|
Israel’s Amutot
|
|
On IsraelGives.org (coming May 2009), you’ll have access to
detailed information on all of Israel’s 26,500 charities and their activities, official
documentation submitted by the charities to government authorities, an evaluative assessment
of the charities’ transparency and performance, details of volunteering opportunities,
and the means to donate to and fundraise for any of Israel’s charities, no matter where
you may be in the world.
There are over 26,000 charitable organizations (amutot) in Israel. The annual
expenditure of this “third sector” totalled over 65 billion NIS (approx. $20 billion)
in 2002, equivalent to 13.3% of Israel’s GDP.
Half of that amount was expended on salaries,
and over 236,000 people are employed in the sector – 11% of total employment in the country.
And yet little information about Israel’s charities is available to the public.
|
Tax returns and other financial information submitted by charities to tax authorities are
not released to the public. Annual reports and detailed information submitted by charitable
organizations to the Charity Registrar is made available only in person upon request, and at
a fee of $10 per charity. The website of the Charity Registrar provides – one at a time – only
the most basic of information about a charity: its name, registration number, mailing address,
and current legal status.
And yet charitable donating in Israel is very high
compared to other developed countries. A 2005 study found that Israel is second only to the U.S.
in private philanthropy as a percentage of GDP (1.4%). Donations totalled 13% of revenue in the
third sector. A 2006 study found that 83% of Israeli adults donate to charity, including 93% of religious Israelis.
Of Israel’s 26,000 amutot, only approximately 4,000 have the right to issue tax deductible
receipts (have a valid “Sec. 46 approval”). It was estimated that in 2005, 430 million shekels
were donated in a tax deductible manner. In 2002, only 22% of amutot received government funding.
|
Number of amutot in Israel:
1997: 15,380
2002: 22,300
2009: 26,500 (approx.)
Number of amutot per capita
1997: 2.6 per 1000 residents
2002: 3.4 per 1000 residents
2009: 3.6 per 1000 residents
|
|