Andrew Leigh

AUSTRALIANS URGED TO GIVE GENEROUSLY

Tuesday 28 November is ‘Giving Tuesday’. Created eleven years ago, Giving Tuesday follows the shopping day ‘Black Friday’. Where Black Friday encourages spending, Giving Tuesday encourages generosity.

Right now, many charities are feeling squeezed. In some cases, donors and volunteer support has fallen, while demand for help has risen. The end of the year is a time when some charities, including food relief and crisis support organisations, are at their busiest.

A straightforward way to donate is through workplace giving, which allows people to give without the hassle of keeping receipts and claiming a deduction at the end of the year. Figures from the Australian Taxation Office show that 30 percent of employees have access to a workplace giving program. Yet less than 2 percent of employees participate in workplace giving. 

Volunteering is another way to contribute to the work of charities, while building connections to community. Yet there has been a decline in the share of Australians who donate to charity. The Australian Government has funded Volunteering Australia to create a National Volunteering Strategy. We encourage anyone who is keen to volunteer to use sites such as GoVolunteer or SeekVolunteer to find a suitable opportunity.

The Albanese Government is working to support the community-building efforts of Australian charities. This includes:

• initiating a once‑in‑a‑generation Productivity Commission review of philanthropy, to help meet our goal to double philanthropy by 2030;
• starting work on a Blueprint for strengthening the capacity and capability of Australian charities;
• appointing a new head of the Australian Charities and Not‑for‑profits Commission (ACNC), and a new advisory board;
• continuing to work with states and territories to harmonise charitable fundraising laws;
• streamlining the process by which charities receive deductible gift recipient status;
• modernising the law to allow the ACNC to discuss ongoing investigations where this is necessary to maintain trust and confidence in the sector;
• carrying out Australia’s largest-ever charity consultation, to hear how we can support charities and grow the sector.

Giving Tuesday is an opportunity to help the helpers. If you can, please give generously.