A quarter of a million people filled the streets of Edinburgh last year to demand that the rich nations of the G8 take action to make poverty history.
Now, some of that cash is buying placards, flyers, badges and banners - and many of the donors are standing up to take a more active role in the increasingly politicized climate surrounding aid and development.
Aid has risen up the national and international policy agendas. The Make Poverty History (MPH) campaign saw Tony Blair ostentatiously sport a white wristband, while new Conservative leader David Cameron has put poverty among his six priority policy areas. Beyond the domestic arenas of Westminster and Whitehall, the summits of the World Trade Organization, or meetings of the G8 or EU ministers have become the focus of an international social justice movement - and are met everywhere by demonstrations.
Richard Miller, director of ActionAid, says charities have been "catching the mood" of a public that is increasingly engaged in social justice issues. At Oxfam, the charity's own figures show the scale of the huge rise in committed activism. The database of people who want to be involved in campaigning has grown from 20,000 names to 220,000 in the past four years.
Benedict Southworth, director of the World Development Movement - sees the big international charities repositioning themselves as more activist bodies. He welcomes this as a "fantastic" move.
Not all international aid agencies are stepping up their political activity, however. Jean-Michel Piedagnel, director of humanitarian aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières UK, says his charity stays clear of political activity in order not to compromise humanitarian access.
[The Guardian]
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