Archived: AccessTruth Ltd: mini charity review

Mini charity review of AccessTruth Ltd (AT) as an organisation that seeks donations online, and is an Associate of Missions Interlink. (Including the answers to the questions that the Australian charity regulator, the ACNC, suggests that you ask.) For the previous review, see here. Are they responsive to feedback?

• I sent them a draft of this review on 2 September 2017. They did not respond.

Is AT registered?

• Yes, as a charity.
• AT has now incorporated. As a public company, a company limited by guarantee.
  • The previous incarnation, an unincorporated charity, was ‘Voluntarily Revoked’.
  • AT permits the payment of directors’ fees, so if it hadn’t registered the business name AccessTruth, it would not be able (legally) to omit ‘Limited/Ltd’ at the end of its name.
• Their size on the ACNC Register has gone from ‘Small’ to ‘Medium’, which means AT has revenue $250K or greater. The threshold for GST registration is well under that, yet they are still not registered.
• AT operates, per the ACNC Register, in all eight states, and it has an internet invitation to give. Six have a licensing regime relevant to registered charities, but AT has no fundraising licences. Does it believe it is exempt in all six?

What does AT do?

• See here.
• AT was only registered as a charity on 8 January 2017, but the Annual Information Statement 2016 (AIS 2016) of its predecessor, AccessTruth, said this again for ‘activities and outcomes’:
  • The purpose of AccessTruth is to provide clear and accessible Bible teaching resources to the community and Christian public. We achieved that purpose through our website – with video, audio, DVDs and written materials – and also through connecting with individuals and organizations that are making use of our resources.
• Your donation is not sought so that they can provide the resources without charge, but to supplement their income from the sale of those resources. Here’s the pricing.
• AT operates overseas, per the ACNC Register, in Canada, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States. This doesn’t fit with the information above.

Do they share the Gospel?

• No

What impact are they having?

• No information found.

What do they spend outside the costs directly incurred in delivering the above impact, that is, on administration?

• No financial information was published by AccessTruth, and none has been due yet for AT, so it is not possible to make this calculation.

Do they pay their directors?

• It is allowed, but there is no information available to check.

Can you get a tax deduction?

• No

Is their online giving secure?

• PayPal is used, so yes.
  • Beware though, the currency is US dollars.
  • And confidence is not helped by this message near the top: ‘PayPal securely processes donations for Anshu Goel’s Test Store.’

What choices do you have in how your donation is used?

• None

Where were your (net) donations sent?

• No information is available.

Is their reporting up-to-date?

• Yes (and AccessTruth got up-to-date before they deregistered.)

Does their reporting comply with the regulator’s requirements?

• Yes
• Last year AccessTruth took advantage of their status as a Basic Religious Charity and didn’t submit any financial information. This year AT will have to submit a Financial Report, including either an audit or a review.
• Whatever they do with the ACNC, their Associate membership of Missions Interlink requires them to “have available for [their] members and supporters a clear and appropriate financial statement which has been approved by its auditor.”

What financial situation was shown in that Report?

• NA

What did the auditor say about the last financial statements?

• No audit report was published by AccessTruth last year, and the ACNC doesn’t require one this year. Missions Interlink requires one though, so just ask.

If a charity, is their page on the ACNC Register complete?

• Not quite – its business name is missing.

Who are the people controlling the organisation?

• Not shown on the website, but here are the people shown as ‘Responsible Persons’ on the ACNC Register:
  • Geoffrey Henderson
  • Matthew Hillier
  • Linda McIlwain
  • Paul McIlwain

To whom is AT accountable?

• If ‘Geoffrey Henderson’ is Crossview Australia Limited’s Keith Henderson, then three of these directors are also three of the four directors of Crossview. Even if he isn’t, two out of four could still mean control of one charity by the other. (Crossview doesn’t address this question in their accounts.)
• AT is accountable to Missions Interlink via its an Associate membership.
  • For one opinion on the strength of that accountability, see the section Activities in this review.
• AT is also accountable to the ACNC.
• And, now, as a company, to ASIC.