Archived: YWAM Gold Coast: mini charity review for donors (and others)

Mini charity review of Youth With A Mission Gold Coast Inc (YGC)^[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 YGC registered?

• As a charity, yes.
• Other registrations:
  • As a Queensland incorporated association (IA36004).
  • Not registered for fundraising in any of the seven states that have a fundraising licence regime. This includes the two states in which they operate.
    • 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’ and other schools for Christians (see the main menu), and have various ministries to non-believers.

Do they share the Gospel?

• Sharing the Gospel is not explicitly included in the its objects (in the constitution). Their description of some of their ministries suggests that the Gospel is shared, but again these are substantially about good deeds.

What impact are they having?

• Nothing found.

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?

• According to YGC’s Government ABN record, yes, both to YGC itself and to its fund, Youth With A Mission Gold Coast Inc Trust.
  • Not according to YGC though. They say that tax deductible donations are only available for donations ‘to YWAM Gold Coast through our Building Fund’
  • This is the only reference to the Trust or this fund on the website or in the Financial Report.

Is their online giving secure?

• PayPal is used, so yes.
• See the Security Policy at the bottom of the giving page.

Is their reporting up-to-date?

• Yes (four 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^[2].
• Financial Report 2015: No
  • Two of the four required financial statements are missing.
  • Even though the auditor’s report says that the Notes to the accounts were audited, no Notes are included.
  • Even though the auditor has issued his report, there is no Directors’ Declaration (or similar).
  • The Detailed Profit and Loss Statement uses a long out-of-date format.

What financial situation was shown by that Report?

• 2013’s surplus of 6% of revenue, has been turned into a deficit that is 13% of revenue.
• No obvious concerns with either short-term or long-term financial structure.

What did the auditor say about the last financial statements?

• He gave a ‘clean’ opinion. To take the right amount of comfort for this finding, please read here and here.
  • But note that he approved of the Financial Report in its deficient state (see above).

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

• No, only two ‘responsible persons’ are shown.
• Less important: the website address is missing.
• Not incomplete, but incorrect: the year end is 30 April, not 30 June.

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

• ‘School fees’, ‘Donations’ and ‘Staff fees’.

Who are the people controlling the organisation?

• They are not shown on the website.
• There are only two shown on the ACNC Register:
  • Dave Bartsch
  • Darcy McCaslin
• The constitution requires a minimum of three.
• The committee is accountable to the members of the company.

To whom are YGC 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 Gold Coast, is not a registered business name. ↑
2. I think that they have made a mistake in reporting 28 employees – ‘Employee expenses’ are zero. ↑