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Floods and fundraising - helpful tips
Fundraising and flood appeals
Individuals or organisations in New South Wales wishing to raise funds for flood victims, especially through one-off appeals, need to have written authorisation from a licensed charity.
Ensuring your flood appeal is authorised
You can take a few simple steps to ensure your flood fundraising appeal is authorised and complies with the law.
Get written authorisation for your fundraising effort
Contact the Queensland Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal (on phone number 1800 219 028) and request written authority to fundraise on its behalf. The Red Cross and The Salvation Army are also staging national appeals so anyone wanting to raise funds for other areas of Australia affected by the floods, such as northern NSW and Victoria, can contact those organisations for written authorisation to fundraise on their behalf.
Make sure each person collecting has an identification badge
Where the appeal is face to face, any person collecting donations must wear a numbered identification badge showing the name and contact number of the licensed charity, the name of the collector, and the issue and expiry dates so potential donors know the appeal is authorised. ID badges are issued by the charity concerned.
Use only secure collection devices for donations
All collection devices must be properly sealed, consecutively numbered and clearly labelled with the name of the licensed charity. Non secure devices such as open buckets are not permitted as they provide no security and funds can be lost or stolen.
Want to know if a charity is licensed in NSW?
There are more than 5,200 licensed charities in NSW. To check if a charity is licensed in NSW, visit the public register at www.licence.nsw.gov.au.
Need more Information?
Find out more on charitable fundraising and one-off appeals at OLGR > Charitable fundraising > > Frequently Asked Questions or contact the charities section on (02) 9995-0686.
Revocation of Australian Vaccination
Network's Authority to Fundraise
Minister for Gaming and Racing, the Hon Kevin Greene MP, has revoked the fundraising authority formerly held by the Australian Vaccination Network Inc (AVN).
An investigation by the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing, a division of Communities NSW, found that AVN had breached charitable fundraising laws and potentially misled the public.
The revocation, which took effect on Wednesday 20 October 2010, means that AVN is no longer licensed to conduct fundraising appeals in NSW and is not entitled to accept donations from members of the public via any method of collection including face-to-face and online appeals. AVN is not prevented from receiving donations from its members as this is not considered fundraising for the purposes of the charitable fundraising legislation.
The OLGR investigation also took into account the findings of the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) which established that the website operated by AVN provided information that was solely anti-vaccination as well as information that was incorrect and misleading.
The HCCC has published a public warning stating that AVN's failure to post a disclaimer on its website may result in members of the public making improperly informed decisions about whether or not to vaccinate posing a potential risk to public health and safety.
The revocation by the Minister is subject to an appeal lodged by AVN in the Administrative Decisions Tribunal and is listed before the Tribunal on 10 December, 2010
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Have you got your Fundraising Toolkit yet?
A free resource manual for fundraisers, boards and committees of not-for-profit organisations based in New South Wales is now available.
The Fundraising Toolkit NSW covers vital topics such as corporate governance, risk management, financial management and fundraising strategies. The toolkit is the result of a joint venture between the NSW Government and the Fundraising Institute Australia.
OLGR has CDs of the Fundraising Toolkit NSW to give out ?send us an email, with your name, organisation and mailing address details to charity.inquiries@olgr.nsw.gov.au.
Changes to the Fundraising Regulation
There have been recent changes to the fundraising regulation. These changes came into effect on 1 September 2008. Charities are advised to be aware of the 12 main changes.
A rundown of these 12 main changes is below.
- Face-to-face collectors no longer have to wear a prominent ID badge if the fundraising appeal is part of a fundraising event or function and it is clear to people attending what organisation is conducting the appeal.
- Notes to accounts no longer need to contain:
- a statement that distinguishes between certain costs
- a list of all forms of fundraising appeal
- certain ratios and comparisons.
- An unincorporated association is only required to notify of an amendment to its constitution when the change affects:
- its charitable objects
- its non-profit nature
- the disposition of funds on wind-up.
- Unincorporated associations which raise amounts of $100,000 or more gross income from fundraising in a financial year must lodge a periodic return to the Minister. (The amount was previously $20,000.)
- Electronic funds transfer and cheques can both be used to make payments from the fundraising account over $260.
- There are now exceptions to the requirement that proceeds of a fundraising appeal must be kept in an account containing only the proceeds of that or other fundraising appeals conducted by the same authorised fundraiser.
- If $100,000 or more gross income is raised from appeals in a financial year, there is a requirement to provide information as notes to the income statement and balance. (The amount was previously $20,000.)
- The maximum percentage of expenses in relation to donation appeals is increased from 40 to 50 per cent. All licensed fundraisers are required to take reasonable steps not to exceed this amount.
- There are now five basic requirements relating to all forms of direct marketing. The requirement to comply with the Australian Direct Marketing Association code of practice was removed. Now, when direct marketing by telephone, fundraisers need to comply with the Telecommunications (Do Not Call Register) (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2007.
- Licensed fundraisers are allowed to keep records at any location other than the registered office, as long as the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing, part of the Department of Arts, Sport and Recreation, is advised of the location in writing.
- Non-accounting records must be kept for three years. (This record-keeping time is down from five years.)
- There is now an extended disclosure obligation where for profit participants in fundraising appeals provide services directly related to the conduct of appeals.
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