Study reveals what Australians really think of the community sector

The groundbreaking study has uncovered significant differences in the way different groups in the nation perceive the community sector, with major implications for the way grantmakers engage with different attitudinal cohorts.

The Community Compass researchers examined attitudes to the huge third sector, a part of the economy that spans the smallest suburban sports clubs, mid-sized not-for-profits and the nation’s biggest charities. Totalling an estimated 600,000 groups in Australia, the sector employs more than one million people.

The study found most Australians agree that the community sector makes the world a better place, with half the nation keen to contribute more to the sector if they had the spare time. But the report also uncovered stark differences in views about community funding, advocacy and participation.

The report, commissioned by the social enterprise Our Community and the community sector peak body the Community Council for Australia, is based on a rigorous survey of more than 3000 people.

The study was conducted by the strategic policy research firm 89 Degrees East, which divided Australians into six attitudinal segments based on their answers to 39 questions. These segments are:

Enthusiastic Engaged (20%) The strongest supporters of the community sector, people in this group are active supporters of community organisations.

Positive Preoccupied (16%) Broadly supportive of the sector but lack the time and energy to be more involved because of competing demands such as work and raising children.

Isolated Believers (16%) Are of the view that the community sector fills critical gaps left by government and the private sector, that it deserves more government funding, and that service delivery should be prioritised over advocacy.

Active Traditionalists (17%) Above average contributors to community organisations, this group believes the role of the community sector is to care for those in need rather than to get involved in politics.

Indifferent Uninvolved (20%) At best hold neutral views or have no opinion about the community sector and its impact.

Begrudging Bygones (10%) This more conservative group are likely to be active contributors to their community but are concerned society is going downhill and are nostalgic for a time when people were more connected.

Other key findings of the Community Compass report include:

• More than 71% of Australians think community organisations make the world a better place
• Sports and recreation clubs are the type of organisations Australians most commonly associate with the community sector
• Most Australians (72%) believe the more time people have to be involved in community activities, the stronger community is
• About 48% of people said they would like to help more in their local community but don’t have the time
• Almost half of Australians (49%) believe community organisations should stick to serving their communities and stay out of politics.

Community Compass shows a new way ahead for leaders

Charities Minister Andrew Leigh – who wrote the study’s foreword – described the findings as “a call to action”.

“It challenges policymakers, community leaders and citizens alike to recognise the contributions of the community sector.

"By understanding and addressing the diverse attitudes of Australians, we can better support community organisations and build a fairer, more cohesive society."

89 Degrees East research director Dr Rebecca Huntley said, “the picture that emerges from this research is a mixed one, with cause for both celebration and concern for anyone in the sector or invested in its future.”

“Encouragingly, most Australians see the sector as important for people like them and are happy to contribute even if it doesn’t directly benefit them,” said Dr Huntley.

"Many Australians are also open to getting more involved in their communities, and the research shows the barriers to greater involvement and points to ways in which we might encourage people to overcome them.

"However, this research reveals a series of tensions across the community – especially in how different values and beliefs inform our diverse views of the sector, its purpose and our beliefs about the people who rely on it.

“It shows Australians recognise the critical role community organisations play in filling gaps left by government and the private sector and confirms the majority of Australians believe the sector deserves more government funding.”

She said her findings came amid “a profoundly challenging time for communities all around Australia” as a result of the growing cost of living, increasing social polarisation, a decline in social cohesion, the advent of climate change, mental health issues and family violence.

But the study also showed Australians held out hope for the sector if it was given sufficient support to address problems respondents believed were ignored by governments and the private sector.

Community Council for Australia CEO David Crosbie described Community Compass as “compelling reading for every charity leader in Australia with an interest in engaging their community”.

“It presents our sector with some good news and some bad, but most importantly it helps fill in some of the gaps in our assumptions about how the work we do is perceived across the community.

“This report ensures we will be having better informed and more robust debates about the place of our sector within Australia, and how we can best ensure the work we do across our sector is valued by our communities.”

Our Community group managing director Denis Moriarty said the study was a “cracking survey”, showing for the first time what Australians really thought about charities and not-for-profits.

“Averages are uninformative, but this study shows we’re split into three groups broadly in support of community activity and three others with severe reservations,” Mr Moriarty said.

He said the attitudinal study provided valuable insights into those perceptions.

“About 20% of us are all in with the community sector, and about 20% couldn’t really give a toss, but at least 60% of us don’t know what counts as community. People think that government activities such as local government, public schools, public hospitals and even just governments are in the community sector. A third of us apparently think businesses are. The sector plainly has a branding problem.

“Most Australians are in favour of the community sector and would like to contribute more themselves but can’t do as much as they like. The main takeaway is that if we want to build community, we should try and reduce those barriers.”

Experts say report plugs gaps in sector puzzle

Former ACNC commissioner Susan Pascoe, who is also the chair of the Community Directors Council and an expert advisor to Our Community, said the report plugged a gap in the understanding of the sector.

“This is a very significant report as it taps into the views of a cross-section of Australians on how they view community and community organisations,” she said.

She said the report was striking in its observation that “when it comes to attitudes to the community sector, values can often be at odds with behaviour”.

She said the barriers to involvement, tension in relation to advocacy and the issues of social isolation and connection were all addressed in a study that affirms strong general support for the sector, including the need for adequate resources.

Sector leaders would benefit from the well-presented and incisive findings, she said.

“We are used to measuring ourselves as a nation using a variety of metrics such as financial indicators, employment data, access to health and housing, and so on. While these measures are important, the Community Compass report fills an information vacuum by probing and analysing our views about community.

“It will be an invaluable resource for community and not-for-profit organisations and their boards, for policy-makers, and for researchers in cognate areas.

“I wholeheartedly recommend this Community Compass report as a credible resource providing fascinating insights into how we Australians view our communities.”

Emeritus Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes of the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies hailed the report’s focus on Australian values and beliefs and said the scale of the survey gave it a “rare degree of authority”.

“One’s values are the most important and reliable predictor of donating and volunteering at all locations, ages and income levels. Our values also inform our trust in each other and our willingness to help each other, which is also our measure of social cohesion.”

"If you want to double philanthropy and increase volunteering, you need to have a serious conversation about our values as a community," he said.

"It [the report] will provide an invaluable resource for all sector participants to reflect on the implications for their endeavours, but more importantly, what a government strategic plan for the community sector should consider."

He said Community Compass “laid the groundwork for a discussion about who is part of the sector, who is deserving of support from community organisations, the role of community organisations in speaking out on social and political issues, and whether the role of community organisations should be reduced and partly taken over by government, markets, or the family”.