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About the organisation

An organisation supporting vulnerable young people through in-person community engagement applied for charity registration with the ACNC with the subtype promoting reconciliation, mutual respect and tolerance between groups of individuals that are in Australia.

The organisation ran a program led by trained professionals to build leadership and resilience, foster inclusion and teach young people about conflict resolution and critical thinking.

The organisation’s work targeted disengaged youth, with a focus on harm prevention, social cohesion and non-violent conflict resolution.

About the application

In its application, the organisation outlined that its beneficiaries were children and young people, but noted that their work also had broader societal benefits as a result of improving outcomes and behaviours for their direct beneficiaries and the groups they had contact with.

The organisation shared that their program was based on an initiative developed by the United Nations and disclosed that they worked closely with another local organisation in the delivery of their program.

That partner organisation was not a charity and was unlikely to be eligible for charity registration.

Partners are third parties that a charity might work with to deliver services or programs.

Such an arrangement may be formal or informal, but it is more than a simple customer-supplier relationship.

There are many types of partners, and each may have its own reasons for wanting to work with a charity. Some examples include:

  • Corporate entities: a charity might receive funds, goods or services, and the corporate partner benefits from being associated with charitable work. The arrangement may see the corporate partner meet social responsibility obligations.
  • Other charities: working with other charities or not-for-profits might involve joint fundraising or collaboration on a project.
  • Government entities: a charity may partner with a government entity to organise and carry out a government project.
  • Suppliers of goods and services: although most relationships with suppliers might involve relatively simple transactions or contracted services, some charities might have a broader, more collaborative arrangement.

About the registration process

The ACNC contacted the organisation to learn more about its program and activities – as well as its relationship with the partner – so we could better understand its purposes.

In response, a representative from the organisation provided information about the program’s strategy and structure.

The organisation detailed its current and future planned activities, and explained how each helped promote positive behaviours, harm prevention and development for young people and community-building initiatives. The organisation planned to do this through:

  • early intervention and targeted support for vulnerable and at-risk youth
  • providing opportunities for young people to get involved in their local community and break down barriers with groups of young people that were different to them
  • running educational workshops on topics such as dispute resolution and constructive conflict management.

The organisation shared that the core driver of its activities was to support young people in building strong social relationships, resolving conflict with others and feeling connected to their communities and with other groups of young people.

After analysis, the ACNC determined the organisation’s activities promoted reconciliation, mutual respect and tolerance between groups of individuals that are in Australia.

Promoting reconciliation, mutual respect and tolerance between groups of individuals that are in Australia is a purpose set out in the Charities Act 2013 and may include:

  • promoting harmony and reducing conflict between people from different races, religions or belief systems
  • eliminating discrimination and promoting equality
  • promoting restorative justice and other forms of conflict resolution or reconciliation
  • mediating, conciliating or reconciling those involved in dispute or conflict.

Groups of individuals referred to in this subtype must be in Australia.

The organisation explained that their partner’s staff would be trained to run their program and host workshops on their premises.

While the partner on its own was not a charitable organisation through collaborating with the organisation applying for ACNC registration their joint efforts promoted reconciliation, mutual respect and tolerance between groups of individuals in the local community.

Outcome

The organisation was registered as a charity with the charity subtype ‘Promoting reconciliation, mutual respect and tolerance between groups of individuals that are in Australia’.