Fundraising through poverty porn: Ethical concerns
Date
2024
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing
Abstract
This study aimed to assess the ethical dilemma in using poverty porn as a means of
fundraising by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Ghana. The paper focuses
on the ethical concerns from NGOs' perspective as they engage in charitable work to
help reduce poverty in society. The study sought to answer the research questions
using a qualitative approach by studying some selected NGOs in Ghana, West Africa.
In-depth interviews were used to solicit responses from management members in
charge of fundraising in 22 NGOs. The data were analyzed using thematic textual
analysis (TTA). From the findings, it became evident that NGOs in their use of poverty porn believed the practice is a better alternative to raise more donations. They
feel that the good side of the practice, which is supporting the needy, is more important and outweighs any counterarguments. They believed the end justifies the
means. To the best of the researchers' knowledge, this is one of few studies that
attempt to focus on the ethical concerns of poverty porn by NGOs.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
ethics, fundraising, marketing