Is it right for philanthropies to fund social change?

During the same-sex marriage debate, some of those arguing for a No vote suggested that the Irish public were being skilfully manipulated with the use of foreign money. Extensive philanthropic funding, much of it from overseas, has been spent in order to advance social change.

But monetary support for civil society is a legitimate part of our democratic process, and Ireland will be a poorer place once this philanthropy ends.

I carried out research which showed a high concentration of funding from Atlantic Philanthropies and the One Foundation for Irish charities was focused on social justice and policy change, while a much smaller donor in Ireland, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has also been a significant catalyst.

These philanthropies supported campaigns aimed at shifting public opinion as well as lobbying policy-makers on behalf of groups at the margins of Irish society. They’ve fought for the rights of Travellers, prisoners, refugees, vulnerable children and women.

Not only did such funding provide years of support for charities that put marriage equality at the top of the public agenda, they earlier supported those charities that pushed for the referendum to enshrine children’s rights in our constitution.

So was the marriage referendum bought, as the No campaigners seem to suggest?

First, it must be noted that expenditure on referendum campaigns is regulated by the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo). These rules restrict the level of donations from any one source to a campaigning body. They prohibit overseas donations, and Sipo monitors the activities of these registered third parties.

While much of the Yes side in the referendum campaign was highly professional, even a casual observer could see the grassroots fundraising throughout the country that sustained it. It is clear that the greatest resource of these groups in the lead-up to the vote was the dynamic energy of thousands of volunteer activists.

Interest groups

But what about before the campaign proper began, when these multi-million euro grants were being spent to promote LGBT rights? Our democracy isn’t simply millions of one-vote-per-person citizens deliberating policy decisions in a vacuum. There are powerful interest groups pushing competing agendas. Industry lobbies, trade unions, churches and others deploy major resources to shape public opinion as well as government policy.

A cursory glance at the machinations of the alcohol industry in Ireland, and the understaffed charities struggling to oppose it, demonstrates that in many instances greater funding for charities is needed to level the playing field. The causes championed by philanthropy here in the past 10 years have been the rights of the most vulnerable in our society.

Lesbian and gay people are a minority in Irish society who have been silenced for years, and they still suffer from legal discrimination. Children in care have been failed by church and State institutions for generations, and today philanthropic funding is still desperately required to support them.

There has been grant support for Traveller groups, but none of these has yet captured the hearts of the Irish public in the way that recent LGBT campaigns have.

Philanthropic funding hasn’t just supported minority voices competing with other more powerful lobbies; it has assisted the weak in challenging a dominant State. Grant-funded migrant rights organisations have enabled individuals to go to court and vindicate their rights. Taking legal action against a government department or State agency is not an easy task for any individual.

Over recent years many of those in Ireland most at risk would have had no one to stand beside them were it not for Chuck Feeney’s Atlantic, Declan Ryan’s One Foundation, or the Quakers of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Foreign sources

Finally, is it right for such funding to come from foreign sources? Most Irish people have little hesitation in donating to Trócaire, Concern or even Amnesty International – all bodies which work for social change outside Ireland. Should human rights be only be supported on a cross-Border basis when wealthy educated citizens in democratic countries are giving a hand-out to poor communities oppressed under despotic regimes?

Social justice isn’t just something to be dispensed from a civilised West to the barbaric rest of the world. Our country and all others have failings. Every person has a role in remedying these.

The activities of wealthy individuals and powerful institutions should be scrutinised and regulated. But philanthropies have a legitimate role in supporting civil society. They can partner with committed activists to rebalance public debate.

Atlantic Philanthropies, the One Foundation, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have been a force for good in Irish society, and we will miss the influence of their funding once it is gone.

Michael Moriarty (Twitter @michael moriarty) is a board member of Epic, a children’s charity supported by Atlantic Philanthropies and the One Foundation. He has researched philanthropy with support from the Ray Murphy Bursary, a grant funded by Atlantic Philanthropies.