Archived: Every Home Global Concern Limited: mini charity review

Mini charity review of Every Home Global Concern Limited (EHGCs an organisation that seeks donations online^[1], and that is a member 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.

Is EHGC responsive to feedback?

• I sent a draft of this review to them on 1 August 2017. Like last year, they….did not respond.

Is it registered?

• As a charity, yes.
• As a public company, a company limited by guarantee.
  • Because it allows the payment of directors’ fees, it is not permitted to omit ‘Ltd’ on the end of its name.
• For GST, yes.
• It has a fundraising licence in all the states that require one.
• EHGC has one registered business name.
  • There is a separate website under this name.
• But EHGC still trading under the name ‘Global Concern’ without it being registered.
  • The relationship between the two entities is described in the Annual Report:
    • Every Home Global Concern grew out of Every Home for Christ and two trading names came into being in 2—8 – “Every Home for Christ” and “Global Concern”. Global concern reflects our second goal which is to help the poor and disadvantaged overseas lift themselves out of poverty through community development programs [emphasis in original].

What does EHGC do?

• The ‘Description of charity’s activities and outcomes’ in the Annual Information Statement (AIS) 2016 merely directs the reader to one of EHGC’s two websites. Apart from being totally inadequate, this response leads to only half the picture. For there is another side to EHGC, shown in the other website, www.everyhomeforchrist.org.au.
  • The first website has only two indirect references to Every Home for Christ.
• The first website, Global Concern, says that
  • For over 30 years, Global Concern has been providing opportunities for disadvantaged individuals and communities around the world to build better lives for themselves through education, healthcare, vocational training and micro enterprise. Far from being a handout, Global Concern aims to transform entire communities towards self sufficiency (sic) and sustainability. We don’t simply send money to overseas organisations and hope for the best, we closely monitor every one of our projects and give you the assurance that your investment is effectively addressing extreme poverty at its core.
  • Under ‘Projects’ in the main menu there are six links, but only one leads to information (on the work in Bangladesh).
  • The link to the ‘Annual Report’ is broken on the Global Concern site, but there is an annual report on the Every Home for Christ site.
    • Rather than being on the evangelism activities of EHGC, it is on the development activities described on the other website.
• The second website, Every Home for Christ, describes EHGC as ‘a Christian Missions Organization dedicated to reaching every home on earth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have works in 100 countries.’ This is therefore a description of the worldwide organization, not of EHGC.
• EHGC apparently can ordain people – the Executive Director is an ‘Ordained Minister of Every Home for Christ’.

Do they share the Gospel ^[2]?

• To the extent that your donation goes to fund work under the name Every Home for Christ, yes. If it goes to development work, no.
• Even though $571K was spent on evangelization last year (Summary Financial Report), there is no online facility for donating to it (see below).
• There is no statement of faith on either website.
  • Nor in the governing document. The governing document doesn’t even mention Christianity. Therefore, EHGC, via its membership of Missions Interlink, must
    • be able to demonstrate from its historical documents that its theological basis is not in conflict with the Statement of Faith of the Australian Evangelical Alliance. (Appendix 1)
    • These documents do not appear to be publicly available.

What impact are they having?

• Nothing systematic found. Some anecdotal evidence in the Annual Report.

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

• EHGC has itself calculated ‘administration’ as 25% of expenses. This is defining ‘direct’ as ‘Overseas support’.
  • The figure for ‘Accountability and Administration’ in the Summary Financial Report (in the Annual Report) is considerably less.

Can you get a tax deduction?

• Only if you donate to its overseas aid fund, Every Home Global Concern Ltd Australia Overseas Aid Fund.
  • This means that if you donate via this page, your donation will go to overseas aid projects. You will therefore not be funding the sharing of the Gospel.

Is their online giving secure?

• Global Concern
  • Security is not mentioned.
  • There is also a gift catalogue; the security could not be checked because the page requires a password.
• Every Home for Christ
  • Security is not mentioned.

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

• Global Concern
  • On this page:
    • None until you get to the second page.
      • ‘Where needed most’
      • ‘Malawi Project’
      • ‘Zambia Project’
      • ‘’India Project’
      • ‘Togo Project’
      • ‘Bangladesh Project’
  • On this page:
    • All those above, plus ‘Brazil Projects’.
• Every Home for Christ
  • The same as the first set above, except without ‘Togo Project’.
• It appears from this, and the Financial Report 2016, that no work is carried out other than overseas. However, the Summary Financial Report (in the Annual Report) shows ‘Domestic Programs Expenditure…’ of $293K.

