Molly Anders

The success of any charity appeal depends on its ability to tap into a person’s belief in their own impact. But where does that belief come from? Can external influences increase or decrease people’s sense that they can make a difference to global poverty, for example? And when it comes to the general public, specifically in the UK, where has that belief in our impact gone, and can it be brought back?

The success of any charity appeal depends on its ability to tap into a person’s belief in their own impact. But where does that belief come from? Can external influences increase or decrease people’s sense that they can make a difference to global poverty, for example? And when it comes to the general public, specifically in the UK, where has that belief in our impact gone, and can it be brought back?

A boardroom. Photo by: Jo Johnston / CC0 LONDON — Marcia Ashong was experiencing an entrepreneur’s nightmare; she had a great idea for a startup, but couldn’t get her would-be business partner on the phone. “I couldn’t reach her … Every time I said we need to meet, she’d say, ‘yes maybe in a week, maybe in a month,’” said Ashong, a former lawyer in the oil and gas industry in East Africa.