Charity Detox: What Charity Would Look Like If We Cared About Results

by Robert D. Lupton

Overview

The veteran urban activist and author of the revolutionary Toxic Charity returns with a headline-making book that offers proven, results-oriented ideas for transforming our system of giving.

In Toxic Charity, Robert D. Lupton revealed the truth about modern charity programs meant to help the poor and disenfranchised. While charity makes donors feel better, he argued, it often hurts those it seeks to help. At the forefront of this burgeoning yet ineffective compassion industry are American churches, which spend billions on dependency-producing programs, including food pantries. But what would charity look like if we, instead, measured it by its ability to alleviate poverty and needs?

That is the question at the heart of Charity Detox. Drawing on his many decades of experience, Lupton outlines how to structure programs that actually improve the quality of life of the poor and disenfranchised. He introduces many strategies that are revolutionizing what we do with our charity dollars, and offers numerous examples of organizations that have successfully adopted these groundbreaking new models. Only by redirecting our strategies and becoming committed to results, he argues, can charity enterprises truly become as transformative as our ideals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062307286
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	07/05/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

ROBERT D. LUPTON is founder and president of FCS (Focused Community Strategies) Urban Ministries and author of Toxic Charity;  Theirs Is the Kingdom; Return Flight; Renewing the City; Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life; and the widely circulated “Urban Perspectives” newsletter. He has a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Georgia.

To learn more, visit www.fcsministries.org.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Bad News About Good Works 1

Chapter 2 Partnering with Business 25

Chapter 3 Social Entrepreneurs 45

Chapter 4 Return on Investment 67

Chapter 5 Meeting Market Demands 89

Chapter 6 Reciprocal Exchange: Food 109

Chapter 7 The Three Rs of Community Development 129

Chapter 8 Gentrification with Justice: Education and Economic Development 153

Chapter 9 For-Profit Missions: International Development 169

Conclusion 185

About the Author 193

About FCS Urban Ministries 195

Editorial Reviews

Lupton is one of the sharpest, freshest, sassiest community developers out there. He is helping us all become wiser so that we don’t settle for charity when we could have justice.” — Shane Claiborne, author of Irresistible Revolution

“When Bob Lupton speaks of the inner city, the rest of us ought to sit up and take notice... [His work is] deeply disturbing—in the best sense of the word.” — Philip Yancey, author of What Good Is God?

“Throughout reading Charity Detox the lyrics “How can it be wrong when it feels so right?” were buzzing in my head. That is the tension Lupton describes so deftly with practical illustrations of how we can change the dependency creating relationships formed by well-intentioned servers.” — Fred Smith, The Gathering

“His enthusiasm for this method is evident throughout the text and brings hope to readers that if more organizations adopted these practices, there really could be a better future ahead for all of us, not just the poor.” — Kirkus Reviews

“In Toxic Charity, Bob identified a weakness with charity as a tool for poverty reduction. In Charity Detox, Bob addresses the more complicated question of what might work better. Bob reaches the conclusion that wealth creation must replace wealth redistribution if poverty reduction is the goal.” — John Coors, Former CEO of CoorsTek

“[Charity] efforts, while necessary in a crisis, do little to improve people’s socioeconomic status. Lupton uses this well-worn critique of churches’ charitable activities as a springboard for positive action… all readers will find in this book a useful way to reexamine outreach programs.” — James Wetherbee, Wingate Univ. Libs., NC

“Lupton uses [his] critique of churches’ charitable activities as a springboard for positive action…the author advocates that churches need to be more involved in communities by living and investing in them… all readers will find in this book a useful way to reexamine outreach programs.” — Library Journal

“Lupton continues his mission to transform the way charities operate. Most efforts to help relieve poverty are ineffective, he says...The road to charity hell has been paved with good intentions, but Lupton provides an inspiring roadmap for an alternate route.” — Spirituality and Health magazine

“Lupton weighs the future of effective efforts to reduce poverty . . . confronting popular practices and assumptions. . . . Inspiring.” — U.S. Catholic

“Lupton offers a roadmap for turning short-lived good intentions into lasting transformation [and shares] his vision for a new way of doing missions.” — Christianity Today

From the Publisher

Lupton offers a roadmap for turning short-lived good intentions into lasting transformation [and shares] his vision for a new way of doing missions.

