When we think of the not-for-profit sector we don’t tend to think of businesses employing huge numbers of staff and the significant contribution they make to the state.
And when we think of volunteering, we don’t tend to think of the more than 900,000 volunteers in South Australia either, whose contribution is valued at around $5 billion annually, adding value to the not-for-profit sector’s contribution to our state.
There are more than 600,000 not-for-profits in Australia that take on the services commercial organisations would not readily consider, and do so far more efficiently than if provided by governments. Yet we tend to forget how significant a role they play in the community.
We recently spoke to a Business SA member which underwent an independent review of its services.
The review discovered the cost to the government would be 10 times the current funding if it were not provided through an NFP, demonstrating the efficiency that this organisation runs at.
Neither could the organisation meet the needs of the state on the government funding given and relied on personal and corporate donations.
The talented people working within NFPs are some of the best out there given the dynamic and often risk-filled nature of the environment they operate in. NFP organisations are incredibly resilient and have learnt to be innovative because they’re forced to create solutions to complex problems. They make things work when other commercial organisations would throw their hands in the air and give up.
Supplementing this talent is a passion that is hard to replicate outside of the sector.
It’s clear the sector makes a significant contribution to our community, but importantly to the overall economy.
Figures from the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates the sector contributed $57.7 billion to GDP in 2012-13. Including volunteering, that is 4.9 per cent of Australia’s GDP.
Compared to 8.6 per cent contributed in the same year by the mining industry during a boom period, it’s clear that NFPs are an economic powerhouse and do more than just social good.
The sector contributes significantly to employment across the nation.
In 2012-13, the sector employed close to 1.1 million people, and almost 3.9 million volunteers nationally.
Those reliable and selfless volunteers contributed 521 million hours to non-profit institutions nationally, equating 265,600 full-time employed people. The economic value of these hours was estimated at a staggering $17.3 billion.
Business SA recognises the significance of the work undertaken by those employed in the NFP sector.
The people running a complex multi-dimensional not for profit, people serving the meals to the homeless at night, those working in a nursing home, or helping people navigate the NDIS. Hats off.
Anthony Penney is Business SA’s executive director, industry & government engagement.
This article was originally published in the Advertiser South Australian Business Journal on Tuesday 19 June 2018.
Image: Volunteers feeding the homeless, Stewart Mclean.