is uncertain, especially as we adjust to the impact of the COVID-19 virus. Of course, not all parts of the social sector have been affected by this change in the way the state operates. Some sectors - such as the independent schools sector which are predominantly registered charities - have been largely unaffected. But it is important to understand this recent change in order to start to make sense of which organisations are in the social sector. You may well be surprised.
Its broader than you may expect
This graphic produced by National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), the umbrella organisation for the general charity sector, conveys something of the range and scale of the different organisations in the social sector. General charities include the ‘big brands’ such as the NSPCC, Macmillan Cancer and Barnardos. Social enterprises have social aims, but rely on trading for the bulk of their income and can have special legal forms like Community Interest Companies. You may be surprised to see a category called Employee Owned Businesses - this includes the John Lewis Partnership for example, but there is also a Cooperatives category, which includes those which are owned by members (as opposed to employees). Housing Associations include organisations like Notting Hill Housing and Riverside. There are Independent Schools like Eton and Harrow, many of which have been registered charities since their formation, but there is also the newer group of Academies - over 70% of state schools today are run by charitable trusts, rather than local authorities. Trade Associations and Trade Unions are technically part of the social sector, as are Political Parties. Finally, there are Sports Clubs, Leisure Trusts and arts organisations such as the National Theatre.
(In the circles are: name; number of organisations; income in £ millions)
Influences on the look and feel of social sector organisations
When you come across them for the first time, there is no doubt that social sector organisations feel different from those in the private and public sectors. But what’s influencing this? To begin, they may talk of beneficiaries rather than customers or clients. Beneficiaries is the label used to identify the people they are looking to have an impact on, which is why impact measurement is also important. But so too is where their income comes from because - despite the ‘not-for-profit label’ - all social sector organisations need to generate more income than they spend over time in order to remain sustainable and keep having, or growing, their impact. Income can come from donations, grants, trading income (for the sale of goods and services), contracts for the delivery of services, legacies or membership fees, and from government, individuals or companies. Then there is how they are governed and structured. Unpaid Trustees (or directors, for social enterprises and businesses) are the norm on boards. Trustees may be recruited, elected or chosen by their peers. Most will have employees, who are paid, but will also deploy volunteers, who are not. This all gives sector organisations a wide variety of resources and operating models to draw from, but it can also get in the way of smooth and efficient operations if organisations are not managed and guided properly - this is why having experienced, skilled and dedicated managers and trustees is so vital.
Finding opportunities
Here are some tips on how to go about finding opportunities that will interest you: if you want more information on general charities, a must read is NCVO’s Almanac. If it is specifically social enterprises you are interested in, then Social Enterprise UK has a number of useful background guides.. If social housing is your interest, then the National Housing Federation website is a crucial resource.
The international social sector
Many people are interested in doing work with international charities, but in a lot of respects the differences are greater than the similarities with the domestic UK social sector. There is little crossover of people, funders and projects. Working in both can be hard to pull off and focusing first on one is recommended. Here are some links and signposts that might help you.
BOND
BOND is the umbrella organisation for civil society organisations that work outside of the UK. You will find plenty of useful data on the international development sector here.
Donor Tracker - the flow of money and funding
You need to build an understanding of where money comes from, as well as what sorts of projects it is spent on and in which parts of the world. Donor Tracker provides a useful overview. As with the UK social sector, money comes from government(s), from individuals, from companies and from trusts. However, the sources are fundamentally different for international work compared to UK charities and it is worth your while taking the time to understand it.
VSO - how to volunteer
There are volunteering opportunities in the international sector, but they often require a fundamental change in your commitment. To begin, are you able to go overseas - will your personal circumstances allow it, can you afford it? For these and a host of other reasons, it requires planning and a willingness to give up some degree of flexibility. One of the UK’s longest standing international volunteering charities is VSO, so why not visit their website first?
Humanitarian relief or international development?
International development work can be broadly divided into two strands – humanitarian work and longer-term development projects.
Humanitarian work includes responses to famine, drought, flood, earthquakes, cyclones and war/insurrection. It is focused on providing immediate help to those who have lost their homes and livelihoods. Longer-term development projects might be around education (e.g. getting more children into school and keeping them there longer), health (e.g. combating HIV or malaria), sanitation (e.g. providing clean water and toilets), housing (e.g. replacing slums with ‘proper’ housing), economic development (e.g. supporting start-ups), human rights and the environment.
Who delivers the work on the ground?
Both humanitarian work and longer-term development projects are delivered by a mix of international NGOs (INGOs) and smaller, more specialist, charities. Typically, all of these will have bases in the developed world - where they will do their fundraising, campaigning and lobbying - with project teams based in the developing world close to where the work is delivered.
Eight INGOs (World Vision International, Oxfam International, Save the Children International, Plan International, Médecins Sans Frontières, CARE International, CARITAS International and ActionAid International) had a combined revenue of more than US$11.7 billion in 2011, up 40 percent since 2005. In addition to the giant INGOs, there is a large number of smaller development charities based in the US, the UK and Europe. Typically, they will focus on an area of work (e.g. Street Child) and/or a single country (e.g. Community Action Nepal or Prospect Burma).
Then there are a number of UN organisations such as UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), UNHCR (UN High Commission on Refugees), UNICEF and UNESCO. Others include WHO (World Health Organisation), WFP (World Food Programme) and the World Bank. These are often both funders of programmes and deliverers of programmes themselves. Partnerships are very common.