AUSTRALIAN CHARITIES 2000

Givewell's survey of Australian Charities for the year ending 2000 has revealed that some important shifts are taking place in the charitable sector in Australia.

Over 21 pages of commentary, tables and graphs, the report looks at the following issues: -

1. To what extent do government policies and initiatives affect government funding to charities?
2. How have the recent upheavals in corporate Australia affected fundraising income?
3. Are charities experiencing a greater level of 'competition' for the public dollar, and what strategies are they developing to deal with this?
4. What other forms of income are charities receiving, and how do these relate to those types of income traditionally received by charities?
5. What percentage of charities, and which kinds, are able to retain a surplus?
6. What kinds of investment strategies are charities utilising?

Givewell publishes this survey as part of its ongoing analysis of the financial statements of Australian-based charities. It is based on the year 2000 financial statements of 498 fundraising organisations with a combined total income of nearly $6 billion. The survey covers a large range of organisations and causes from across Australia, and includes most major charities as well as a representative sample of smaller organisations.

The analysis confirms the trend of improved funding that Givewell has tracked for the previous three years, but shows a slowing in the rate of increase, with increases in every major component of income reverting to levels closer to those seen in 1998.

Government funding (federal, state and local) increased by the highest percentage in 2000. Organisations that fared particularly well in government funding were those involved in the outsourcing of government programs such as Job Network and family support. In contrast, sectors which have previously been well-resourced, such as Aged Care, Health Promotion, Medical Research and Medical Services received much lower rates of increase that in previous years. Also in contrast to last year's findings were increases to smaller organisations, particularly those receiving less than $1m in government funding. However this is compatible with another of our findings, that organisations working in regional areas received much higher increases in government funding than those working in capital cities. This suggests that government rhetoric regarding support to localised and regional services is being backed up by action.

The Youth theme was again a major winner for fundraising in 2000, with children's charities in all sectors experiencing above average rises in fundraising income. Conservation and Environment, issues considered to be of particular importance to young people, also fared very well.

In addition, the report addresses some of the topics raised in last years report.

The information contained in the report represents the most up-to-date statistics from our database, providing an invaluable snapshot of the state of the charitable sector in Australia which is ideal for anyone developing benchmarks, constructing a budget or strategic plan or playing an active role with government and other key influencers.

The full Survey is available to subscribers to the Givewell Research Centre.

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