Collaboration needed to keep Not for Profit sector healthy

Doing good and doing it well?

Collaboration must occur in the Not for Profit sector throughout both Australia and New Zealand otherwise many organisations will cease to exist, according to a comprehensive report on the sector entitled ‘Doing good and doing it well?’ undertaken by leading advisory firm Grant Thornton.

Simon Hancox, Grant Thornton Australia’s Head of Not for Profit, said that like-minded organisations with similar visions and beneficiaries or perhaps those in similar regional areas, would need to consider mergers, amalgamations or at least increased collaboration to ensure their survival.

“Funding continues to be the most significant challenge facing Not for Profits and unless there is some form of rationalisation casualties will be inevitable,” Hancox said.

The report identifies that most Australian respondents (86%) were almost constantly looking for innovative ways to generate revenue with 76% saying that finding consistent, regular sources of funding was increasingly difficult and 65% looking to outside sources to help them find new ways to generate revenue.

The survey, which included 416 Not for Profit organisations in Australia and New Zealand, is one of the most comprehensive undertaken in the sector on an Australasian-wide basis.

“Sixteen per cent of Australian Not for Profits could not plan for more than 12 months ahead based on their current funding and it was clear that many would not survive for more than six months if their current funding was not renewed.”

“When compared with similar reports of Not-For-Profit organisations published in 2011, it would appear that organisations are trying to rely less on government funding,” Hancox said.

According to Mr Hancox, many organisations have realised that they need to stand on their own and while all funding is acknowledged, they also recognise the time involved in administration of Government funding is such that the time can be better spent back in their core delivery of services.

In Australia, government grants and contracts are the most prominent source of funding for 79% of respondents. Donations (69%), fundraising (62%), investment income (62%), other grants and sponsorship (61%), income from service provision (60%) and bequests (54%) are significant for over half the respondents, indicating that Australian organisations receive funding from more sources than their New Zealand counterparts.

“One of the greatest pressures on funding is the sheer number of Not for Profit organisations on both sides of the Tasman competing for a limited pool of money. Collaboration, ranging from sharing resources to merging and amalgamating, to using cloud technology is a significant opportunity and it needs to happen with some urgency,” Hancox said.

-ends-

For more information or to speak with Simon Hancox, please contact:

Helina Lilley
National Public Relations Manager
T  +61 2 8297 2421
M  0437 725 520
E helina.lilley@au.gt.com

About Grant Thornton Australia Limited
Grant Thornton is one of the world's leading organisations of independent assurance, tax and advisory firms. Grant Thornton Australia has more than 1,300 people working in offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. We combine service breadth, depth of expertise and industry insight with an approachable “client first” mindset and a broad commercial perspective. More than 35,000 Grant Thornton people, across over 100 countries, are focused on making a difference to clients, colleagues and the communities in which we live and work.