☢️Problem
Every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem and a big idea turn into an innovation.
In 2019, Australia suffered a bushfire crisis, impacting thousands hectares of land, severely harming the wildlife and damaging their habitat. A total of $245 million has been donated as part of the bushfire appeal-to-date, but up to $37m of that are being used to cover admin costs, including casework, IT systems, fraud prevention and fundraising as well as bank and platform fees.
Admin costs are important and part of a charity's investment. It's not only paper shuffling, it's also staff training, evaluation and monitoring. It's data collection, legal obligations and overseeing the decision-making process behind resource allocations.
Charities provide a great structure to make a positive impact in the world through volunteering, government grants and private funding. However, the threat and speed of natural catastrophes require rapid implementation of conservation and environmental initiatives to preserve biodiversity and maintain carbon-offsetting solutions.
"It can take a government months, or even years, to process a $100,000 grant for something." Crosbie, CEO of Community Council for Australia.
Bureaucracy sometimes hinder the timeliness of tackling environmental problems. Charities with a large corporate apparatus require large financial resources, causing large admin costs and lack of speed. In turn, causing capital inefficiency.
Below is a pie chart representing the Red Cross expenditure on humanitarian services.
A few questions come to mind when looking at the pie chart above:
How much of those funds have been allocated to environmental initiatives tackling the bushfire crisis?
And how long until there will be any results?
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