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What is the Third Sector?
Well, that’s a bit of
a tricky one. In very general terms a
third sector organization is anything
which operates outside the public sector
and the private sector.
This can include
charities and educational organizations.
I assume you are familiar with these. A
more recent, and increasingly
significant part of the third sector, is
the Social Enterprise.
A Social Enterprise
is a business which trades in order to
achieve social aims.
Social Enterprises
are not not-for-profit organizations.
They provide goods or services, and
trade under the same economic conditions
as any other business, except that any
profits are directed towards achieving
their social aims, rather than being
distributed to shareholders.
Social Enterprises
are characterized by an ethical approach
to their internal operating procedures,
their employment practices, and their
trading policy. They may vary in their
application of their ethics, but the one
thing they have in common is that all
social enterprises aim to make the world
a better place, some in a small local
way, others on a global scale.
This often means that
the conditions under which they operate
make it more difficult for them to trade
profitably. Many Social Enterprises, for
example, plug some of the gaps in the
welfare state by providing work
opportunities for people with a variety
of difficulties. Others incur higher
operating costs because of their
principles.
Social Enterprises do
not receive any preferential treatment.
They are subject to the same tax regime
as any normal business. Many can only
just remain solvent through the goodwill
of their staff. Many receive a lot of
help from volunteers, and their salaried
staff are relatively poorly paid.
Why am I telling you
all this?
So that I can appeal
to your goodwill and spirit of
independence if you have come to this
site to take the training material for
private purposes (effectively to “steal”
someone else’s gift).
I don’t really mind
your taking it, so long as you give
something back.
If your business
makes a profit you are going to lose a
proportion of that profit to the
government. The government, of whatever
colour, does not have
a particularly impressive record on the
intelligent use of tax payers’ money.
Why not cut out the
middle man and give some of your profit
directly to a social enterprise or
charity of your choice. Not only are
there tax advantages in this, but you
activate the “multiplier” effect. That
is to say, if you give to an
organization that is in the business of
giving, your gift achieves more.
Moreover, many of the third sector
organizations are in the business of
reducing taxpayer costs by keeping
people out of the NHS, out of prison,
off drugs, off benefits etc, so the
value of your gift is multiplied
further.
It is not just money
that you could give. Many social
organizations operate in the
environmental/recycling area. Consider
what your organization has to pay to get
rid of your waste. There are many people
who would love to be able to rummage
through your skip and turn your waste
into something useful.
Another significant
way you can help is to make your
resources available. Many social
organizations operate on a shoestring,
which means that they do not have access
to the kind of things that a larger
organization can take for granted, IT
advice, legal advice, HR advice,
marketing advice, etc. Occasional access
to larger company expertise can make a
great difference to social
organizations, at negligible cost to the
donor.
In the area of
management-training and development
there is a way of helping which can be
of significant mutual benefit. Many
companies have found that the most
effective way to bring their management
trainees to maturity is to second them
to a project outside the company. Where
can you send them? Obviously not to a
competitor.
Little,
non-competitive, organizations can
provide the ideal environment for this.
They get the benefit of the trainee’s
analytic skills, and you get
project-management experience, plus a
warm glow from helping the community,
and some good PR.
I am doing my bit to
help the Third Sector by giving them
some excellent self-teach material, and
offering much reduced rates for personal
training delivery.
You can do your bit
by checking out some of the
Third Sector
organizations and consider
giving something based on the value that
the material has given to your
organization. If you want to help the
Third Sector in any way, please deal
directly with the organization(s) of
your choice. Reflex Training does not
broker these relationships in any way
other than providing a link to their
websites.
I do not believe that
mutual giving is the basis for a full
economic system, but then the “real”
economy is not currently in great shape
either. Mutual giving at least does no
harm, and can produce benefits out of
proportion to the straight cash value of
the gift.
If you would normally
expect to pay for this material, but
have nicked it, and are feeling a little
bit guilty, please click on the PayPal
donations link you see below. |
