Friends of Femili PNG Inc: charity review

This is a review in the series ‘Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Members’. ACFID ‘is the peak body for Australian non government organisations (NGOs) involved in international development and humanitarian action.’ It requires Members to adhere to a Code of Conduct. ‘Friends of Femili PNG Incorporated’ is one such Member.

Donors

The webpage linked from the ACFID membership list seeks donations from the public.

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 ‘Friends of Femili PNG Incorporated’, with #5 supplemented by the essentials of the ACNC’s What should I consider when deciding which charity to support?^[1]

 1.  There’s a charity registered in the name ‘Friends of Femili PNG Incorporated’ (FoF).

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2.  There is no indication on the website that FoF seeks donations door-to-door or in public places.

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3.  The webpage address begins with a closed padlock symbol, so the website is secure [the ACNC article above].

• The ‘Click here to make a donation’ link goes to a GiveNow page for FemiliPNG/FoF.
  • GiveNow doesn’t say anything about the security of your information.
• Why does the giving page equate FemiliPNG with FoF? The former is a PNG organisation.

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4.  FoF’s ABN record says that, as a Public Benevolent Institution, it is entitled to receive tax-deductible gifts. The GiveNow page says the same.

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5.  The use of your donations

The audited account of how donations are used by a charity is its Financial Report on the ACNC Register.

Even though the ACNC Register says that FoF was established in 2015, and last reported on 10 December 2019, the Register also says, without explanation, that ‘There are no annual reports available’. This at the same time as reporting at the top of FoF’s record ‘Charity reporting is up to date’.

FoF lodged an ‘Annual Report’ on the Register on 10 December 2019, but this is for Femili PNG, not FoF. This Report has a ¾ page report on FoF. This shows that FoF ‘raised in excess of AUD 300,00 for projects in PNG.’ Where’s the accountability for the Australian charity. Why was it granted membership of ACFID?

The ACNC Register says that these are the people responsible for FoF decisions^[2]:

Anna Wissink

Marcia Kalinoe

Stephanie Copus-Campbell

Stephen Howes

Williamson Kelly (reversed?)

Charity response

There is nothing about feedback on the FoF webpage. However, Femili PNG encourages feedback, with Australians asked to send it to FoF. I sent a draft of this review to them on 23 March 2020. Up to the time of publication, nearly three weeks later, they had not responded.

1. 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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2. The Annual Report 2018-19 says that the board members shown (page 19) govern both FemiliPNG and FoF. There are two names additional to those on the Register for FoF: Ume Wainetti and Eric Kwa. ↑