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Charity man with a Plan
28 February 2010
David Dalton likes to equate his job with Plan Ireland to that of running a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME). As chief executive of the Dublin charity, Dalton effectively oversees a business with annual revenues of €5.6 million, 12 staff and sizable overseas operations.
However, unlike conventional businesses, Dalton has to convince people to hand over money without offering any tangible product in return.
Instead, the Limerick native has to rely on goodwill and generosity to ensure the charity has enough financial muscle to fund activities.
‘‘It is no different than any other SME," he said. ‘‘You have to make a case for people to donate and give the charity money. Fortunately, things have held up pretty well for us despite the economic downturn."
The charity’s fortunes received a major boost earlier this month, when the European Union awarded it two grants to help fund food security projects in Ghana and Guinea. In total, the EU Food Facility is handing over €4.6 million to the charity over the next 22 months for the projects.
According to Dalton, much of the money will be used in Ghana, where Plan Ireland will work with local communities to encourage the cultivation of a soya bean industry. The charity will also help establish a microfinance scheme to give villagers access to working capital to develop the soya business.
In Guinea, the charity will aid the fishing industry, and will also establish a similar loan and savings schemes.
Much of the money will be used to buy modern boats and safety equipment.
‘‘The whole point of the scheme is to have long-term security of food, to ensure the area is generating enough food for itself for the foreseeable future," said Dalton.
The EU support could not have come at a better time. Funding from Irish Aid, the body overseeing aid money, had fallen by 25 per cent over the past two years as a result of government cut-backs to Ireland’s overseas aid budget.
In addition, said Dalton, it was a ‘‘constant battle’’ to keep donations coming in from companies and private individuals, especially with the country in a deep recession.
Plan Ireland receives most of its donations from its Sponsor A Chi ld programme, whereby people pay a specific sum to sponsor a child in Africa. More than 40,000 Irish people sponsor a child through different charities. Of those, 8,500 do it through Plan Ireland.
‘‘Irish people like sponsoring children. It is a very personal thing. They receive letters from the child, and they know exactly where their money is going. The funds are all allocated to projects in that area," Dalton said.
He said the charity’s intention was to retain its donors over the coming years, but he admitted it was unlikely that the number would increase dramatically in a downturn.
In an effort to keep donors, he said, the charity was organising a photographic exhibition entitled ‘Because I Am A Girl’ at 11 locations throughout the country.
The charity has also linked up with industry. It has teamed up with Irish coffee company Java Republic, which is helping to fund a water project in a coffeegrowing region in west Africa. It is also working with RPS, the engineering consultancy, in relation to a water programme.
‘‘I think this will be a big growth area in the future. Companies now realise the importance of giving something back and being sustainable," Dalton said.
Plan Ireland is part of Plan International, a global charity that works in 48 countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas. The charity set up an Irish office in 2003, to cater for its growing number of Irish donors. The Irish office concentrates its resources on west Africa.
Dalton joined the charity in July 2007, having worked in Ethiopia and Dublin for Irish aid agency Goal. Before that, he worked as marketing manager for Forte Hotels, including a stint in charge of marketing with the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin.
‘‘I think you have to apply most of the same principles to running a business as running a charity. It is about managing people, managing projects and watching the money. But there is just something about the charity sector that gives me a real kick," he said.
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