The Australian Council for International Development, Australia’s peak body for international development NGOs (ACFID) recently released their 2013 Annual Report and it reveals some very interesting membership statistics. Since the start of July 2012 ACFID has witnessed a 42% net increase in Full and Provisional Members – from 85 to 121 – and a 66% increase in Affiliate and Provisional Affiliate Members – from 3 to 5. This growth in membership continues a trend that started in the 2011 financial year, as shown in this chart.
So why the sudden surge in membership? The short answer is that ACFID has closed the window for organisations to be signatories to the ACFID Code of Conduct and not be members of ACFID.
The Code of Conduct is a voluntary set of standards and principles that an organisation must adhere to if it is to be made a member of ACFID. It serves as both a core standard in the sector and is also a prerequisite for Australian NGOs to be funded by the Australian aid program. This value is clearly recognised by members, with 66% of those organisations no longer able to be signatories to the code choosing to become members to remain signatories
This increase in membership means more income for ACFID. The extra $80,000 ACFID has earned in member subscriptions this year is about a 3% boost to its yearly operating budget, which is beneficial for a variety of reasons including in diversifying funding away from government, which provides about 50% (core funding and grants combined) of the peak body’s funding.
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