Charity funding down in 2021-22: Equity Trustees

Oksana Patron

19 December 2022

Funding committed to charitable and for purpose organisations dropped in past financial year 2021-22 against previous year by 4% to $92 million due to less granting via individual estates, according to Equity Trustees’ fifth annual “Giving Review”.

Following this, funds decreased for human services, arts and animal welfare, compared to the previous year, but increased for faith-based charities, biodiversity and climate change.

The Equity Trustees’ report, which analysed nearly half a billion dollars of philanthropic granting and bequests overseen by the company over the span of five years, also found that there was an increase in giving from testamentary and charitable trusts following markets normalisation after the covid pandemic.

The report revealed that increase in grants over $100,000 to the for-purpose sector grew from 146 to 206 grants while the largest single discretionary grant stood at $936,000 and was made in the area of medical research and health.

Charitable Trusts and Estates’ general manager, Jodi Kennedy, said that although direct donations to charities, crowdfunding and volunteering made up more than 80% of the value philanthropic funding, giving via a structure such as a foundation had potential to establish a more sustainable giving base for the sector.

While the firm said it would continue its work to engage increased granting, particularly in the under-represented areas of women and girls, First Nations communities and the environment, the report also confirmed that 85% of funders had acknowledged that Australia was facing a mental health crisis, but only 28% were consistently investing in mental health causes.

“A rising number of active philanthropists have seen the debilitating effects of poor mental health on family and friends especially through covid and lockdowns. Equity Trustees is helping them find a place to start empowering them with the knowledge they need,” Kennedy said.

Equity Trustees will launch the new portal helping more Australians open philanthropic accounts which would be open to the public next year and would offer an entry point for opening a philanthropic fund.

“We’ve come a long way in the past five years of transparently reporting our granting and bequests data to the sector – and it is our hope that in 2023 with the new portal, we will enable more Australians to engage directly in philanthropy and being a part of a movement towards growing structured giving in the Australian community,” Kennedy added.