Archived: Youth With A Mission Byron Bay Incorporated: mini charity review

Mini charity review of Youth With A Mission Byron Bay Incorporated (YBB) as an organisation that has an online option for you to donate to it, and that is a member of Missions Interlink^[1]. (Including the answers to the questions that the Australian charity regulator, the ACNC, suggests that you ask.)

See here for the previous review.

Are they responsive to feedback?

• I sent them a draft of this review 26 June 2017. Like last year, they…did not respond.

Is YBB registered?

• As a charity, yes.
• YBB is a NSW incorporated association (INC9889230)^[2].
• The name by which they are commonly known, YWAM Byron Bay, is not a registered business name.
• Operates in Australia, per the ACNC Register, in New South Wales only. But also invites donations on the internet. Not registered for fundraising in any of the seven states that have a fundraising licence regime^[3].

What do they do?

• See the main menu items ‘DTS’ (Discipleship Training School), ‘SOE’ (School of Evangelism), and About/Ministries.
  • A DTS may take a trip overseas:
    • each school finds out on there (sic) school which specific countries and missions they will be able to chose (sic) from/ do. But the base here in Byron has connections and a heart for many of the east Asian countries like Indonesia, east Timor, Cambodia, PNG – & sometimes Thailand & India.
      • This is a different list of countries to the one that is on the ACNC Register.

Do they share the Gospel?

• Yes.

What impact are they having?

• Nothing systematic found. You may find one or two anecdotal accounts of impact in the blog.

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

• The classification of expenses does not allow a split between direct and indirect – however ‘direct’ is defined.

Can you get a tax deduction?

• Not to YBB itself, but to the Youth With A Mission Byron Bay Building and Maintenance Fund, yes.
  • There is no mention of this fund on the website or in the Financial Report.

Is their online giving secure?

• PayPal is used, so yes.

Is their reporting up-to-date?

• Yes (seven and a half months after their year-end, one and a half months beyond the final date).
  • But if you are considering a large donation, I would ask for more up-to-date financial information – the accounts are for a year end that is now over 14 months ago.

Does their reporting comply with the regulator’s requirements?

• AIS 2015: No
  • Several of the financial figures do not match those in the financial statements.
  • No outcomes are reported.
  • Is the description of ‘activities’ about 2015?
• Financial Report 2015: No
  • Like last year
    • There is no audit report.
    • Two of the four required financial statements are missing.
    • The Directors’ Declaration is unsigned.
    • The Detailed Profit and Loss Statement uses a long out-of-date format.
    • Many of the usual Notes are missing.
    • The directors don’t say why an organization that recruits students from all over the world would not properly be a reporting entity. (This allows them to produce the lower standard special purpose financial statements.)

What financial situation was shown by that Report?

• Too much information is missing to reliably comment.

What did the auditor say about the last financial statements?

• There is no auditor’s report included. In fact, there is nothing in the Financial Report to suggest that an audit was performed.

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

• Yes
  • “Phone” and “Website” are blank, but neither are compulsory.

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

• ‘Application Fee’
• ‘Enrollment Deposit’
• ‘Other Donations’
  • The purpose can be recorded
• ‘School Fees’
• ‘Staff Fees’
  • Not explained anywhere.
• The revenue items don’t quite match this list.

Who are the people controlling the organisation?

• Not shown on the website, but from the ACNC Register (under ‘Responsible Persons’):
  • Steven Clark
  • Susan Clark
  • Kevin Stickl
  • Tiffany Stickly (Stickl?)
  • If these four are two couples (which I think they are), this board, with one fewer directors than last year, has become less diverse.
    • It is questionable wisdom to have one couple in a board of four for an organization taking public money, but two is definitely a bad practice.
  • Diversity would be greatly improved if YBB was following its constitution and the committee had the required seven (7) members.

To whom are YBB accountable?

• Not claimed on the website, but they are members of Missions Interlink^[4].

1. Missions Interlink is an organisation that, among other things, gives members income tax exemption even though they do not meet the “in Australia” test and do not have deductible gift recipient status. (Including the answers to the questions that the Australian charity regulator, the ACNC, suggests that you ask.) ↑
2. Not, as they say on their ABN record, an ‘Other Unincorporated Entity’. ↑
3. The law in this area is not straightforward – is an internet invitation ‘fundraising’ for instance? – and advice varies, so check with the charity before drawing any conclusions. ↑
4. For one opinion on the strength of this accountability, see the section Activities in this review. ↑