b'COMMUNITY| LEGAL SECTOR| 2022SUSTAINABILITY INSIGHTCHARITABLE GIVINGNot-for-profit organisations create almost four per cent of Australias domestic product and facilitate contributions equivalent to 330,000 full-time employees undertaking 600 million hours of community service. At the same time, some charities generate revenue through commercial type operations. Almost all are reliant on charitable giving for the delivery of their programs.The demand for critical services provided by these not-for-profit organisations and charities is significant and growing. The natural disaster recovery in Australia continues to affect hundreds of thousands of Australians who lost homes, livelihoods, and businesses and suffered physical and mental injury. Increased interest rates and a national housing crisis add to the troubles of the most vulnerable people in Australia. As charities were stretched by responding to this high demand, the costs of goods and services have surged, making it even more difficult and costly for them to meet the current demands and provide new needs for their services. During this time, many charities also began to report a significant reduction in revenue and had difficulty in planning and making future commitments.Following many years of steady growth, the levels of giving in Australia peaked after the bushfires in early 2020 and revenues dipped quickly following uncertainty and disruption caused after the emergence of COVID across the world. While COVID did stimulate some donations, it also prevented significant engagement and fundraising from occurring in many of the traditional areas.The last three years have proven to be the most challenging years for Australias Not for Profit (NFP) sector. The devastating impact of years of natural disasters, inflation, housing crisis and COVID are threatening the Australian community sector, which is facing increased demand for services, a reduction in donations and a catastrophic collapse in volunteering.The early forecasts and data for levels of donations during COVID were worrying, with annual giving falling four per cent to December 2020. Various categories of NFPs faired differently with the levels of giving to health and international aid improving while small reductions were experienced in environment/animals and religious causes. The largest falls were experienced in arts, education and social services. A 2021 report from JBWere indicates that the reductions experienced in mass market donations have been offset by high net-worth giving and corporate community investment, which both grew strongly during 2020. The rebuilding process is ongoing and will take significant resources and effort from the Australian charity sector over many yearsThe types of fundraising activities that often form large portions of charitable income, including events, collection drives, commerce, and workplace giving have all been restricted by COVID and will be for some time. In parallel, lower levels of security, higher unemployment and lower business profitability are also likely to adversely impact on donations from the community and business. The longer outlook for the capacity and security of the charitable sector is concerning.In response to changing demand for services and revenue opportunities charities have been adjusting in various ways. Philanthropy Australia surveyed 101 grant-makers about the impacts of COVID on their plans and experiences. It found that eighty-eight per cent of respondents had reviewed how to better support their partners with seventy-two per cent increasing flexibility, forty-eight per cent untying restricted funding, forty-two per cent increasing financial grant support and thirty-two per cent establishing dedicated COVID grant programs.Australian businesses facilitate two streams of philanthropy: charitable giving and workplace giving, or in many cases a combination of both.WORKPLACE GIVING MONITORED GIVING PROGRAMHost external charity eventsYES NO IN DEVT. YES NO IN DEVT.37%Charitable foundation44%Workplace giving External charity events and appeals22% 32% 30%Matched funding for employee donations Firm donation program Internal appeals and collections41% 24%54'