When the tap is turned on, who gets wet?
This Christmas, let’s keep in mind why we are called the ‘third sector’
Most people live with a quiet suspicion that life is getting harder, even when they can’t quite say why. Wages never seem to catch up with prices. House deposits grow faster than savings. Grocery bills outpace pay rises. And still, somehow, the charities working closest to our communities are asked to do more with less.
This isn’t just bad luck or mismanagement. There’s a name for it: the Cantillon Effect.
Named after 18th century economist Richard Cantillon, the idea is simple. When new money enters the system, it doesn’t reach everyone equally. Those closest to the source government departments, banks, large institutions receive it first. By the time it trickles down to ordinary people, or to the charities supporting them, prices have already risen and the value of that money has eroded.
Since the pandemic, we’ve seen this on an unprecedented scale. In the UK, the Bank of England more than doubled its balance sheet, pumping hundreds of billions into the economy. But new money didn’t flow into food banks or youth clubs. It flowed into asset prices, bond markets and institutions already close to power.
That same effect shows up in the charity sector. The largest organisations those with the infrastructure, the name recognition, the grant-writing and lobbying muscle have continued to grow. Meanwhile, most charities often feel like they’re sprinting on a treadmill that keeps speeding up.
Those of us involved in Start Bay believe the third sector exists for a reason. When the market fails, and when government can’t or won’t reach the edges, it’s charity that steps in. The best of charity is not strategic alignment with a government plan. It’s not smoothing the inefficiencies of the welfare state. It’s love. It’s humanity. It’s the elderly woman in Cornwall giving a secret gift from a lifetime of quiet suffering because she wants her pain to become someone else’s hope.
This Christmas, as you see consider your organisation’s messaging, let’s be sure to keep that spirit of humanity and compassion alive. We are not an extension of the government or the fuzzy department of the capital markets. We are the third sector. We promote kindness and care, social responsibility and the interests of the most neglected and vulnerable in our communities.
Start Bay exists to serve that soul and to resource the courageous, the committed, and the community-based. If that’s you, we’re with you.
Our new platform called Start Bay Fractional can bring top drawer expertise to your organisation without adding headcount or the hassles of recruitment and management, at very reasonable rates. Please take a look at fractional.org.uk and email hello@startbay.org if you’d like a conversation about how this revolutionary way of working could unlock new opportunities to further your important work.
