In 2016, we did an exercise to see what Calxa’s social impact was valued by using ACNC returns. This data was included in the More than Charity report released by VCOSS, the Victorian Council of Social Services. Importantly, it revealed that Victorian community sector charities were spending almost $23m annually on reporting to government.
The figures varied slightly between sub-sectors and large organisations. It showed, they spent almost twice as much time on reporting as small and medium organisations. In addition, the report was based on publicly available data from the ACNC and based on AIS returns from 2014.
The Social Impact is a Saving of 4 Days per Month
For many years, Calxa customers have been telling us that they save time on reporting. Essentially, some have quantified that somewhere around a saving of 1-4 days every month. However, we have never previously managed to aggregate that data though. Therefore, inspired by VCOSS, the Calxa team did just that.
Using the same source data, we looked at the time spent reporting for a random sample of our customers. This showed a staggering result:
- While VCOSS showed large charities spending an average of 523 paid hours a year on reporting, Calxa customers only took 135 hours.
- That’s a saving of 74% or over $25,000 a year per organisation.
- Including the small and medium charities (who are mostly taking advantage of our donated software), the total saving for all of our Not-for-Profit customers nationwide is a staggering $11,938,000.
These savings make a real difference to the organisations we work with. Ultimately, they help free up funds they can then use towards their main purpose.
That’s an extra $12m towards social services. Fore example, it will help the homeless, to supporting women in need, assisting refugees, providing services to the aged and people with disabilities.
The Calxa team is proud to having such an impact to be making a difference to our communities every day.
Charities and Not-for-Profits looking to improve their financial management may be eligible for a Calxa donation.