Archived: YWAM Byron Bay: mini charity review for donors

Mini charity review of Youth With A Mission Byron Bay Incorporated (YBB)^[1] as an organisation that seeks donations. (Including the answers to the questions that the Australian charity regulator, the ACNC, suggests that you ask.)

Is YBB registered?

• As a charity, yes.
• Other registrations:
  • As a NSW incorporated association (INC9889230).
  • Not registered for fundraising in any of the seven states that have a fundraising licence regime.
    • 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.

What do they do?

• They conduct ‘DTS’ schools, for Christians, and have various ‘ministries’ to non-believers. See the footer on the website.

Do they share the Gospel?

• Yes.

What impact are they having?

• One report of ‘healings’ on the website, but nothing else found on outcomes.

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 (six months after their year-end).
  • 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 16 months ago.

Does their reporting comply with the regulator’s requirements?

• AIS 2015: Except for the absence of outcomes, yes.
• Financial Report 2015: No
  • There is no audit report.
  • Two of the four required financial statements are missing.
  • The Directors’ Declaration is not made by the ‘responsible persons’ as required by YBB’s enabling legislation, but by ‘the director’ (most likely the male of the two ‘base directors’).
  • 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  • The Detailed Profit and Loss Statement uses a long out-of-date format.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.

What financial situation was shown by that Report?

• 2013’s small deficit has been turned into a surplus that is 26% of revenue.
• No obvious concerns with either short-term or long-term financial structure.

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?

• With the exception of no phone number or website, yes.

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

• None for a one-off payment; a name of a staff member or a student can be specified for a recurring payment.

Who are the people controlling the organisation?

• They are not shown on the website, but here they are from the ACNC Register:
  • Steven Clark
  • Susan Clark
  • Melody Mims
  • Keven Stickl
  • Tiffany Stickly
• These people are accountable to the members of the company.

To whom are YBB accountable?

• Not claimed on the website, but they are members of Missions Interlink.
  • For one opinion on the strength of this accountability, see the section Activities in this review.

Are they responsive to feedback?

• When sent a draft of this review they did not respond.

1. The name by which they are commonly known, YWAM Byron Bay, is not a registered business name. ↑