Biting the hand that feeds

There's an interesting interview on Third Sector today with Michael Edwards, Director of Governance and Civil Society at the Ford Foundation. Edwards has written a book, in a personal capacity, Just Another Emperor: the Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism. It voices fears about the dominating power of a handful of rich givers over cash-strapped charities.

He's quoted as saying "There are all sorts of discussions going on in private about the themes I've raised. But it's hard to bite the hand that feeds you." He’s right. Too few people in the voluntary sector have the guts to stand up to funders, and it's not just the 'philanthrocapitalists' who are guilty of wielding their power without sufficient thought or understanding of the consequences.

I’ve always thought it was one of the primary duties of social entrepreneurs to bite the hand that feeds them; and one of the reasons why it’s so hard to be a good one. You need to play the system at the same time as subverting it, because if the system wasn’t wrong in the first place you’d have no need to do anything new.