Giving in Australia is ‘Far From Adequate’ - Perpetual
18 February 2011 at 12:17 pm
Foundation fund manager, Perpetual has reported a significant increase in both the number of Not for Profit organisations applying for philanthropic funding, and the amounts requested.
Perpetual says 1,135 Not for Profit organisations applied for funding from its charitable trusts, up from 917 in 2010.
The total amount requested rose from $68.9 million in 2010 to $84.5 million this year.
Andrew Thomas, Perpetual’s General Manager, Philanthropy, says the enormity of the amount requested indicates that giving in Australia is still far from adequate.
Thomas says it is great to see Australians rally around emergency causes like the floods, but they also need to remember that NFPs rely on predictable, ongoing funding each year.
He says charitable giving is useful as a one-off, but even more effective when it’s an ongoing commitment, managed through a charitable trust structure that makes distributions each and every year.
While the social welfare sector made up the largest portion of applicants – 427 organisations requested $30.5 million in funding – health organisations accounted for the biggest increase, with a 42% rise in applications (272 organisations) and a 50% rise in the amount requested ($23 million).
Philanthropy Australia CEO Deborah Seifert says there are several factors driving the increase.
Seifer says NFPs are becoming savvier about how they secure funding, ensuring they explore every possible avenue to support their charitable causes.
She says the increase also points to a genuine level of need – there are so many fantastic people and organisations helping others in the community, but their number one challenge is finding the money to do it effectively.
Andrew Thomas says that the increase in health NFPs applying for funds may reflect the challenges facing the health system.
Thomas says rates of chronic disease are on the rise at the same time as the population is ageing, so it’s not surprising to see disease prevention and care receiving increased attention from charities.
He says social welfare continues to represent the largest number of applications, reflecting both the diversity of the sector and the broad range of funding needs across many urban and regional areas.
Perpetual’s funding round allocates money from philanthropists’ charitable trusts to NFPs, with a total of $84.5 million being requested by NFPs in the current funding round.
The recipients of grants from Perpetual’s annual funding round will be announced in June 2011, and are selected on the basis of their ability to meet four criteria: strategy, outcomes, capability and leadership.
Last year, more than 200 organisations received a total of $9 million in funding, and Perpetual expects a comparable distribution this year.
Perpetual is one of the largest managers of private charitable foundations in Australia, with over $1.1 billion in funds under management in more than 450 charitable trusts, as at 30 June 2010.
