Ancillary Funds are trust funds that act as intermediaries between donors and beneficiary organisations that can receive tax deductible donations.
Ancillary in this sense means ‘supporting’, and it is important to note that ancillary funds may not undertake projects or deliver services themselves, but instead exist to fund the work of other organisations. There are two types of ancillary funds in Australia, namely Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs) and Public Ancillary Funds (PubAFs).
In the Ancillary Fund Information Sheet, ACPNS founder Emeritus Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes and ACPNS researchers Marie Balczun and Dr. Alexandra Williamson, build on data from the past 18 years to illustrate long-term trends around both types of philanthropic foundations. We consider the number of each type, how much they receive in donations, how much they distribute in grants, and how much they hold in assets.
Interesting findings from the investigations include:
- The number of new PAFs established (n=108 in the 2018-19 year) has dropped from the previous year (n=155 in 2017-18).
- The number of new PubAFs established has also fallen, from 51 in 2017-18 to 48 in 2018-19.
- While PAFs saw a drop in donations received to $546 million, PubAFs benefited from the largest amount in donations ($847 million) since data was first reported by the ATO in 2011-12.
Our thanks to Marie Balczun who analysed the data, and to Emeritus Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes for his insights.
The ACPNS Ancillary Fund Information sheet is available online: Ancillary Funds 2000–2019: ACPNS Current Issues Information Sheet 2021-1 | QUT ePrints
