# The Good Glow: Charity and the Symbolic Power of Doing Good

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/books/the-good-glow-charity-and-the-symbolic-power-of-doing-good/
- Published: 2021-11-03T08:37:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**We praise those people who do things for others. But the symbolic power of giving
means individuals can take advantage of the glow of ‘goodness’ that charity provides.**

This book analyses the reality of how charity operates in the social world; how 
the personal benefits of giving and volunteering are vital for getting charitable
acts to happen; how the altruism associated with gifts isn’t always what it seems;
how charity misbehaviour or bad management gets overlooked; and how charity symbols
are weaponised against those who don’t participate.

Drawing on original data and a novel application of the sociology of Bourdieu, this
book examines a wide range of examples from culture, politics and society to provide
an entertaining critique of how contemporary charity works.