Humanitarian services – Where the money came from
Gross revenue for the entire Australian Red Cross Society was $867.401 million. This figure includes $642.927 million for the Blood Service – the blood products and human tissue services division of the Australian Red Cross Society. The Blood Service’s portion of the gross revenue includes $619.691 million in government funding, $9.783 million in investment income and $13.453 million from other income sources. Revenue for Humanitarian Services was $224.474 million, a $47.794 million decrease from the previous year. There was a reduction of $34.352 million in government funding which was mainly due to the termination of the migration Status Resolution Support Services program (FY18 $34.12 million). Our donor funds help us to continue essential support for our most vulnerable migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, though on a smaller scale. Our revenue from our Red Cross shops increased by $1.554 million to $31.398 million. Revenue from Non-Government Grants also increased by $0.317 million to $6.269 million.
Overall, 54.3% of the funding for our Humanitarian Services came from the Australian community and goods purchased by them.
The Australian public donated more than $96.434 million this year ($83.230 million for our everyday work and $13.205 million for emergency appeals), a strong result driven by the generosity of people who give ongoing monthly donations and people who leave bequests to Red Cross. This year we recorded $31.398 million from the people buying at our Red Cross shops, with retail revenue growing by 5.2% on FY18 and continuing a strong trend of multi-year growth (FY18: 7.0% growth).
This revenue is supplemented by substantial non-financial support, with Red Cross volunteers and members providing millions of hours through the year. There are also gifts in-kind and pro bono services. While we do not place a dollar value on these priceless forms of support, without them our everyday work would not be possible.
Government funding, which includes Commonwealth government and State government funding remains a significant source of income. Commonwealth government funding was $47.959 million and State government funding was $36.781, which represents 21.4% and 16.4% of income respectively (FY18: 30.5%, 13.2%). We are working to diversify our sources of income in the long term and grow other sources of income. To counter this reduction in government funding, we rely more than ever on the Australian community to support our work.
We assess all funding opportunities through internal review processes to ensure services we fund are aligned with community needs and our strategic direction. Risk assessments are conducted to ensure our services remain viable and effective. We are also working towards being able to measure our social impact.
Community support for our humanitarian services
Financial support provided by individuals and the community for our everyday, non-disaster services totalled $83.230 million, reflecting the generosity of the Australian public.
The largest source of community support for our everyday work continues to be regular, ongoing monthly contributions. These regular givers donated $36.852 million, a decline from the previous year. The overall proportion of our everyday work funded by regular giving increased to 44.3% from 42.6% last year (note that this does not include disaster appeals).
Another key group of supporters are people who thoughtfully leave a gift to Red Cross in their Will. Bequests contributed 18.2% of our income, providing $15.156 million in the past year, a $10.202 million decrease on the previous year. Almost two in every three dollars given by the community came from regular givers and bequestors, highlighting the huge positive impact made by ordinary Australians.
We also received income from valued corporate partners, trusts and foundations, individuals making one-off donations, Red Cross members and community groups.
Changes in government funding for our humanitarian services work
Government funding totalled $84.740 million in FY2019, which included $47.959 million from Commonwealth government funding, and $36.781 million from State government funding, altogether accounted for 37.8% of total revenue for our humanitarian services and decreased compared to the past year by $34.352 million. This was largely due to the $18.653 million reduction in funding for our Migration Support Programs. Funds for the Status Resolution Support Service program declined to $0.052 million, from $34.862 million in FY2018 with the contract coming to an end. We continued to support migrants through the government funded Humanitarian Settlement Program and through other donor funded programs. Social inclusion with $34.070 million is the biggest program to receive Government funding.
In line with Strategy 2020, our International Programs focused on providing efficient and effective support to 14 key partner countries in the Asia Pacific region. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade provided $8.397million in International Aid & Development funding to support this work as well as our response to significant disasters in the region. Our government-funded services must meet stipulated conditions over the term of each agreement and are subject to regular review.