4 - No Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Sources and Consequences of Resource Choices

Summary

Founded in 1971, Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF, Doctors without Borders) is one of the largest and most prominent humanitarian organisations. According to its website, in 2021, the organisation received 97.1 per cent of the funds it raised (€1.94 billion) from more than 7 million individual donors and private institutions (private companies and foundations). The organisation explains that relying on ‘individuals donating small amounts … helps to ensure our operational independence and flexibility to respond at a moment’s notice to the most urgent crises, including those that are under-reported or neglected’. MSF furthermore explains that less than 2 per cent of the total funds raised come from government funding and, since 2016, in opposition to the damaging migration deterrence policies, MSF refuses to take funds from the EU, its member states, and Norway. The SCO also eschews the acceptance of funding from companies and industries that are in conflict with the provision of medical humanitarian work, for example pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; extraction industries (such as oil, natural gas, gold or diamonds); tobacco companies; and arms manufacturers). The organisation thus has strict policies on its funding sources. It is clear in its determination to turn down financial support from sources that contradict the values of MSF. This allows MSF not only to decide where and how to allocate its resources but also to speak out against the policies and actions of governments and companies. In 1999, MSF was awarded the Nobel Prize in recognition of its pioneering humanitarian work around the world.

In this chapter, we discuss the different resources needed to carry out the work of SCOs. These material and non-material resources include people, knowledge (experience and expertise), money to pay salaries, travel costs and accommodation, goods, access to media and meeting space, and much more. We also examine how these resources are mobilised and argue that decision making processes about access to resources are a central part of organising for change. As our introductory vignette discussing MSF’s fundraising strategy demonstrates, some SCOs consciously avoid and refuse support that would constrain their ability to speak out, criticise, or to engage in disruptive action.