The Nonprofit / Community & Voluntary Sector

The Big Picture:

Challenges & Opportunities

AOIFE Conference

November 9th 2012

Deirdre Garvey

Chief Executive Officer

The Wheel

www.wheel.ie

Topics for today• The Wheel• Recent Research• Big picture:

– Charities Act 2009– Fundraising good practice Principles– Governance Code– Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising– Other

• Budgetary/Fiscal Position• Opportunities

The Wheel• National representative and support organisation

for community/voluntary groups– Representation: cross-cutting issues affecting sector– Support: training, advice, information, good practice

standards, help-desk etc

• Independent:– not aligned to any political movement or religious group– 870+ members covering the full scope, scale and size

of the community/voluntary sector in Ireland

• Wheel.ie:– All you need to know about the sector and running

organisations– The home of Ireland’s grants database: Fundingpoint

The Wheel Strategy 2012-2016

Four strategic themes will shape our efforts over the next four years:

1.Building a truly fair and just society

2.Recognising and valuing the community and voluntary sector

3.Developing the community and voluntary sector

4.Enhancing the effectiveness of The Wheel

Context: The Wheel’s Research in 2012

Research findings from 2011/2012, available to download from wheel.ie

• We know that In 2009 there were at least 11,700 non-profit organisations employing over 100,000 people, involving over 560,000 volunteers in their work and managing turnover of €5.75bn.

INKEx 2012

Summary: Priorities for CV Organisations

• Staying in operation:

• Diversifying income and raising funds

• Cutting costs – doing more with less

• Finding new ways of working: Collaborate

• Focusing resources on what matters: Outcomes for groups and people served

• Partnership-working Advocacy challenge

• Governance: changing public attitudes

Charities Act 2009• a Charities Regulatory Authority• a register of charities - all charities operating in the

state must register• a definition of charitable purposes• annual activity/financial reporting by charities• a new law on fund-raising to regulate non-cash

collections + Statement of Principles for fundraising• a set of requirements relating to trustees and

employees of charities• the establishment of a Charity Appeals Tribunal• powers of investigation for the regulator and fines for

non-compliance

Charities Act

• Nov 2011: Minister Shatter announces postponement of implementation

• Nov 2012: Minister Lynch announces consultatin with sector on ways to proceed.

• Watch this space….!

Research Shows:

• 20% of non-profits are still unaware of the Charities Act 2009, and of those who are aware, only 60% are prepared for the requirements

Guiding principles for fundraising

• Statement of Guiding Principles for Fundraising has been developed by nonprofit sector for the nonprofit sector

• Intended for all groups asking the public for money

• www.ictr.ie

The research shows:

• Awareness of the Statement of Guiding Principles for Fundraising is split three ways with just over one third indicating awareness (37.2%) and just under one third (32.6%) not aware.

• The remaining 30.0% of organisations did not raise funds directly from the public.

Governance Code • Launched in June 2012• Developed by the sector for the sector by:

– Boardmatch Ireland – Business in the Community Ireland – The Carmichael Centre for Voluntary Groups – Clann Credo – The Disability Federation of Ireland– ICTR – Volunteer Centres Ireland– The Wheel

• The ‘de-facto’ standard

Code of Good Governance

Operating to the highest standards of governance will help to:

• appeal to current and potential funders • avoid and minimise risk: good governance

processes will help organisations to identify risks.

• increase operational efficiency: implementing good governance processes can help reduce inefficiencies and costs

The Governance Code

• The Governance Code is based on five principles, each with three sub-principles.

• Each principle is supported by guidelines for implementation, which are written in the form of suggested actions, so that practical assistance is provided to organisations in understanding how to translate each principle into reality

The Code - Five Principles of Good Governance

The best boards

• provide leadership • exercise control• are transparent and accountable • work effectively• behave with integrity

Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising

July 2012 report, accepted by Government:

1.National Giving Campaign

2.Building fundraising skills

3.Strengthening Infrastructure of sector

4.New grant-making fund for innovation

Other: ‘are you aware that?’

• Ireland holds the Presidency of the EU January – June 2013

• All of 2013 is EU Year of Citizenship

• Social Enterprise/Social Business Initiative– Forfas report: scope for job creation

• Commitment to structured national dialogue

• Better Together: giving challenge

Other: ‘are you aware that?’

• Constitutional Convention

• Regulation of Lobbyists

• Changes to tax treatment of donations to charitable bodies

Fundingpoint: www.wheel.ie/funding

Budgetary/Fiscal Position

• Bad and getting worse

• Community/voluntary sector disproportionality cut

• But also opportunities for job-creation elements of the sector

• Survival determined by own organisation’s response to this changed world

Opportunities• Continuing trend in state funding cuts, means that

innovation/self-reliance is a must• Festivals = jobs creation and generating revenue

expertise• Trends in state funding towards contracts/procurement

=> you are well placed• Giving via text/mobile launches nationally,

democratises giving• Economic value of ‘the arts’ / ‘culture’ exploited• Companies and individuals volunteering

Thank you!

Deirdre Garvey

www.wheel.ie

deirdre@wheel.ie