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Doing Good... Says Who? Stories from Volunteers, Nonprofits, Donors, and Those They Want to Help
How to do well when you’re doing good: inspiring and provocative experiences of do gooders
“Compelling stories teach all who seek to improve the lives of the poor that lasting gains can only be achieved by respecting, learning from and working with those in need.”
—Richard Schmalensee, Dean Emeritus, MIT Sloan School of Management
“When wisdom speaks, we would do well to listen. Sixty years of combined on-the-ground experience in a poverty culture gives this book authenticity and authority that are rare in the hyped-up world of contemporary missions.”
—Bob Lupton, urban ministry veteran and author of Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help, And How To Reverse It
“Doing good is often harder than it seems. Required reading for anyone with a compassionate heart and an inquiring mind.”
—Tori Hogan, author of Beyond Good Intentions: A Journey Into the Reality of International Aid
Doing Good. . . Says Who? explores the impact of good intentions from the inside. The authors conducted over 400 interviews and synthesized the lessons learned. The end result is that you are on the ground with volunteers, nonprofits, donors, and—most uniquely—the intended beneficiaries of good will. Through story telling, humor, analysis, practical advice and a discussion guide, five key concepts emerge:
1. Respect and value people
2. Build trust through relationships
3. Do “with” rather than “for”
4. Ensure feedback and accountability
5. Evaluate every step of the way
These principles will help you evaluate your motivations, question assumptions, and turn good intentions into positive outcomes.
Based on over 400 interviews Doing Good . . . Says Who? puts the reader on the ground with volunteers, NGO staff, donors, and…uniquely…with the Guatemalan beneficiaries of their good will as cultures intersect.
By featuring Guatemalan voices, readers can better understand some of the surprising ways their good intentions play out. Through story telling, humor, analysis, and practical advice, we highlight five key principles for guiding good intentions into shared productive outcomes. A discussion guide is included.
“Compelling stories teach all who seek to improve the lives of the poor that lasting gains can only be achieved by respecting, learning from and working with those in need.”
—Richard Schmalensee, Dean Emeritus, MIT Sloan School of Management
“When wisdom speaks, we would do well to listen. Sixty years of combined on-the-ground experience in a poverty culture gives this book authenticity and authority that are rare in the hyped-up world of contemporary missions.”
—Bob Lupton, urban ministry veteran and author of Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help, And How To Reverse It
“Doing good is often harder than it seems. Required reading for anyone with a compassionate heart and an inquiring mind.”
—Tori Hogan, author of Beyond Good Intentions: A Journey Into the Reality of International Aid
Doing Good. . . Says Who? explores the impact of good intentions from the inside. The authors conducted over 400 interviews and synthesized the lessons learned. The end result is that you are on the ground with volunteers, nonprofits, donors, and—most uniquely—the intended beneficiaries of good will. Through story telling, humor, analysis, practical advice and a discussion guide, five key concepts emerge:
1. Respect and value people
2. Build trust through relationships
3. Do “with” rather than “for”
4. Ensure feedback and accountability
5. Evaluate every step of the way
These principles will help you evaluate your motivations, question assumptions, and turn good intentions into positive outcomes.
Based on over 400 interviews Doing Good . . . Says Who? puts the reader on the ground with volunteers, NGO staff, donors, and…uniquely…with the Guatemalan beneficiaries of their good will as cultures intersect.
By featuring Guatemalan voices, readers can better understand some of the surprising ways their good intentions play out. Through story telling, humor, analysis, and practical advice, we highlight five key principles for guiding good intentions into shared productive outcomes. A discussion guide is included.
178 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 2015
About the author
Connie Newton & Fran Early
1 book9 followersConnie Newton and Fran Early have spent their lifetimes committed to service, as board members, donors and everyday volunteers at home and abroad. They’ve worked in intercultural education, community organizing, corporate service, sociology research and human rights, and have spent the last seven years researching this book. Continue the conversation at www.doinggoodsayswho.com
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 23, 2016
Before I begin this review, please know I am aware I am a white woman and because of my education I am placed in the middle-class by U.S. standards (though I wish this would leak to my bank account). My understanding of my reality easily influences what I encounter, as it does for other individuals. Thus, I know my understanding is a privileged understanding. On top of this, I research the nonprofit sector typically in regions where there is or has been violent conflict often placing me in areas described as developing or "third world" (a term I particularly loathe). Therefore, I understand I walk a very narrow line between critique and hypocrisy. I try to walk this line honestly, but I often fail. I can only do my honest best, and I am doing my honest best with the review that follows.
