‘The biggest charity you’ve never heard of’: Institutional logics of charity and the state in public fundraising in Scotland’s NHS

Stewart, E. and Dodworth, K. (2023) ‘The biggest charity you’ve never heard of’: Institutional logics of charity and the state in public fundraising in Scotland’s NHS. Journal of Social Policy, 52(2), pp. 215-236. (doi: 10.1017/S0047279421000520)

Abstract

The boundaries between state and charitable activities within the NHS are set out in regulations but are also enacted, blurred, and contested through local practices. This article reports research on NHS Charities– charitable funds set up within NHS organizations to enhance statutory provision – in Scotland. We analysed financial accounts and conducted qualitative interviews with staff in 12 of the 14 NHS Charities in Scotland, where they are generally known as endowments. Our findings suggest that Scotland’s endowments are relatively wealthy in charitable terms, but that this wealth is unevenly distributed when population size and socio-economic deprivation are considered. We also identify two diverging organisational approaches to decisions, including those about appropriate and inappropriate fundraising. We argue that these approaches cohere with contrasting ‘state’ and ‘charitable’ institutional logics, which in turn imply different attitudes to potential inequalities, and to relationships with local publics.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research was funded by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland (grant number RIG007863) and writing-up was in part supported by the Wellcome Trust (grant number 219901/C/19/Z).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Stewart, Professor Ellen
• Authors: Stewart, E., and Dodworth, K.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
• Journal Name: Journal of Social Policy
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 0047-2794
• ISSN (Online): 1469-7823
• Published Online: 27 July 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright: © The Author(s) 2021
• First Published: First published in Journal of Social Policy 52(2): 215-236
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence