Graduates are highly sought-after as
marketers, economists and planners in one, says Stephen Hoare
MBA graduate Andy Berry runs a small charity,
Touraid, helping UK children and those from developing countries to meet.
Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian
Last September the charity Touraid brought 20
disadvantaged pupils from Filadelfia New Life School in Kenya to the UK for a
nine-day rugby tour hosted by the Beacon School in Chesham. The trip, sponsored
by PwC, included a visit to the musical The Lion King in London, where pupils
were invited backstage to meet the cast.
The idea of former PE teacher Andy Berry,
Touraid was conceived and launched after he completed a Surrey Business School
MBA five years ago. "This is about people pooling their resources and
bringing children together under one banner. Pupils from the UK and developing
countries meet to learn about each other’s' culture and celebrate their
skills," Berry says.
Each year Touraid raises the money to run
nine or 10 sports tours with airline tickets, passports and visas gifted by
corporate sponsors including Allianz, Schoders, Clifford Chance and Currencies Direct. Berry, 43, who
initially used his contacts in the City to raise sponsorship, says: "The
MBA has helped in so many ways, from corporate finance and governance issues to
research methods, marketing and strategy."
He runs his charity on a shoestring and
employs three full-time staff but many more volunteers. Senior executives
working for charities can earn upwards of £70,000 a year. While not comparable
to salaries paid by business, this is sufficient to compensate people who want
to make a difference.
Recent MBA career changers include Jan
Tomlinson, who joined the south London ex-offender enterprise charity
Tomorrow's People as enterprise director in 2005 straight from Cass Business
School, City University, London. "With charities paid by results, a
successful social enterprise needs to be professionally run," he says.
Sir Gus O'Donnell, former head of the civil
service, has taken a keen interest in how charities prove their worth. He
recently undertook a rigorous review of St Giles Trust, (a charity working with
offenders), through his charity Pro Bono Economics.
"We were the first guinea pig for Pro
Bono Economics," says St Giles's chief executive Rob Owen, an alumnus of
Henley Business School, University of Reading. "Sir Gus helped us make the
case that every pound we receive in funding generates a tenfold benefit. It's
been proved that we cut re-offending rates by up to 40%. That was a key
stepping stone."
In today's competitive climate MBAs are
highly sought after by charities who recognise that operating in a more
business-like way is the key to securing funds and delivering results. Most of
the biggest international NGOs, such as Oxfam, Unesco or Save the Children,
recruit post graduates, while in the UK the third sector has grown from £7bn a
year to £40bn in a generation.
"When a charity appoints an MBA they are
getting an accountant, an economist, a planner and a marketer all rolled into
one," says Paul Palmer, associate dean of ethics at Cass Business School.
Charities unable to afford an MBA often rely on internships and volunteering.
The MBA employment agency and consultancy work specialist MBA & Co reports
it has 400 members who have specifically highlighted charity work as their area
of interest.
Cranfield School of Management matches MBA
volunteers with charities looking for short-term business input. The Cranfield
Trust has a register of around 700 consultants including MBAs, HR managers and
accountants and is part-funded by the philanthropist Nigel Doughty.
"Corporate social responsibility has put volunteering high in people's
minds. We give MBAs the chance to make a real contribution to a charity that is
complementary to their professional lives. People often fit volunteering around
their other commitments," says Amanda Tincknell chief executive of
Cranfield Trust.
A few business schools offer regular
internships with charities to underscore the importance of ethics. The
Fairtrade Foundation, for example, offers work experience to teams of MBAs from
the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School, who learn that business is
not simply about maximising profit. "We offer about three or four
internships to Judge MBA students every year. They help us think up new
business propositions. They are like a fresh and very powerful pair of
eyes," says David Meller, Fairtrade's director of commercial relations.
Besides internships, many MBAs also volunteer
their expertise to charities on a short-term or part-time basis, either as
trustees or business advisers. Business schools are more than willing to tap
their students' philanthropic impulse. "You tend to find MBAs volunteering
their management skills for their preferred charity. Remember, the volunteer workforce
in the NGO sector is four times greater than the paid workforce," says
Cass Business School's professor Palmer.
In fact, many MBAs get their first taste for
the sector through voluntary work. "Fifteen per cent of the intake for our
MSc in voluntary sector management comes from existing MBAs wanting to work for
a charity," Palmer says.
Written by Stephen Hoare
Original Source: The Guardian - Money Please
click here