To be honest, I find this book to stay on the surface of colonial mentality and do-gooder condensation thereby upholding the very premise of colonial mentality and do-gooder condensation the authors seek to disrupt. I think the book takes a bold and important step in helping white people prepare for helping outside their home culture. I think with a good facilitator, who can challenge readers' understanding of what is read and ask the uncomfortable questions to unearth hidden bias, the book could be an adequate tool. However, I think reading it on one's own may, like the book itself, only scratch the surface of challenging and pursuing change in doing good. And, I agree with the authors that challenging and pursuing change needs to take place. But, let me explain my criticism eliciting lack of depth (which will come off as a screed - though I am not certain I apologize for my tone).
To begin, both authors are North American and white and want to bring forward the voices of Guatemalans. That intention of bringing forward voice in and of itself is condescending and insulting. In all the years these women have worked in development, have they not encountered any native or indigenous individual - in the case of this book, Guatemalans - with whom they could collaborate, and recognize with co-authorship, to produce a book challenging do-gooder mentality? Guatemalans have voices and they use them. You do not have bring forward any voice; you have to simply extend the invitation to the "other" to participate and collaborate. So, where are the "other's" voices in this book? Despite the authors' best intentions, the voices I mostly hear underneath the scenarios are white voices. Another question: how about a Guatemalan review in the praise section at the front of the book? Nope, all reviews are white as are nearly all authors in the bibliography, raising yet another question: are there no Guatemalan development experts from which the authors could draw references? I doubt the answer is there are (indeed) none because I have been researching (and have co-authored a journal article with) native/indigenous Guatemalan nonprofit leaders. And, while we are on this white subject, it should be apparent to the authors that there is an over-representation of white people in international volunteerism and this is a reality that should be questioned, not nurtured. I would be fascinated to hear the experiences and reflections of a Native American volunteer in the Quiché region of Guatemala. Do such volunteers exist? If not, why not? If yes, where are their voices?
All of the above screed is to bring into question how well do the authors practice the tenets they preach: (1) respect and value the people; (2) build trust through relationships; (3) do "with" rather than "for"; (4) ensure feedback and accountability; and (5) evaluate every step of the way. I feel they fall very short of their tenets and should be called out strongly; therefore, I conclude no apologies for my tone in this review will be forthcoming.
To be honest, I find this book to stay on the surface of colonial mentality and do-gooder condensation thereby upholding the very premise of colonial mentality and do-gooder condensation the authors seek to disrupt. I think the book takes a bold and important step in helping white people prepare for helping outside their home culture. I think with a good facilitator, who can challenge readers' understanding of what is read and ask the uncomfortable questions to unearth hidden bias, the book could be an adequate tool. However, I think reading it on one's own may, like the book itself, only scratch the surface of challenging and pursuing change in doing good. And, I agree with the authors that challenging and pursuing change needs to take place. But, let me explain my criticism eliciting lack of depth (which will come off as a screed - though I am not certain I apologize for my tone).
To begin, both authors are North American and white and want to bring forward the voices of Guatemalans. That intention of bringing forward voice in and of itself is condescending and insulting. In all the years these women have worked in development, have they not encountered any native or indigenous individual - in the case of this book, Guatemalans - with whom they could collaborate, and recognize with co-authorship, to produce a book challenging do-gooder mentality? Guatemalans have voices and they use them. You do not have bring forward any voice; you have to simply extend the invitation to the "other" to participate and collaborate. So, where are the "other's" voices in this book? Despite the authors' best intentions, the voices I mostly hear underneath the scenarios are white voices. Another question: how about a Guatemalan review in the praise section at the front of the book? Nope, all reviews are white as are nearly all authors in the bibliography, raising yet another question: are there no Guatemalan development experts from which the authors could draw references? I doubt the answer is there are (indeed) none because I have been researching (and have co-authored a journal article with) native/indigenous Guatemalan nonprofit leaders. And, while we are on this white subject, it should be apparent to the authors that there is an over-representation of white people in international volunteerism and this is a reality that should be questioned, not nurtured. I would be fascinated to hear the experiences and reflections of a Native American volunteer in the Quiché region of Guatemala. Do such volunteers exist? If not, why not? If yes, where are their voices?
