Throwing the Net Wider.

The European Fundraising Association (EFA) published an article yesterday, about a report they had written on how Dutch charities are spending 90% of their total income on delivering Social Good.

Good on the Dutch charities doing what they said they are going to do. Margreet Plug, managing director of Goede Doelen Nederland, said: 

“In 2018, the 158 participating charities spent €2.8 billion on their cause, €27 million more than in 2017. Overall, 90% of the total income was spent on the cause. This is a great result."  

Indeed, a great result with a very informative report to support it too. The report goes on to state that:

“Total income amounted to € 3.1 billion in 2018 and increased by 2% compared to 2017, or an amount of € 62 million. The increase occurred in all size categories, large, medium and small. At small organizations, revenues increased by 11% the most. This was mainly due to an increase in income from private individuals, in particular income from inheritances and gifts & donations. More than half of the total income of small organizations came from private individuals.”

It is noted in the report that income for large international aid organizations fell by -2%, an amount of € 35 million. The report indicates that this was due to the ‘Help Sint Maarten Campaign' in 2017 after Hurricane Irma destroyed much of the island. The focus for many Dutch donors at this time was on helping to rebuild the island.

Why this article is interesting, especially to me, is not really because it’s delivering 90% of income to delivering social good (which it should be doing anyway), but where that income is coming from - private individuals, mostly through inheritances and gifts. What the report doesn’t say is how much of those donations come from donations overseas. The report focus’ on the Dutch market, as it is written by Goede Doelen Nederlands, but I am curious about how much could have been raised for St Maarten (for example) if the organization fundraising threw the net a bit wider? Did they reach out to the St Maarten diaspora or those of Caribbean descendants now living abroad?

At Chapel & York, we help organizations do just that. We help to spread the net globally and make international philanthropy possible. We know many organizations work hard at fundraising locally but there is literally a world of opportunity out there. Well done Goede Doelen Nederlands for a very interesting report and to all of the organizations who took part in reaching a great result. Now, just think about what could be achieved if you went global!