Nearly a third of charities not transparent, reveals charity assessment website
Media release. Release date: 25/10/2016
New figures released today by ChangePath have shown that 28% of nearly 900 top Australian charities have no annual or financial reporting available on their websites, 20% have no privacy policy for what they do with donor’s personal information, and 8% have consistently lost money for the last three years or more.
ChangePath lists the vital statistics of nearly 900 of the best-known Australian charities and not-for-profits, including their financial details. It gives each charity a star rating for its transparency, privacy, and financial management.
Overall, only 18% of charities received a full 7 stars out of 7, indicating that they made information freely available, are well financially managed, and have a published privacy policy.
$6.8 Billion was donated to Australian charities in 2014, according to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
The research was performed by ChangePath, Australia’s leading charity assessment website, which has just launched a new set of metrics for assessing charities.
“Probably the most concerning result for me was just how many charities were losing money” said Sam Thorp, founder of ChangePath. “8% of our listed charities had lost money in three out of the last four years. Over that time they made over $200 million in combined losses. Many of them have a large rainy day fund to help deal with this kind of pressure, but it goes to show just how hard it has been in the Australian charity sector over the last few years.”
“The aim of ChangePath is to help donors to make informed decisions about where their donations should go. We provide independent, unbiased assessments of charities. It also helps charities to promote themselves as open and honest.”
Donors interested in which charities score best on the transparency index or who want to know more are encouraged to go to www.changepath.com.au
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Media contact: Sam Thorp, sam@changepath.com.au, +44 7599 404046. Available for interview.
Notes to editors:
Data table:
Distribution of star ratings across charities listed on ChangePath
| Total stars | Count | Percentage |
| 0 | 19 | 2% |
| 1 | 44 | 5% |
| 2 | 66 | 7% |
| 3 | 122 | 14% |
| 4 | 114 | 13% |
| 5 | 132 | 15% |
| 6 | 233 | 26% |
| 7 | 161 | 18% |
The total star rating is a rating that combines a score for transparency (out of 3), financial performance (out of 3) and privacy (out of 1). For more information, see our About page.