Global Recordings Network: 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 an income tax exemption when it might not otherwise be available^[1].

‘Global Recordings Network’ is one such Member, and an organisation that seeks donations from the public.

Charity response

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

I sent the member a draft of this review.  They…did not respond.

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 ‘Global Recordings Network’^[2], with #5 supplemented by the essentials of the ACNC’s What should I consider when deciding which charity to support?^[3]

1.  With the addition of ‘Australia’, there is a registered^[4] charity in that name.

_________________________________________________________

2.  There is nothing to indicate that Global Recordings Network Australia (GRN) uses paid third-party (donation) collectors.

_________________________________________________________

3.  The web address does not begin with a closed padlock symbol, so the website is not secure [the ACNC article above^[5]]. The ‘Donate’ page says ‘Donate securely online by credit card’, but the page where you enter your information has no information on this security. ________________________________________________________

4.  GRN’s ABN record says that it is not entitled to receive tax-deductible gifts. The website supports this. _______________________________________________________

5.  The use of your donations

To answer this you would need to see GRN’s latest financial statements. For a reason that the ACNC, because of the secrecy provisions of its Act, was not able to share with me, not only are these statements absent from the Register, but there are no Financial Reports or Annual Information Statements since the inception of the Register in 2013:

This lack of accountability is matched by there being no financial information offered by GRN on the ‘GRN Australia Financial Information’ page.

However, their membership of Missions Interlink requires them to have financial statements available, so just ask.

From the ACNC Register, these are the people responsible for what’s on the ACNC Register and the website:

Bernard Wong

Danielle Allen

Francis Mackaway

Karl Hochstetter

Matthew Bales

Ranjit Thambyrajah

Robert Love

End of review.

1. ↑
2. See here for the previous 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?

   ↑

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. The ACNC’s information (in its article above) is out-of-date. ↑