philanthropyOz Blog

Giving in the Recession: UK report

The UK-based Institute for Philanthropy has released a report entitled ‘Giving in the Recession’ which details ways in which donors can fund strategically during the Global Financial Crisis and the UK recession. The report includes six case studies on how a range of philanthropic individuals and organisations are responding to the economic crisis through strategies including collaborative funding, spending down, social investment, and leadership roles.

The report is available for download from: the Institute for Philanthropy website.

Approvals of new PPFs down in June.

The Assistant Treasurer Senator Nick Sherry has announced the approval of 36 new Prescribed Private Funds (PPFs) in June. While this figure is substantially down on the 147 announced at the same time last year, it is understood the discrepancy was due in part to the prevailing uncertainty around the changes to PPFs. The publication of the new Guidelines for Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs, replacing PPFs), to come into force on October 1 2009, has provided clarification and reaffirmed confidence in the Government’s support for philanthropy. Given this, and the improved economic outlook, we can expect to see an increase in number of PAFs set up this financial year.

Download the Assistant Treasurer’s press release.
Read more about the Guidelines for Private Ancillary Funds.

Australian Report on Managing in a Downturn released

PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Fundraising Institute Australia and the Centre for Social Impact have just released ‘Managing in a Downturn’, the report of a survey into the impact of the global financial crisis on Australian not-for-profit organisations. The survey was conducted in April and May 2009 and draws upon a similar survey conducted in the UK last year (reported previously). It focuses on the impact of the downturn in the past six months and the anticipated future impact over the next year.

Among the highlighted findings are that three-fifths of survey respondents reported a decrease in their income over the past six months, and almost one third had experienced a drop of more than 10%. Two-thirds of respondents expected a further drop over the next year. In response to their deteriorating economic expectations, a third of respondents had already implemented some cost reductions and more expect to do so in future. Smaller organisations are suffering more than larger ones, which tend to have larger cash reserves.

The full report is available for download from the Centre for Social Impact website.

Foundation giving trends in USA; assets down but giving up

New research released by the US-based Foundation Center shows that while American foundations’ assets decreased by an estimated 21.9% between 2007 and 2008, overall foundation giving has increased by an estimated 2.8%.

However, inflation-adjusted foundation giving in the US is expected to decline in 2009 due to the continuing effects of the global financial crisis. The Foundation Center believes that the effects on gtiving prompted by this decline in assets may be mitigated by current measures being taken by some foundations, including temporary increases in payout rates to combat the crisis.

Download the highlights paper from the Foundation Center’s website: http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/research/pdf/fy2009_highlights.pdf.

AbaF releases Arts Sponsorship Outlook Survey 2009

The Australia Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) has released the results of its Arts Sponsorship Outlook Survey 2009. The survey was conducted in April 2009 of major Australian businesses actively involved in supporting the arts, and was aimed at discovering how the global financial crisis (GFC) has affected arts sponsorships, businesses’ level of satisfaction with existing arts sponsorships, and major factors that drive their arts relationships.

The survey found that more than two-thirds of businesses are committed to sustaining their arts partnerships over the long term, although over half of them expect to decrease their arts sponsorship over the next 12 months. The majority of businesses are satisfied with their arts partnerships, particularly with their delivery of social goals, brand affinity and communication.

Download the full report from AbaF’s website in PDF format.

Bruce Bonyhady’s AGM speech now available

Bruce Bonyhady’s speech from Philanthropy Australia’s 2009 AGM on 30 April is available - click here to download the PDF.

** Update - Our apologies, the link was incorrect at the time of being published, but is now working.

Managing in a Downturn Survey

PricewaterhouseCoopers is running a survey in partnership with the Fundraising Institute of Australia and the Centre for Social Impact to assess the effect of the economic downturn on Australian charities and nonprofit organisations. It is the only comprehensive research in Australia that will capture how charities and nonprofit organisations are coping with the economic downturn.

A similar survey(PDF link) was run in the UK in November 2008 and this has been useful in informing the decisions policy makers and charities must make to ensure their organisation and nonprofit sector is buffered from the economic downturn if income streams dry up and the demand for services rises. In Australia, early indications are that charities are anticipating a drop in their donations and have begun to reduce the number of services offered.

The survey will close on Monday 11 May 2009. Click here for the survey or access via: https://secure2.au.pwc.com/surveynet/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=7lKJnp2

The survey has already been distributed on a number of websites and through the FIA. If your organisation has already completed the survey please ignore this post. If not, we would be very grateful if you could take the time to complete the survey before the deadline. The findings of the survey will only be as good as the quality and depth of the input so we are dependent on the sector’s cooperation to generate meaningful results.

We encourage all our not-for-profit readers in Australia to contribute to this survey and help the gathering of some good Australian data on the effects of the current crisis!

Report on Philanthropy New Zealand conference

I was fortunate to have the chance to attend Philanthropy New Zealand’s conference “Passion, Pragmatism, Possibilities” in Wellington last week, and found many of the presentations very thought-provoking. The global financial crisis was, of course, a primary topic with the first morning’s sessions entirely devoted to aspects of philanthropy in difficult times.

Each opening plenary speaker took a slightly different perspective but some themes and clear messages were common to all, particularly the need for foundations to have courage and commitment and to stand up and show that they spend their money well.

Continue reading Report on Philanthropy New Zealand conference…

Doing More with Less: Making Progress in a Time of Economic Downturn

Swinburne University’s Asia-Pacific Centre for Philanthropy and Social Investment & DVA Navion are holding a workshop in Melbourne on 28 April.

Doing More with Less: Making Progress in a Time of Economic Downturn, organised in association with the City of Boroondara and the Centre for Social Impact will feature guest speakers:
• Professor Peter Shergold (Chief Executive, Centre for Social Impact);
• John McLeod (Director of Philanthropy, Goldman Sachs JBWere);
• Cath Smith (Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Council of Social Services);
• Vanessa Meachen (Research and Training Manager, Philanthropy Australia).

Keynote presentations and interactive panel discussions will equip not-for-profit Board members, CEOs and Senior Executives with skills to effectively deal with questions related to the impacts of the economic downturn on the not-for-profit sector, how organisations can formulate effective responses, the characteristics of organisations which flourish in times of hardship, and what types of activities are likely to be funded under such conditions.

For more information see the workshop program (PDF) or the registration portal.

New on the Wiki: Managing in a Downturn

This report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (UK) in association with the Association of Charitable Foundations, Charity Finance Directors’ Group and Institute of Fundraising, constitutes the results of a survey of UK-based charities on their expectations for the coming year and beyond, and on what actions they are taking as a result of the economic crisis.

This report includes information on charities’ expectations of how the crisis will affect their income and expenditure as well as management practices. It concludes that there are opportunities for charities to use the crisis period as “akin to a “pit stop” in a grand prix” and that there are some key priorities and actions which a charity should consider taking in order to better weather the crisis.

The report concludes with a list of ten key messages for charities to consider in the coming months.

To download the report, go to Managing in a Downturn on the PhilanthropyWiki.