The Beacon Collaborative Technology entrepreneur Ewan Kirk discusses why he gives charities ‘permission to fail.’
Alastair Stewart: Connectivity and competence
Alastair Stewart is well known as a veteran TV journalist and presenter. Lesser known, though, is his long-standing involvement with charity. Charities Alastair has supported over the years include Naomi House, the Royal British Legion and animal welfare charity Brooke.
This video interview was filmed in March 2022.
Quick facts
The causes
- Animal welfare
- Military veterans
- Children’s health and education
The giving
- Time and money
- Individual giving
- Being a patron
The journey
Q: how did you first become involved in charitable giving?
I was asked to present a cheque on behalf of my first television employer, at a brilliant school which educates young people with cerebral palsy and other physical disabilities. I fell in love with them and we’ve been supporters and friends ever since.
Q: How do you choose which charities to support?
What drives me is connectivity: does it mean something to me, am I draw into it? And secondly, competence: are they good at what they do? If they pass both those tests I’m with them.
Most of the charities that my wife and I either work with or support, are ones that mean something to us and do it well.
I’ve been a lifelong supporter of the British Legion because my father was a Royal Airforce officer and my mother was in the WRNS. We support a children’s hospice and that means something to me because we’ve got healthy kids.
They do it well and they allow me to keep an eye on them and engage me with what they do. To me that’s the perfect formula.
Q: How hands-on are you with the charities you support?
A: I’m most generous with my time: if you do what I do for a living, people like to have a name on a letterhead (I’m a patron of the Brooke) and they like you to turn up at an events.
I keep closely in touch with the UK team, on how we’re keeping in touch with our donors and how we’re keeping in touch with people in the field who are spending the donors’ money. Because I think that accountability is vital.
There are some people who will happily sign a big cheque – and there’s no downside to that – but the people who actually engage, and want to know what you’re doing with their money and why, I think are the gold dust.
Politics and philanthropy
Q: Does the government have a role in stimulating philanthropy in the UK?
A: One hundred percent ‘yes’. What I would say to them is that there are a lot of people out there who have done very well and are happy to pay taxes but also are prepared to go over and above that if they see things being done more effectively by the voluntary sector. You should find in your heart and your pockets a way to help them. If that means a government department engaging with the voluntary sector, that may be one of big changes that take place over next 20 or 30 years.
Advice for new philanthropists
Select the top three charities which come out of conversations with other friends, and then engage them – interrogate them.
You’ll be getting something done that you want done, by people and with people who you know to be competent, and you will see what happens to the money that you kindly find to give.
How to choose the right charity
Think about:
- What really matters to you, and why you care about it.
- How important competence and efficiency is to you.
- The level you want to be engaged.