Last year one of Australia’s business icons, Frank Lowy, spoke publicly about his views on philanthropy in Australia.
He said “the essential ingredient for philanthropy is a heart”. He also observed that wealth was not necessary to be benevolent; the only thing it determined was the size of a contribution.
More recently Michael Chaney in WA Business News (‘Business philanthropy more a corporate responsibility’, October 7) defended the role of corporations that strategically directed a portion of company profit towards the support of community-based organisations.
As head of Western Australia’s oldest existing independent medical research institute that is a grateful beneficiary of public goodwill I would agree with both gentlemen.
However, I believe just as strongly that it is the responsibility of non-profit organisations such as the Lions Eye Institute to show cause as to why they are worthy of philanthropic backing.
People choose to support charitable causes for many and varied reasons but one commonality is acknowledgement that the cause meets an important community need. Today more than 400,000 Australians are blind or suffer significant visual impairment.
The incidence of blinding eye disease is forecast to double within 20 years.
I would argue that our core objective of improving the health and wellbeing of Australians through research into the prevention, treatment and cure of blinding disease meets the community need test.
But like their for-profit cousins, non-profit organisations should be able to show a history
of the highest standards of governance and financial responsibility – particularly when it comes to publicly-donated funds.
Use of appropriate control systems including the assembly and effective operation of a skilled board, external audits and regular publication of performance results gives comfort to private donors and can make all the difference in earning sponsorship from corporates that have to justify their spending decisions to shareholders.
Opportunities for partnerships between business and non-profit organisations also emerge where there is a common constituency.
For instance, we are very proud to be aligned with BHPBilliton in introducing into WA’s north-west region a new Aboriginal eye health program. While the Lions Eye Institute brings to the deal the requisite technical expertise, we simply could not afford to deliver such a program without the generosity and foresight of BHPBilliton.
With the introduction last year of the Workplace Giving scheme, employees now enjoy greater tax benefits from donating as well as taking pride in their community contribution.
A tax refund is guaranteed to employees at the time of a donation if it’s more than $2 and they are not required to keep a record of receipts.
Workplace Giving establishes a direct link between the business and charity so there is no double handling of funding. This improves the efficiency of the donation scheme and also reduces the risk of fraud.
As Mr Chaney said, if business philanthropy adds to shareholder value and enriches the community there is no convincing argument against it.
But being philanthropic is made much easier when a donor knows their resources are going to be used wisely.
• Professor Ian Constable is the managing director of the Lions Eye Institute and has held that role since the institute was formed.