The Happiness of Humanitarian Aid
Many charities make the mistake of using their primary objectives as an excuse for what they do. Charity ethics suggest that an organization should not have a secondary objective that requires a cut of donations.
How can this be reconciled with the fact that the majority of organizations have a specific goal that is as far from its primary as possible.
In choosing your charity, a wise plan is to choose your first charity based on the happiness you are trying to increase. Many charities make the mistake of using their primary objectives as an excuse for what they do. Charity ethics suggest that an organization should not have a secondary objective that requires a cut of donations.
How can this be reconciled with the fact that the majority of organizations have a specific goal that is as far from its primary as possible? The relationship between the primary and secondary objectives should never be conceived in terms of how many people will be helped or how much money will be raised. Primary objectives should never get the preference when the primary reason for the group’s existence is to serve the people and cause.
A good example of a humanitarian group that may include secondary objectives is a school. The primary purpose of a school is to educate children. Secondary objectives are meant to serve the needs of students and their families in an effective way.
Primary and secondary goals are not always interchangeable. In many situations, children need more than a strong educational foundation. In other cases, the primary goal is to help children and their families but their needs may be less urgent.
A good example of this problem is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Its primary mission is to deliver food, education and basic health services to people in need. Its secondary goals include children’s education, development of community centers and strengthening relations between countries. The secondary goal is not related to the primary objective.
Another example is another organization, the International Red Cross. Its mission is to save lives and offer medical care to those who are suffering from disease or injury.
When the organization makes its financial projections it does not factor in the secondary objectives. Nor do they count on the money that will be raised to support those secondary objectives.
There is nothing wrong with these organizations in principle, but when they put their primary focus on the satisfaction of those secondary objectives it does great harm to the cause. The question is not whether the secondary goals can add to the work of those who are doing the best work. The question is whether secondary objectives can add to the happiness of the people who are trying to live a healthy and secure life.
It is not necessary to abandon the primary objective and change to a secondary objective. In fact, the more honestly the objectives are stated, the better. One has to recognize that many primary objectives have been fulfilled successfully through good performance.
Often the secondary objectives are part of the group’s strategy to improve the effectiveness of the primary objective. For example, community development activities have been used as a means of fulfilling the primary objective of educating children.
But the secondary objectives may also be used to encourage other members of the group to fulfill the primary objective in a positive way. The value of secondary objectives is that they draw participants into the group who are already doing an important function. When secondary objectives are designed and implemented in a systematic manner, they improve the quality of service delivered and strengthen the relationship between the secondary objective and the primary one.
A good organization has no difficulty finding ways to serve both its primary and secondary objectives. It is only when a group adopts a cause that cannot balance the priorities on its agenda that its activities are seen as ineffective or the public complains about the quality of its services. Good groups handle all the good activities with joy.
