Dee Cowburn, former head of policing and crime for the Deputy Mayor for West Yorkshire and a former investigative journalist, argues that charities are just as vulnerable to crisis as any public-facing organisation — and ignoring that reality is a serious risk.
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Charities are usually set up because a need has been identified. A gap that needs addressing to help vulnerable people, or to provide tangible benefits to a clear issue.

You don’t usually think (well I never used to) that crisis will touch a charity in such a way it could threaten its very existence. How could it? When charities in the main do good purposeful, impactful work.

I have a little girl with a rare life limiting genetic condition and I know how much we have benefited from the crucial work of charities. I am also a trustee of Rett UK and have worked with other charities on their risk and reputation management.

My background is in political and crisis communications.

To assume charities will not be touched by crisis, is at best naive, and at worst, foolhardy. In today’s climate of constant breaking news, misinformation, disinformation and Artificial Intelligence, charities are just as fragile as any other public facing organisation.

If you have a public profile which many charities do, and you do not have a crisis communications plan to weather any crisis, it’s time to get one.

This is because one moment, one decision, one soundbite, could go viral and escalate, and if you are not prepared for the unforeseen, but just in case scenario, you could be tripped up.

In my experience, charities can make decisions at board level, without considering how that could be perceived publicly. They can be inward looking and not think about how they would explain their actions if they reached the public court of opinion.

That isn’t to say you would do things differently but considering how a decision could be viewed publicly is a very good exercise in testing what you are doing and why.

Because in the world of constant ‘on ness’, where scrutiny is immediate and relentless, what you do and how you do it matters. Especially if you receive public donations or Government money. That makes you accountable to your members and to your audiences.

I say this because with that scrutiny and that spotlight on decision making comes risk. I have said this before to charities, can you publicly defend the decision you are about to make?

If not, why are you making it? It doesn’t mean you can’t take that course of action, but it does mean you have to be able to defend your perspective robustly.

We can look inward, however, you must put yourself in the shoes of the public to be able to communicate effectively and resonate with them around the decisions you make.

I know many charities don’t have a dedicated communications function, and this is also a vulnerability. Because if your charity has a Risk Register for the organisation, it needs a Crisis Communications Plan, outlining how you would manage any of the risks if they unfolded.

Who would have thought back in 2020 when Captain Sir Tom was taking gentle steps around his garden to raise money for the NHS with the full support of the British public, that four years later the Charity Commission would have made such a damning indictment around the charity?

Well, as we’ve seen with the Captain Tom Foundation, anything can and does happen. Years ago, the charity was hitting headlines for the right reasons and had huge public support behind it. Yet years later… an unflattering set of findings.

A Charity Commission inquiry into the Foundation found that the family of the inspirational pensioner, who raised £38.9m for the NHS Charities Together during the pandemic, exhibited ‘a pattern of behaviour’ where they ‘benefited’ from the Foundation via instances of ‘misconduct and mismanagement’.

The Captain Tom Foundation has now been renamed to the 1189808 Foundation.

“Charities represent the best of society – bringing people together, supporting the most vulnerable, and strengthening communities. It is important to remember that their work is underpinned by trustees, most of whom are volunteers, and most of whom fulfil the role with passion and integrity.” The words of the Charity Commission’s chair, Orlando Fraser, as the inquiry into the Captain Tom Foundation concluded.

However as Warren Buffett says: “It can take 20 years to build a reputation, and 5 minutes to ruin it.”

Don’t let that be you or your charity. A crisis communications plan is worth its weight in gold because in the eventuality that you need it; you might just make those 5 mins count for all the right reasons!
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Dee Cowburn is the former head of policing and crime for the Deputy Mayor for West Yorkshire, and before that an investigative journalist.

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