Fundraising through poverty porn: Ethical concerns

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.