All of the above screed is to bring into question how well do the authors practice the tenets they preach: (1) respect and value the people; (2) build trust through relationships; (3) do "with" rather than "for"; (4) ensure feedback and accountability; and (5) evaluate every step of the way. I feel they fall very short of their tenets and should be called out strongly; therefore, I conclude no apologies for my tone in this review will be forthcoming.
November 12, 2024
lots of food for thought as I embark upon my two years of service!
December 20, 2015
I was blessed to meet the authors and hear them speak on this book before I ever read it as they are friends of dear friends of mine (Sandy & Helen Havens). It wasn't just the personal connection that made me want to read the book, either. Ms. Newton and Ms. Early are experienced nonprofit workers and volunteers, both of whom have spent extensive time with NGOs in Guatemala. This book is the distillation of those years of experience and is an invaluable manual for anyone who feels called to work, long or short-term, on behalf of "the least of these" and wants to avoid some of the most common pitfalls.
The authors have used their experience and research to weave five basic lessons in ministry into compelling stories and then detail both the lessons and their methodology. Their focus is on the ministry of accompaniment, an approach to work with populations in crisis that is gaining more and more adherents in the world of social service. Any non-profit executive who is leading such an organization, any pastor or minister who utilizes volunteers in feeding, housing, or "rescue," any youth leader taking charges on a "mission trip" needs to read this book and give it to his or her volunteers to read as well.
I did not give this book five stars only because it can be so hard to read of well-meaning First Worlders making the same mistakes over and over again when confronted with the realities of "the rest" (as opposed to "the West") but I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
The authors have used their experience and research to weave five basic lessons in ministry into compelling stories and then detail both the lessons and their methodology. Their focus is on the ministry of accompaniment, an approach to work with populations in crisis that is gaining more and more adherents in the world of social service. Any non-profit executive who is leading such an organization, any pastor or minister who utilizes volunteers in feeding, housing, or "rescue," any youth leader taking charges on a "mission trip" needs to read this book and give it to his or her volunteers to read as well.
I did not give this book five stars only because it can be so hard to read of well-meaning First Worlders making the same mistakes over and over again when confronted with the realities of "the rest" (as opposed to "the West") but I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
May 15, 2024
I found this book to be invaluable and wish I'd had read it much earlier in life so that I could have truly done good while respecting the people I wanted to help.
Each story told by the authors makes the people and the projects come alive. Connie and Fran tell it like it is...very authentically.
Enjoyable reading with valuable lessons for anyone, even those who are not going overseas as missionaries or as part of an NGO.
Each story told by the authors makes the people and the projects come alive. Connie and Fran tell it like it is...very authentically.
Enjoyable reading with valuable lessons for anyone, even those who are not going overseas as missionaries or as part of an NGO.
February 3, 2021
Throughout the book it is apparent that the authors chose to write this as a manifesto of what they have learned throughout their experiences working with volunteers and NGOs in Guatemala. The book reads very accessibly and comes across as genuine, which is more valuable than polish in a topic such as this. It's anecdotes make the five core pillars of their message easily rememberable.
March 27, 2023
Definitely written for a Western (primarily US) audience, this book illustrates some of the common pitfalls of actions based on good intentions, as well as shifts in attitude and action to counter those pitfalls. I'd highly recommend this for those looking to get into charity work.
June 2, 2017
Definitely the book to read if you are thinking of volunteering to "do good" in a developing country. The stories here were all shared by volunteers in Guatemala.
March 17, 2016
This is a fantastic book - one that I'd love for all my board members to read! It does such a good job of describing potential unintended consequences of development work and also gives constructive advice about what to do, not just what not to do. Working with people not for them, meeting people with respect and humility, and listening to locals who know the context, culture, politics, and expectations, can all lead to programs that actually help, while also keeping the dignity and humanity of everyone intact.
November 7, 2016
My wife and I both read this book, as we are and have been involved on Boards of Directors and as volunteers at various non-profits in our community. Of particular interest to me was the strong articulation of the need to always ask and listen for the real needs and participation of those to be "served" by your efforts. "Doing Good" consistently delivers that message and I need to be consistently reminded. An excellent book by two writers with valuable years in the trenches.
October 14, 2015
I was very impressed with the research backing up the content of this book. The discussion questions are phenomenal for in class as well as for content experts to have an open dialogue. I love books that make me think - and then think again. Thanks so much! A good read!
December 31, 2015
Great book
May 19, 2016
I always enjoy books that encourage me to think a bit differently about a topic. This book will certainly spark new thoughts in readers about volunteering.
December 23, 2016
A must read for a person who gives money and/or time locally and globally.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews