Charitable funds directed through Equity Trustees to New South Wales jumped from 12 months ago, while dropping in Victoria and Queensland, according to the latest annual Giving Review from Equity Trustees (ASX: EQT).
As the nation's leading specialist trustee provider of philanthropic funding, Equity Trustees provides structures for charitable giving across Australia.
It noted that total giving was solidly up on the prior year, with charitable grants to New South Wales increasing in response to the need for emergency bushfire assistance funding.
Grants by state
2020 |
2019 |
2018 |
|
Vic |
64% |
70% |
67% |
NSW/ ACT |
9% |
6% |
9% |
QLD |
8% |
13% |
8% |
WA |
2% |
2% |
1% |
SA/ NT |
2% |
2% |
1% |
Tas |
1% |
1% |
1% |
National & international |
14% |
6% |
13% |
Source: Equity Trustees' Giving Review 2020
Equity Trustees' Giving Review 2020 notes:
• $91 million in grants and bequests were made via Equity Trustees in the past financial year.
• $83.4 million in grants came from charitable trusts, up from $78.8 million in FY2019.
• The largest single discretionary grant - $1.3 million was made to a research program into rural aged care.
Disaster response a priority
National and international funding was 14% of total funding in 2020, compared to 6% in 2019.
Jodi Kennedy, General Manager Charitable Trusts and Philanthropy, noted that while international funding remained stable, national giving had increased largely due to the consolidation of state based not-for-profits to national entities, where much of the giving was directed during the early 2020 bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.
"These disasters crossed various state borders and many of the main responders to both these disasters were larger, national entities with a 'human services' focus," she said.
Overall Ms Kennedy said the 2020 bushfires and pandemic had led to an extremely challenging year for the for-purpose sector.
"As well as deep concern from our philanthropic clients, we received hundreds of calls from organisations that were overwhelmed by the short-term needs of communities, as well as experiencing a drop in funding and volunteers. What we then saw was a huge spike in burnout and fatigue within the sector," she said.
In 2020, Equity Trustees allocated a total of $3 million in one-off payments of $5,000 to $50,000 to 70 organisations to meet this need, also simplifying the grant application process to allow funding to be delivered quickly.
"We were highly focused on delivering rapid response grants to communities affected by the bushfires and COVID-19, as well as ensuring organisations had the necessary funding to keep the lights on in extraordinary times," Ms Kennedy said.
A broader focus
While traditionally focused on Victoria where Equity Trustees was established in 1888, it has been actively working with new and well-established philanthropists to increase its spread of granting at a state, national and international level in recent years.
Some of the state initiatives the group and its donors funded in 2020 included:
New South Wales
· $50,000 to BackTrack Youth Works, which works with disadvantaged young people aged 12 to 19 to provide education, training and employment opportunities.
· $30,000 to The GO Foundation, which creates opportunities for indigenous youth through education.
· $38,000 to Sydney Theatre Company for emergency funding.
Queensland
· $12m over five years for The Salvation Army Queensland's 'Transformation Through Innovation' project, which is focused on housing, accommodation and alternative education in the state.
Victoria
· $600,000 over two years to Evidence for Learning, which helps to break the cycle of disadvantage by using evidence-based research to promote great teaching practice.
Western Australia
· $88,000 for the Noongar Charitable Trust – 'Cultural Healing on Country' project, delivering four overnight healing camps to members of the Noongar Aboriginal community focusing on strengthening cultural identity and cultural healing.
South Australia
· $200,000 for The Centre for Social Innovation, which is focused on developing new and better ways to build social and economic prosperity for all.
· $114,000 for the continued development and maintenance of Thalassa Park and Gardens in Adelaide.
Tasmania
· Funding of $90,000 for the Tasmanian Council of Social Service Inc's Health Justice Partnership in Tasmania project, which is working to address intersecting health, social and legal problems for families in the region.
Northern Territory
· $20,000 to Purple House, an indigenous run and owned health service that travels throughout NT to deliver dialysis and social support for those in remote communities.
Continuing support for not-for-profits
Ms Kennedy said a key focus for Equity Trustees in 2021 would be on continuing to support the philanthropic sector through the ongoing impacts of COVID-19.
"Typically, there is a time lag in philanthropy and with less money to go around, as well as the end of government stimulus payments, we will no doubt see many organisations not able to continue delivering their services this year," she said.
"Equity Trustees will play a leadership role in advocating for the importance of the for-purpose sector and will continue to fund the sector to build capacity to ensure its long-term sustainability."
Equity Trustees' latest Giving Review can be viewed at www.eqt.com.au/givingreview It also contains state by state examples of the social impact being achieved in the sector.
