Abstract:
Faith-based organisations (FBOs) constitute a significant part of the development
industry, yet our knowledge of FBOs and the ways in which they operate, often within
secular societies, is limited. This research focuses on one particular aspect of FBOs in
New Zealand: that is how FBOs perceive their faith impacts on their donor relationships.
The research is undertaken within the context of the call for more empirical studies on
FBOs in order to understand what types of FBOs exist, what contexts they appear in, and
how they approach development. To this end, I conducted 17 semi-structured interviews
with FBOs based in New Zealand over September-October 2010 and critically analysed
these interviews for what they revealed about FBOs-donor relationships. The findings of
this research are that FBOs are compelled to undertake development work as a religious
and moral duty, and that their faith identity sometimes translates into a unique form of
development assistance. FBOs have advantages over secular organisations in their ability
to mobilise resources from within their faith networks, particularly the ability to secure
low cost labour. These networks can be viewed as part of a spiritual economy for FBOs.
Some FBOs position their organisations to receive funding from both their spiritual
economies and mainstream secular sources. These organisations have established
separate development arms within their organisation devoid of any religious reference or
content, yet retain a religious arm to promote their faith. Other organisations successfully
secure secular donor funding by clearly demonstrating how their faith is incorporated
within their development work. The majority of FBOs operate outside the mainstream
development industry in New Zealand and are either self-funding or funded through their
spiritual economies. My major finding is that FBOs’ donors are not homogeneous
groups; they hold a divergence of expectations which change the way FBOs position their
development work in relation to their faith.
