Fair exchange

One of the sessions at Charityfair 97, a three-day event staged by the voluntary sector in the week of Apr. 14, 1997, will be a debate on whether the voluntary sector in Britain is in crisis. Warnings of donor disquiet, compassion fatigue and charities that have 'lost their way' regularly appear in the media, yet overall voluntary sector income rose by 20% between 1991 and 1994/95. However it can be argued that charities have lost their independence, effectively becoming sub-contractors to the welfare system, with the Government setting the agenda of the voluntary sector.