Australia’s charity sector is growing – but many smaller charities are doing it tough

Revenue for Australia’s charity and not-for-profit sector has reached record highs, and total donations have grown. But the story isn’t the same everywhere, and some smaller charities may be struggling.

That’s according to the latest edition of the Australian Charities Report from the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), released this week.

The report shows that in the 2023 reporting year, revenue for Australia’s charity sector rose by 10.7% to a record A$222 billion. This was bigger than the growth in expenses, which rose by 8.4% to $212 billion.

Total donations and bequests also rose, to $18.9 billion. But the picture is nuanced. One single donation made to the Minderoo Foundation of $4.9 billion is included in this figure.

If this is left out, total donations rose by less than 0.4% across the sector. This suggests we should perhaps put any celebrations on hold and instead ask why donations might be flat-lining.

In 2023, the top 30 charities accounted for 40% of all donations and bequests to the sector. This was double the 20% share reported for the previous year.

Australia’s charity sector plays a vital role in society. For it to thrive, all of its elements must be healthy, including smaller charities.

Some big wins

The large donation was made to the Minderoo Foundation (in Fortescue shares) by Andrew and Nicola Forrest, as part of their commitment to the Giving Pledge. This further concentrated the share of donations received by the largest charities.

The Minderoo Foundation funds a wide range of philanthropic programs and research. For example, it works with Citizens of the Sea to collect marine life DNA as part of the 2025 Pacific Rally to monitor marine biodiversity.

In 2023, the Minderoo Foundation funded the creation of Uncloud as a peer-to-peer hub to show the true impact of vaping, a program that has been handed over to VicHealth.

Elsewhere, Clean Up Australia once again had the most volunteers of any organisation. In 2023, it increased its numbers by 120,000 volunteers to more than 1 million. This represented 44% of the entire growth in volunteer numbers across the sector.

These are both great examples of how large national charities can grow year-on-year. But what about the smaller ones?

Read the full article in The Conversation.