Evaluation
Our Community Matters • 13 •
Mythbuster: “Bushfire charities spend too much on admin” and other stories BY KATHY RICHARDSON, EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OUR COMMUNITY
It’s been a rocky ride over recent months not just for people directly affected by Australia’s bushfire emergency, but for the charities, not-for-profit organisations and community groups that have rallied to respond.
• Shock, horror, an impulse to help, and an outpouring of donations (both money and goods)
The chain of events that comes after such a disaster follows a familiar pattern, and now we’re seeing it play out again. It goes like this:
• Indignation from those who want to keep giving second-hand clothes, old furniture etc for the “bushfire victims”
• A request by those receiving donations of goods for people to please stop sending those things
Some donors seem to expect charities to operate without incurring the costs of office space, furniture and computers.
