Not-for-Profit Update 8

December 20, 2015

Almost 200 organisations from across Australia have had their charity status revoked by the national charity regulator
ACNC Commissioner, Susan Pascoe AM, said the revocation was part of an ongoing process to ensure only active and compliant charities kept their registration.
“We conduct regular reviews of the charities registered with the ACNC to ensure only those that meet their obligations maintain their registration status and are able to access Commonwealth charity tax concessions,” Pascoe said.
Just this month the ACNC released landmark research, using the kind of paperwork that the deregistered charities failed to provide, revealing that the Australian charity sector was worth $103 billion.
“The charity sector has a combined income of over $103 billion and employs 9.7 per cent of the Australian workforce. “It is an economically significant and diverse sector that plays a vital role in supporting our communities and in the Australian economy.”

Source: Pro Bono Australia

2016 is set to be the “year of engagement” for Australian Not-for-Profits and charities, writes digital consultancy expert, Tony Lee.
Advances in digital data collection, the increasing mobilisation of platforms and a new single customer view leads us to believe that 2016 will be the “year of engagement” for Not-for-Profits seeking to connect and reconnect with their prospects, supporters and advocates.
In 2016, user-centred strategies will be the overarching theme. More and more marketers will demand that responsive websites become adaptive websites, which will give users an experience that is more in line with their on the go usage behaviour.
Programmatic advertising will be another term that will be bandied about with increasing familiarity, as digital advertising evolves to become even more hyper-targeted to an individual’s experience of the web
With content marketing growing exponentially, we will experience a continued blurring of the lines between entertainment, editorial and advertising as marketers rally around creating attention through paid influencers, advocates, storytellers, bloggers and news sites

Source: Pro Bono Australia

The aged care sector has taken the Federal Government to task over claims that service providers were making false funding claims resulting in some media reports alleging that they were “rorting” the subsidy system
The stoush followed the Turnbull Government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) in which it announced a stronger compliance regime, including tough new fines and better-targeting of funding, to protect what it described as “the integrity of Australia’s residential aged care sector”.
Minister for Aged Care Sussan Ley said that, for the first time, fines would be introduced for aged care providers caught making repeated false claims under the government’s $10.6 billion Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI), which directly subsidised providers to deliver care services for residents based on their level of need.
“There is absolutely no evidence that this is the case. I would be very surprised if anyone was fined in the future,” acting ACSA CEO, Illana Halliday, told Pro Bono Australia News.

Source: Pro Bono Australia

An animal welfare charity has become the first Australian organisation to be recognised as a “standout charity” by a US charity reviewer.
Animal Charity Evaluators has selected Animals Australia as one of its 2015 standout charities, the second highest ranking the organisation awards.
“Animals Australia has shown the ability to steer public conversation in Australia in a more animal friendly direction and make concrete achievements on behalf of animals like getting McDonald’s to phase out eggs from hens in battery cages,” Animal Charity Evaluators said.
Animals Australia Communications Director, Lisa Chalk, told Pro Bono Australia News that the charity was “thrilled” with the accolade.
“Fundamental to how we operate is ensuring that every effort and every dollar is put to the most effective and strategic use for maximum impact for animals. So while this is core to our modus operandi, we of course welcomed hearing from an external party that we are hitting the mark,” Chalk said.

Source: Pro Bono Australia

At an international conference to end violence against women held in Istanbul, representatives from more than 40 countries made action-oriented pledges to create a safer world for women.
Organised by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the 16 day conference culminated in world leaders vowing to take a zero tolerance approach and immediate action to end the global epidemic of violence against women.
They also agreed to greater investment in gender equality, to share data on violence against women and to strengthen existing laws to protect women.
Executive Director of UNFPA, the co-organizer for the meeting, Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, said violence against women was a global issue. “Today there is no country in the world, not one, where women and girls live free from violence,” Osotimehin said.
“Protecting women’s rights to live in dignity, free from violence, requires our deliberate, urgent and sustained action.

Source: Pro Bono Australia