Christianity Today

Lupton is one of the sharpest, freshest, sassiest community developers out there. He is helping us all become wiser so that we don’t settle for charity when we could have justice.

Shane Claiborne

Lupton weighs the future of effective efforts to reduce poverty . . . confronting popular practices and assumptions. . . . Inspiring.

U.S. Catholic

[Charity] efforts, while necessary in a crisis, do little to improve people’s socioeconomic status. Lupton uses this well-worn critique of churches’ charitable activities as a springboard for positive action… all readers will find in this book a useful way to reexamine outreach programs.

James Wetherbee

When Bob Lupton speaks of the inner city, the rest of us ought to sit up and take notice... [His work is] deeply disturbing—in the best sense of the word.

Philip Yancey

In Toxic Charity, Bob identified a weakness with charity as a tool for poverty reduction. In Charity Detox, Bob addresses the more complicated question of what might work better. Bob reaches the conclusion that wealth creation must replace wealth redistribution if poverty reduction is the goal.

John Coors

Throughout reading Charity Detox the lyrics “How can it be wrong when it feels so right?” were buzzing in my head. That is the tension Lupton describes so deftly with practical illustrations of how we can change the dependency creating relationships formed by well-intentioned servers.

Fred Smith

Lupton continues his mission to transform the way charities operate. Most efforts to help relieve poverty are ineffective, he says...The road to charity hell has been paved with good intentions, but Lupton provides an inspiring roadmap for an alternate route.

Spirituality and Health magazine

05/01/2015
Charity has a central place in many religions; churches contribute to food banks, assist at homeless shelters, and organize mission trips to various regions. Yet Lupton (Toxic Charity) has observed, in his 40 years as a community organizer, that such efforts, while necessary in a crisis, do little to improve people's socioeconomic status. Lupton uses this well-worn critique of churches' charitable activities as a springboard for positive action. He argues that mission trips in which goods are simply distributed lead to dependence by local residents and may depress the community's ability to generate wealth. Lest one see this as simply social entrepreneurship for troubled regions, the author advocates that churches need to be more involved in communities by living and investing in them—ideas that have more in common with Sojourners than the National Review. VERDICT While Lupton aims to challenge his own evangelical community, all readers will find in this book a useful way to reexamine outreach programs. Yet one has to wonder whether the problem is that churches have always operated in response to crises, and that the decline of the welfare state in the United States simply shifted the burden on institutions that were not designed to fight poverty in the first place.—James Wetherbee, Wingate Univ. Libs., NC

Library Journal

2015-04-01
New ideas and approaches toward charity. Charity is often carried out with a compassionate intent and the belief it will lift people out of poverty. Yet, after decades of working with the poor, charities, and ministries, Lupton (Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help, and How to Reverse It, 2012 etc.) writes, "I have witnessed firsthand how food, clothing, and money given to assist those in need more often than not produce unhealthy dependency and end up harming those the donation was intended to help." His ideas regarding charity turn the concept upside down, as he suggests that more should be expected of the poor so that they wind up helping themselves rather than waiting impatiently for the next handout. In times of extreme crisis—e.g., emergency situations such as earthquakes or tsunamis, Lupton readily agrees that aid is necessary and should arrive rapidly. However, once the initial crisis has passed, the drive should be to rebuild self-esteem by asking those in need to contribute to their own advancement. Using numerous examples, particularly of Christian ministries, Lupton shows how many charity-based organizations have taken his ideas and restructured their methods so that people learn to care for themselves. He bases his ideas on the solid belief that to end poverty, one must be able to work: "the most effective method of poverty alleviation is economic development. Jobs…are the key." Lupton shows how this can be accomplished in a variety of scenarios. His enthusiasm for this method is evident throughout the text and brings hope to readers that if more organizations adopted these practices, there really could be a better future ahead for all of us, not just the poor. Radical new methods that could take charity to a new, more effective level.

Kirkus Reviews