Should I donate to ChangePath?
There is a tricky subject - for those looking to decide where their money is best spent, how can we justify putting ourselves on the top of the list? The answer is, of course, that we can't. What ChangePath does is valuable and important for a healthy charity sector, but we will never directly save a life or reduce suffering. What we would recommend is perhaps giving us a tip for our work - if you do donate to a charity thanks to the information gleaned from ChangePath, and you found the service valuable, please give a little to help us keep the lights on. We should not be your first choice for donations, but we like to think we shouldn't be the last, either.
Conflict of interest
It is, of course, a clear conflict of interest for us to list ourselves on the ChangePath platform. Indeed, even soliciting donations could be percieved as a conflict. Hence, we do not list ourselves (we would probably not do very well, as we don't have an annual report). However, we obviously hold ourselves to high standards (it would be hypocritical not to), and if we were to recieve donations, you can rest assured that highly detailed reports of what your donation has helped us achieve will be made available.
Tax deductibility and ACNC registration.
ChangePath is not currently tax deductible. The service we provide does not fall into the
categories that the tax department deems as eligible for becoming a deductible gift recipient (DGR). Similarly, we are not a registered charity with the ACNC, as the ACNC advised that our application was not likely to proceed as we do not meet the criteria for a charity. We are, currently, a not-for-profit association incorporated in NSW. As ChangePath grows and expands the offering it provides, we may find ourselves in a position to register with the ACNC and get DGR status. We do not anticipate this being soon.