26. October 2005 Czech Donors Forum

1
26. October 2005Czech Donors Forum
Advocacy through the media
2
Czech Donors Forum

• The Czech Donors Forum (CDF) is a non-profit
  initiative, which provides support and leadership
  to the donor community in the Czech Republic. Its
  mission is to support the development of
  organized philanthropy and to serve the Czech
  donor community (360 foundations, 900 foundations
  without endowment, corporate and community donors)

3
CDF central spheres of interest

• consolidation of foundations and endowment funds
• creation of conditions favorable for corporate
  giving
• improvement of the legal environment of
  philanthropy, namely the advocacy of the
  possibility to allocate 1 of tax
• promoting best practice

4
1 Project
5
Reasons of creating 1 Project

• Major foreign donors leaving the Czech
• Republic
• To find new local and more balanced resources of
  support for NGOs
• To diversify NGOs income
• To strengthen position of non-profit sector in
  the society

6
CDF roles

• Elaborate 1 law
• Getting consensus
• Campaign and advocacy

7
Elaborate 1 Law

• In 2003 CDF sets the Legal group of experts
• Legal group prepared the legal basis of the 1
  Law (the Amendment to Income Tax Law)
• CDF prepares analysis of the political
  background, economical analysis, experiences from
  the CEE
• In 2004 CDF passes 1 Law to the legislative
  process

8
Getting consensus

• CDF sets the Advocacy and Communication groups
• Advocacy group prepared the strategy of promotion
• Communication group prepared the campaign strategy

9
The communication campaign and advocacy

• Two main goals
• Inform NGOs, media, political representatives
  (media campaign)
• Promote the 1 Law (negotiation with the
  government boards, political representatives)

10
Communication campaign

• 1 for better life

11
Target groups of the campaign

• NGOs
• Media
• Politicians
• Tax offices
• Ministry of finance

12
Methods of the campaign

• Internet (www.rozhodni.cz)
• Press information
• Public opinion research
• Radio, TV

• Newspapers
• Seminars, conference
• Individual meetings (NGOs, politicians)
• Print materials (leaflet, brochure)

13
Public opinion research

• In June 2005 CDF carried out public opinion
  research
• 509 respondents in age 15 69 years
• Question Would you like to have an option to
  allocate 1 from your taxes to public benefit
  NGO?
• More than 50 of respondents said yes (54 of
  them women, 46 man)

14
Advocacy

• Creating Initiative for 1
• Negotiation with the Ministry of finance
• Negotiation with the Government (council
  committees)
• Negotiation with single political parties

15
Initiative for 1

• The Initiative for 1  is an informal grouping
  of non-governmental non-profit organizations,
  which support the implementation of the option to
  transfer 1  of personal income tax (by physical
  entities) for public benefit activities.

16
The arguments of the advocacy

• 1 adoption is political statement
• 1 distribution mechanism of minimum load for
  the Tax offices administration
• 1 involves the citizens to the public policy
• 1 brings new local sources for NGOs

17
DMS project
18
What is DMS

• DMS means a donating SMS standard service
  branded as Donors Message Service
• DMS is a traditional public collection using the
  modern technologies
• DMS is implemented by CDF for all NGOs in the
  Czech Republic

19
DMS and VAT

• From technical reasons DMS is burden with VAT
• prepaid cards VAT is charged upon credit
  purchase regardless of purpose or later use
• Contract possibility to separate
• Law on VAT and Law on Donations Tax donations
  are tax exempted

20
DMS and VAT

• Operators and CDF set to solve VAT issue and
  initiated cooperation with Finance Ministry
• DMS public campaigns Tatra Mountains and Tsunami
  brought public attention and awareness
• Public pressure to solve the VAT issue (January
  May 2005 the national newspapers 38 times
  published VAT issue)

21
Advocacy

• Operators and CDF put together Expert Group
• Members of Expert Group 1 tax consultant from
  each operator and representative of auditors
  company from big 4
• Preparation of VAT issue solution
• shortterm
• longterm

22
Shortterm solution

• Refund of VAT (collected from public campaigns)
  by the Government was proposed by CDF and
  achieved in the form of exceptional state subsidy
  for NGOs organizing campaigns
• Government committed by Act to prepare long term
  solution

23
Longterm solution

• Expert Group elaborated Amendment to VAT Law
  together with the Finance Ministry
• Amendment was presented to the House of
  Representatives and approved

24
Reasons of successful advocacy

• From the beginning of DMS project CDF pressed to
  solve VAT issue
• CDF insisted on publishing the price of DMS apart
  from VAT (30 CZKVAT) to inform about this the
  wide public
• Big public pressure
• CDF and all the 3 operators joined in solving VAT
  issue

25
More information on the legal program

• www.donorsforum.cz