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DEC warns some members on expulsion

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 29 Jul 2009

The Disasters Emergency Committee has warned some of its member aid agencies they could face expulsion because they are not raising enough disaster-response money in their own right.

Even though the total £24m raised by the DEC during the 2008/2009 financial year is significantly up from the £15m raised in the previous 12 months, a number of its 13 member agencies are failing to meet the standards set for DEC membership.

"A small number of agencies" did not generate the required amount of individual income and expenditure to qualify as a member of the DEC, according to the organisation's annual report published today. Some had also changed their contracts, against the membership requirements of the DEC.

However, a spokeswoman for the organisation told Charity News Alert that the DEC would not reveal which or how many of its member agencies are failing the criteria which is designed to ensure only the top-performing organisations in the field receive support from the umbrella organisation.

The agencies have been warned about their situation, which is being monitored on an ongoing basis by the DEC's Recruitment (Trustees) Committee, the spokeswoman said. 

Some DEC members struggle with commitments

The report also revealed that some member agencies were not systematic enough in their analysis of financial risk and identified accountability to beneficiaries as "one of the weaker areas of the framework", committing DEC members to improving on the latter front in 2009/2010.

According to the annual report, the DEC will change the period it sets for income spend, but will not make any changes to its current basis for allocating funds.

A smaller percentage of funds were allocated to direct charitable activity, dropping to 96.32 per cent in 2008/2009 from 98.95 per cent in the previous year and a peak of 99.54 per cent in 2006/2007.

Online donations compensate for BBC ban on Gaza appeal

The widely-criticised BBC decision not to broadcast the organisation’s Gaza Crisis Appeal (pictured) resulted in a fall in phone donations, but did not prevent the appeal from raising more than £5m, 43 per cent of which was raised online.

Online donations accounted for nearly a third of DEC income overall, with just 11.38 per cent of donations pledged via the telephone.

Two other appeals ran over the period, with the Myanmar cyclone appeal generating the greatest amount of donations at £12.06m. The DEC also launched a crisis appeal for Congo in November 2008 which raised £6.97m.

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Who's Who: Celina Ribeiro