Beware the Voluntary Organisation

Some voluntary organisations are as bad as amateur dramatic societies for petty nastiness. I should know. A "temporary" position (unpaid) which I took as a favour for a friend lasted ten years before I finally escaped.

Mostly at her own expense, this lone woman had done community work for several years. Seeking to give her work a proper standing, she decided to gather together a committee to help run things, gather funds, establish wider credibility. I agreed to be secretary for a while. Other people were invited to join because their professional, social or political standing seemed likely to benefit the organisation.

For years this governing body held soporific meetings at which nothing of importance was decided once they had agreed on a name for the organisation. If we were lucky, about a third of the members would attend meetings - but never the same third. Swimming through treacle would have been easier. As for funding...well, there was some but nowhere near as much as was needed. At the tiniest suggestion that committee members might care to help set up an event to raise cash, there was a hurried consultation of diaries and myriad apologies that "prior commitments do not permit blah blah."

The founder (foundress?) used her personal contacts to extend the work to a developing country, where it was enthusiastically taken up by the medical and political establishment. Press and TV in Britain lauded her efforts. The governing body in Britain more than once insisted on having their praise and gratitude recorded in the minutes (while I was still taking them).

Now it's all in the past. She has been ousted by the committee. Why? I cannot be sure, but have been told that this kind of thing is commonplace in voluntary organisations.

If you've been in or know of a similar situation, please post a comment.