Do they pay their directors?

• They can (their governing document, ‘Memorandum’, page 4), and they do (Note 5, financial statements).
  • $69K between two directors.
    • Up from $62K and one director last year.
  • Once appointed, EHGC directors serve for their lifetime (Articles of Association, governing document, ACNC Register).

Is their reporting up-to-date?

• Yes (five months after their year-end, three weeks later than last year).

Does their reporting comply with the regulator’s requirements?

• AIS (Annual Information Statement) 2016: No
  • A website address is not a ‘Description of charity’s activities and outcomes’.
  • Four of the eight substantive figures in the ‘Comprehensive Income Statement summary’ are do match the figure in the financial statements.
    • ‘Grants and donations made for use outside Australia’ includes ‘Overseas projects supervision’ $109K.
• Financial Report 2016: No
  • Note 1 first says that the report is a general purpose financial report, then contradicts that by listing only those Accounting Standards that are applicable to special purpose financial statements.
    • The auditor has a similar contradiction.
    • The content of the Notes is more consistent with special purpose statements.
  • There is a very strong connection between the parallel New Zealand organisations, Every Home Global Concern Incorporated and Every Home for Christ New Zealand: Eric Leach is the Executive Director of both the Australian and New Zealand Every Home for Christ organisations, 50% of the board are also members of the Australian boards (including the Chairman and Vice-Chairman). Despite this, there is no mention of the relationship – in fact there is no related parties disclosure at all.
  • 83% of the expenses are represented by the unexplained ‘Other Expenses from Ordinary Activities’.
    • This would include most of the money sent overseas. There is no audited disclosure of to whom the money is sent.
  • The accrual flows statement is labelled Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income, but still has no ‘Other Comprehensive Income’ section.
  • The Statement of Changes in Equity again doesn’t comply with the Accounting Standards.
  • The 190% increase in the value of the Penhurst property that has been recorded resulted from a valuation that was done two months after the year end.
  • In Note 12 ‘Net income from fundraising’ is $1.19 m on page 15, then ‘Net surplus from fundraising on the next page is $614K.
  • Most, if not all, of the other questionable items last year are unchanged this year.

What financial situation was shown by that Report?

• Last year’s 1% surplus as a percentage of revenue became a deficit of 14% of revenue this year.
• Both short-term and long-term structure appear sound.

What did the auditor say about the financial statements?

• The auditor, Tony Gilbert, of WSC Group of gave a ‘clean’ opinion^[3].
  • However, see ‘Financial Report 2016’, above.

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

• Yes
  • Global Concern, under ‘Other Name(s)’is a name by which they are known, but it is not registered.
  • For a company of this size, why is the auditor, Tony Gilbert, the ‘Charity Address for Service’?

Who are the people controlling the organisation?

• They are listed on both websites.
  • The Global Concern website shows seven directors.
  • The Every Home for Christ website shows the same seven plus mentions an eighth, Setatow Befekadu.
• The ACNC Register (under ‘Responsible Persons’) has these eight, plus Richard Snellenburg:
  • Setatow Befekadu
  • John Ealand (New Zealand)
  • Davidson James
  • Ken Koh
  • Eric Leach
  • Roger Mackay
  • Richard Snellenburg
  • Alexander Thomas
  • D’Arcy Watson
• Three of these directors. James, Leach, and Thomas, have been on the board since the inception of the company in 2008. Directors serve for life.

To whom is EHGC accountable?

• EHGC claims, on both its sites (here and here), accreditation with AusAid/DFAT and ACFID. Confirmed, and confirmed. Both have an accountability regime.
• There is no mention, on either site, of their membership of Missions Interlink, an organization that, at least nominally, requires accountability.
• As a registered charity, EHGC is accountable to the ACNC.

1. On both its websites: www.everyhomeforchrist.org.au/donate, and twice on www.globalconcern.org.au (on the home page, and again, with different information, here.) ↑
2. “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. ↑ ↑
3. To take the right amount of comfort for this finding, please read here and here. ↑