The coronavirus pandemic had an expected yet marked impact on the activities and incomes of charities, and the impact will continue for the near future, a report by Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) has found.
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The FIA is the peak representative body for professional fundraising in Australia, and has been in existence for over 50 years. In Ballarat it counts BHS among its members.
CEO Katherine Raskob said some of Australia's most important charities are facing real crises at a time when they will be most needed.
A lot of charities in regional areas put on face-to-face events: art gallery exhibitions, dinners, runs and walks
- Katherine Raskob, FIA
"For example, if you think of mental health charities, their services are more in demand than ever before, because we've been living in an isolated world in this past year with social isolation and quarantining," Ms Raskob told The Courier.
"At a time when their services are more in demand, their ability to fundraise is less. And so this is going to be a problem on the part of charities, to meet needs and demands."
Among the extensive findings of the FIA report is the large, if expected, decline of fundraising events, which fell overall by 72 per cent. The smaller the organisation, the worse affected it was, the report discovered. The loss of revenue totalled $23 million, FIA discovered.
While face-to-face donations fell, digital donations rose by 11 per cent, bolstered by bushfire donations and a couple of high-performing charities.
Ms Raskob says while there is no data breakdown between regional and metropolitan Australia, it's common for country charities to rely on personal interaction to raise funds.
"A lot of charities in regional areas put on face-to-face events: art gallery exhibitions, dinners, runs and walks. And I think, like their metropolitan counterparts, they're seeing a huge challenge to do that during the pandemic.
"Something like 23 per cent of people who donated this year said they won't be able to give as much in the future because they are feeling individual impacts of the pandemic on their life."
Ms Raskob says it's important for charities for work on initiatives to put their stories back in front of donors as the pandemic eases, as they work they do will be crucial in helping communities recover.
The findings in the the FIA report:
- 1. Non-bequest fundraising income was marginally higher comparing the 4 months March to June 2020 to the same period in 2019.
- 2. More organisations increased their non-bequest income than saw a decline (based on 20 organisations who supplied data for each of the 4 months).
- 3. Events were decimated with an overall decline of 72 per cent and a median decline of 51 per cent, amounting to a $23m loss of revenue. Participation numbers halved though income per fundraiser actually increased. Smaller organisations, highly reliant on events were hardest hit.
- 4. Direct marketing held steady with the total income up 11 per cent and a median increase of 4 per cent. Results were bolstered by some late bushfire donations and high performance from one or two charities.
- 5. Regular giving acquisition volumes have dropped significantly and though digital acquisition has proven successful, it has not replaced the high volume of lost face to face acquisition. Retention has worsened slightly in June and reactivation, for the small number reporting data, was also worse, as was phone conversion. Although reported numbers were small, upgrade campaigns appeared to be faring well.
- 6. Appeal response rates improved in June but average gifts were more likely to be lower than last year for the majority of charities. Acquisition volumes were far lower than last year though response rates for those that reported data were actually a little higher than last year.
- 7. Corporate partnership income was strong with a total increase over the 4 months of 51 per cent and a median of 33 per cent, though this was driven by a few organisations with exceptional results. Removing the top two organisations still left growth of 17 per cent.
- 8. Major donor income was up by 10 per cent though the median change was a 2 per cent decline. The pattern suggests some donors may have brought forward donations from June into May. More organisations saw major gift income increase than saw it decline.
- 9. Trust and Foundation income was highly influenced by a small number of high performing organisations. However, even when they are removed total income was up for each month except May.
- 10. Gifts in Wills income was down 5 per cent and the median decline was 23 per cent. However, most charities reported a significant increase in estates inquiries and an increase in notifications. There are also some indications that more people are including a charity in their Will.
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