Archived: Chinese Church Support Ministries Limited: charity review

This is a charity review of Chinese Church Support Ministries Limited (CCS), an organisation that seeks donations online and is an Associate member of Missions Interlink. (Including the answers to the questions that the Australian charity regulator, the ACNC, suggests that you ask.)

You can read last year’s review here.

Is it responsive to feedback?

• A ‘News from CCSM Australia’ post last year invited feedback from supporters.
• There is no mention of accountability on the website that CCS shares.
• I sent them a draft of this review. Like last year, they did not respond.

Is CCS registered?

• As a charity, yes.
  • But still, over fourteen months after the last review, in its old name, Antioch Missions.
  • Not to be confused with the charity Antioch Missions International Inc.
• CCS is a public company, a company limited by guarantee.
• It has the provisions in its constitution to allow it to omit ‘Ltd/Limited’ at the end of its name, but has not registered as business names the other names it uses, CCSM or CCMS Australia
• CCS operates, per the ACNC Register in New South Wales (NSW) and Western Australia (WA). Its registered office as a company is an address in WA (www.asic.gov.au,) so that explains the second state. But with an Australian Capital Territory (ACT) address for its ‘Charity Street Address’, why NSW?
• Information in it its Annual Information Statement (AIS) 2017 shows that it believes that an internet invitation does not count as fundraising, so this probably explains, given its very small donations revenue, why it has no fundraising licences.

What do they do?

• From the AIS 2017:
  • In Australia, every month we email prayer letters to supporters living in Australia, for purposes of educating those outside of China, about its needs. A major area where our donations are directed to is our Literature ministry which sees the printing of Bibles and Christian teaching material which is distributed throughout China. Organised teams for volunteers to go into China for short trips (2 weeks) to participate in Mercy Work projects, Prayer teams and Cross-Cultural-English Teaching ran throughout 2017 and will continue to do so in 2018. This is the main way that we get people outside of China into China to participate in supporting and serving China.

Does CCS share the Gospel?^[1]

• Presumably those who go on the ‘short trips’ (see above) share the Gospel if they get the opportunity.

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?

• The AIS 2017 shows that it cost them $5K to send $16K (to China).

Do they pay their board members?

• This is prohibited by the constitution.
• There’s insufficient financial information disclosed to check for a payment.

Can you get a tax deduction?

• No

Is their online giving secure?

• Security is not mentioned, but PayPal is used, so the giving should be secure.

Where were your (net) donations sent?

• This is not disclosed.
  • $16K is shown for ‘Grants and donations made for use outside Australia’. China, per the ACNC Register is the only overseas country in which CCS operates.

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

• No choice is given online.

Is their reporting up-to-date?

• Yes (seven months after year end, two days after the deadline, and two weeks later than last year).

Does their reporting comply with the regulator’s requirements?

• AIS 2017: No
  • Except for a change of the years mentioned, the ‘Description of charity’s activities and outcomes’ is identical to last year. Which means that it is not specific to 2017.
  • No outcomes are reported.
• Financial Report 2017: Yes
  • Their size means that they are not required to lodge a Financial Report.
  • But their Associate membership of Missions Interlink requires them to “have available for [their] members and supporters a clear and appropriate financial statement (sic) which has been approved by its auditor.”
  • Assuming that they complied, they could have lodged this ‘financial statement’ voluntarily, but they chose not to.

What financial situation was shown in that Report?

• The AIS 2017 only has to disclose totals for assets, liabilities and equity (net assets). For CCS they are $25K, $8K, and $17K.

What did the auditor say about the last financial statements?

• There is nothing to indicate that an audit was performed.

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

• No
  • Antioch Missions is not the ‘Legal Name’.
  • A postal address is still given instead of the street address.
  • Chinese Church Support Ministries is not an ‘other name’.
  • ‘Phone’ and ‘Website’ are still blank – but the ACNC says that they are not compulsory.

Who are the people controlling the organisation?

• Not mentioned on the website.
• From ‘Responsible Persons’ on the ACNC Register, the same three as last year:
  • Daniel Bao
  • Murray Cameron
  • Hercus Graham (the wrong way round?)
  • The constitution allows the company to have only three directors.

To whom is CCS accountable?

• As a charity, to the ACNC.
• CCS is an Associate member of Missions Interlink. Missions Interlink has an accountability regime.
  • For one opinion on the strength of this accountability, see the section Activities in this review.
• The constitution allows the company to have only three members, so if the three directors are members, there may be no accountability from the membership.

1. “Good living and social concern are important [to the cause of evangelism], but they are not uniquely Christian graces…I’ve met a lot of fine Hindus, Muslims and atheists. Just living the life is not going to bring someone to Christ. There is much more to it than that. We must help people, certainly, but we must also share with them why we are motivated to do so. We must stand against injustice, poverty and need, but we must at the same time point to the One who brings justice and who can meet the deepest need. Until they know our reasons, how can they come to know our Lord?” [Dan Armstrong, the Fifth Gospel: The Gospel According to You, Anzea Books, pp. 13-14. ↑