"Mixed Blessing for Fundraisers" - Productivity Commission Report

The Productivity Commission’s Report on the Contribution of the Not for Profit Sector is likely to prove a mixed blessing for many organisations according to Queensland-based fundraising expert Dr Ted Flack.

Flack says the changed fortunes come with recommendations for what will amount to an additional national regulator, to add to the existing State-and-Territory-based regulators of incorporation and fundraising.

Flack says however, that there are potentially some real gains for government funded Not for Profit organisations from the recommendations.

He says these include reducing red tape and improving efficiency from the much needed reforms to accountability mechanisms.

Flack says there is a range of very useful reforms to the tax structures available to Not for Profit organisations suggested in the report concluding that these reforms may improve the viability of many organisations that now struggle because they don't qualify for charitable tax concessions.

All-in-all, he says the Commission’s report is a useful contribution to mapping the road ahead for the sector. Dr Ted Flack is the State Manager of Communications and Fundraising at St Vincent de Paul Society in Queensland.

The Productivity Commission report on the ‘Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector’ can be downloaded from: www.pc.gov.au/projects/study/not-for-profit/report