STATEMENT: The Wheel calls on the public to maintain charitable giving

Deirdre Garvey, Chief Executive of The Wheel said: “It would be a terrible consequence for the thousands of people and communities served by the vast majority of well-run charities, if the justifiable shock and anger caused by these recent revelations were to affect the fundraising, or the reputation of charities in general. These organisations are reliant on public generosity and support, and the issue currently in the spotlight has no bearing on the overwhelming majority of charities,” said Ms Garvey.

Ms Garvey added that it is important to note that the revelations about top-up payments for senior executives and the associated issue of the levels of those salaries, relate to a very small number of voluntary healthcare-providers that are in effect supplying outsourced public services. “It simply cannot be inferred that these practices are common in a sector where the only comprehensive salary survey of the sector shows that the average remuneration for CEOs and managers in charities is €59,000 a year (with no bonuses or ‘top ups’) and that most charity CEOs earn less than €72,000 a year,” said Ms Garvey.

A survey of 230 charities, conducted by The Wheel in July, found that 64% of charities experienced a decline in their income during the first six months of this year, while 66.7% report an increase in demand for their services over the same period. Almost 33% of the charities surveyed have either suspended or cut back on services in the first six months of this year.

“I urge the public not to jump to conclusions regarding the charity-sector in general. Ireland’s 8,400 charities play an indispensable role in plugging the gaps in our welfare system by providing essential public services like housing, support and care for people with disabilities and protection for the vulnerable and socially excluded. If charities are forced to suspend services, the most vulnerable people in our society will have nowhere else to turn”, said Ms Garvey.

Charities employ over 100,000 people in Ireland (Irish Nonprofits: What Do We Know?, INKEx, 2013).
A recent survey of over 500 Irish charities revealed that two-thirds have taken steps to reduce spending on staff: 67.5% have introduced pay-freezes or planned do so, while 45.1% have either introduced or planned to introduce pay-cuts (A Portrait of the Nonprofit Sector, The Wheel, 2012).
The National Survey on Pay and Benefits in Charities (2008) showed that the average salary of CEOs working in the Irish Charity sector was €59,367 before austerity measures were introduced. The full survey is available here: http://goo.gl/7LAlFy
A number of charities have collaborated to create a code of governance for community and voluntary organisations. The Governance Code provides guidance and a benchmark of good governance against which charities can measure themselves, as well as to clarify the roles, duties and responsibilities of board members and other governance bodies. See www.governancecode.ie

The Wheel is a national organisation that represents and supports community, voluntary and charitable organisations in Ireland. Founded in 1999, we currently represent over 930 organisations across Ireland, reﬂecting the enormous scope and scale of this vibrant and diverse sector. See www.wheel.ie for more.