17.03.2017

The “Help is Needed” charity has published the results of its first ever research on “NGO administration expenses and should charity staff be paid?” The study examines the views of business, society and the third sector on administration costs incurred by socially orientated NGOs (SONGOs).

The research authors noted that admin expenses aren’t reflected in the accounts of a significant number of NGOs and not always made public. Only 49% of fundraising charities with an online presence (322 in total) enter their admin expenses on the Federal Justice Ministry’s website and just 29% on their own websites. The researchers also noted that NGOs avoid mentioning admin costs in their discussions with potential donors, both private and corporate.

The study also revealed that 88% of all Runet users are unwilling to donate money to cover NGO admin costs, with 49%, 30% and 27% of respondents saying that these expenses should be met by Government, large commercial firms and “rich people” respectively. 13% of those asked said that charity staff should not receive a salary. Only 12% said that some of the money donated by members of the public should be used to pay charity staff.

“The online survey confirms the main conclusion to emerge from the rest of the research, namely that Russian involvement in charity work is both ad hoc and spur-of-the-moment. It’s only natural, therefore, to learn that the public believes the use of private donations to cover NGO admin costs should be seen as a last resort after all options of the State, business companies and “rich people” have been exhausted. 21% of private donations is the average amount permissible for covering admin costs”, say the researchers.

Research has been carried out by “Help is Needed” since October of last year, focusing on the organisation of data in the NGO sector and analysing the work of the charity itself.

Source: https://www.asi.org.ru/news/2017/03/17/nko-admistrativnie-rashodi/