The politics of giving
Howard Lake | 15 April 1998 | News
As the inquiry into political funding by the Committee on Standards in public life opened on 15th April, chairman Lord Neill pondered on donor’s motivations. In response to reports that Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone would not be appearing at the inquiry, Lord Neill said “I would have liked to have asked him about the generous donation [of £1 million to the Labour Party].” He echoed the thoughts of fundraisers everywhere: “why do people do it? Do the donors want something in return? Do they want doors to open for them?.” If Lord Neill finds any answers to these perennial questions, we’ll report them on UK Fundraising. At least he is taking the right approach – a request for a face-to-face meeting with the donor.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.