Jargon

[quote]Laugh you may, but the concept of 'civil society' is actually very useful and much bigger than 'non-profit organisations' and charities.
[/quote]

To a degree but the problem is that the two words chosen: 'civil' and 'society' have so many meanings that without the context provided by the fact that it's (for example) NCVO talking about it it could mean any number of things.

The concept is fine. However, I look forward to some more words and phrases being used to define it some time in the next six months.

Laugh you may, but the concept of 'civil society' is actually very useful and much bigger than 'non-profit organisations' and charities.

Most of us are so used to living in a place with reasonably functional civil society that thinking about it is almost like asking a fish about water.

Having worked and traveled in parts of the world where the fabric of 'civil society' has frayed or broken, I've something to compare with.

Jargon has two faces -- one is a precise terminology that allows people to communicate quickly about complex topics. The other is the bombast that allows management consultants and politicans to either state or avoid stating the obvious.

So grantwriters are obligated define the jargon they use to make sure they are in the first category. Otherwise Sandre may use the 'circular file.'

That's office jargon for the bin.

*sniggering*

QED (thanks Jon) - although a sample of well, two of us, is not exactly representative.

Uncivil society is probably more like it when I think about the 'start point' of some of the young people our funded organisations work with.

As so many VSOs are social enterprises or advice bureaux or 'other' rather than charities, I accept that a new catch-all is needed. Not-for-profit works for me and is actually fewer syllables even if it's more words.

Yes, it probably reminds them that they watched 'Cranford' on TV last night, or that there's a new Jane Austen serial on soon.

[quote]
Civil society is, basically, any organisation that is not state-backed or commercial. Er, that makes it not-for-profit sector, right? In which case WHY NOT SAY SO.[/quote]

Is it? I don't think I knew that. I thought that was the third, voluntary, charity or not-for-profit sector.

I'm sure if I read 'civil society' out of (NCVO) context I would assume it was about people being nice to each other.

I have to say that I tend to use the word "charity" in terms of the sector, especially if I'm aware there's a broader, public audience likely to view/hear it. While I'm aware that "charity" has a strict legal sense so technically excludes campaigning organisations, social enterprises, community organisations and so on, it's a term that means something to many people and more importantly, I believe, many donors. I would hope that it rises about some of the 'jargon' terms for the sector.

But I've seen this discussion grow like topsy on other fora so I'm slightly wary of continuing it here. Maybe that jargon buster for fundraising (in its broadest sense) is indeed a good idea, especially if people can comment and add their own views.

[quote]NCVO has just put its name behind (or rather, above) 'civil society' in that it has this month changed its strapline to "giving voice and support to civil society", as UK Fundraising reported:[/quote]
Agh. Still want to know "why not" not-for-profit sector - it's jargon. What hope do we have that more than half the general public will know exactly what is meant by 'civil society' rather than a vague idea that it's the law-abiding (civil = polite) or anyone not in the armed forces or some other miscomprehension?

Shame that the NCVO link doesn't come up in the first two pages on searching google with "voluntary sector jargon buster" (or "jargon buster voluntary sector" in fact). Especially as most people search on only one or two words in Google.

NCVO has just put its name behind (or rather, above) 'civil society' in that it has this month changed its strapline to "giving voice and support to civil society", as UK Fundraising reported:

NCVO changes its strapline
[url]http://www.fundraising.co.uk/news/8686/[/url]
25 Nov 2007

Which buzzwords annoy me? With an interest in fundraising/marketing and new media, I can think of quite a few.

[quote]@Howard: I know there's lots of jargon-busters out there - but very few are charity-specific, most seem to be aimed at statutory authorities. Room for one perhaps?[/quote]

Yes, those that I'm aware of are:

NCVO's Jargon Buster
"a simple glossary of phrases commonly used in the context of voluntary sector funding and social enterprise".

[url]http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/sfp/?id=3622&terms=legally[/url]

Ladder4learning's Jargon-busting Wiki:

[url]http://vcsjargonbuster.wikispaces.com/[/url]

While I do try to avoid duplication, Sandre might well have a good idea there. And timely, since UK Fundraising is about to get a little more interactive. I'll certainly think about adding a glossary or jargon section to focus on fundraising and funding which will be open for UK Fundraising's audience to comment on and add to.