Christian Revival Crusade: charity review

This is a review in the series ‘Members of Missions Interlink. Missions Interlink is ‘the Australian network for global mission’ and a means for a Member to get income tax exemption when it might not otherwise be available^[1].

‘CRC Missions International’ is a Member of Missions Interlink, and the website in the same name linked from the Missions Interlink membership list is  “currently in the process of enabling online donations”.

Charity response

Both Members and Associates have to accept a set of standards, the introduction to which includes this statement:

I sent them a draft of this review. They continued their practice of not responding.

Donors

The ACNC, in their article, Donating to Legitimate Charities, gives “some things to consider to help you make sure your donation is going where it is intended”:

1. Check the charity’s name.
2. Ask for identification from anyone seeking a donation.
3. Be careful of online requests for donations.
4. No tax deduction doesn’t mean the charity is not a legitimate one, and
5. Find out more about how the charity says it uses donations

Here’s the results for ‘CRC Missions International’^[2], with #5 supplemented by the essentials of the ACNC’s What should I consider when deciding which charity to support?^[3].

1.  There is no registered^[4] charity in that name. But the search of the ACNC Register shows that CRC Missions International is one of the names that the registered charity Christian Revival Crusade National Council (the Council) says that it is ‘also known as’.

Why is this name still not registered as a business name?  And why do they continue to operate interstate without an ARBN?^[5].

Christian Revival Crusade National Council is the wrong name – it was superseded – in August 2017 – by CRC Churches International Australia Inc.^[6] (CRC Churches). CRC Churches still haven’t updated the Register.

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2. It would be unlikely, and there is no evidence on the website, that CRC Churches use third-party fundraisers.

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3. The web address begins with a closed padlock symbol, so the website is secure [the ACNC article above^[7]]. There is nothing on the page where you enter your personal information about security.

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4.  Its ABN record says that donors are not entitled to a tax deduction. There is nothing on the website that says otherwise.

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5.  The use of your donations

As context, here’s what CRC Churches, on the ACNC Register, says it does:

The audited account of how the donations are used is the Financial Report on the ACNC Register. However, this has been superseded by a later report, available on the website but not yet on the Register.

Within this report, it is a good idea to look at two areas first: (1) the ‘Basis of preparation’ in the Notes to the accounts, and (2) the audit report.

1. We can’t do this because there is no ‘Basis of preparation’ – because there are no Notes. In fact, there is more missing with these accounts than is included, and what is included is incorrect:
   1. Apart from the required Notes, two of the four required financial statements are missing.
   2. As is a ‘Director’s Statement’.
   3. The profit and loss statement and balance sheet have been combined, the statement has no heading, and both deviate from what is required by the Accounting Standards.
   4. Two other financial reports have been included, each with their own (deficient) audit report.
   5. The heading of the ‘Consolidated Financials Report’ says that Christian Revival Crusade National Council exists, and that CRC Churches is the name under which the Council trades. Both are incorrect – see above.
2. The contents of the audit report, by Con Markou, MA Partners Chartered Accountants, do not match what has been included in the Financial Report 2018.

Here are the current directors (most if not all of whom would have been those that thought^[8] that this reporting was acceptable for a Christ-led charity):

Bruce Sharman

Christopher Carmody

Danny Parker

Hans Voortman

Ian Miller

Philip Cayzer

Trevor Murphy

Vasilis Vasilakis

End of review.

1. ↑
2. See here for last year’s review. ↑
3. A section in the article, Donating and Volunteering:
   • Focus on the nature of the charity’s work, its beneficiaries and the impact the charity is having in the community.
   • Is it clear what the charity is trying to achieve and how its activities work towards its objectives?
   • Would you like to spend your money, or time if volunteering, to support these objectives?
   • Is the charity being transparent about its activities?

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4. The ACNC implies, therefore, that it is a ‘legitimate’ charity. But this is not correct – as the ACNC itself points out, registration is voluntary. ↑
5. At the time of the last review, they didn’t have any fundraising licences. ↑
6. This South Australian association has been incorporated since 2005. ↑
7. The ACNC’s information (in its article above) is out-of-date. ↑
8. At the time of issuing the 2018/19 ‘Annual Update’, probably in August 2019. ↑