Social Campaign for 1%

Since January 1, 2004, NGOs may apply to acquire the status of a public benefit organization, according to the new Act of Law on Public Benefit and Volunteer Work. Thus, they gain many privileges, among others - the right to receive of the personal income tax. Individuals may donate  of their income tax to a public benefit rganisation, within the accounting period of January 1 - April 30, 2004. Nevertheless, few organizations were able to acquire the public benefit status in this period. The next accounting period was January 1 and ended on April 30, 2005.

This program has existed since May 2003. This program was financed by the Stefan Batory Foundation, Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe, and the Polish-American Freedom Foundation.

The idea of donating the 1% of the personal income tax to organizations dealing with social, cultural, educational and similar issues came from Hungary. It was introduced there eight years ago. Similar regulations have been introduced in Slovakia, Lithuania and Romania.

Through this program we wanted to:

• influence public opinion about the legal regulations concerning the 1% personal income tax donations for public benefit organizations;

• convince the taxpayers that their decisions can influence the development of social activity;

• promote the image of the public benefit organization, as a credible recipient of financial support.

At the end of 2004, we began to implement a national information campaign (just before the closure of the fiscal year), applying various promotion and PR techniques (press articles, radio interviews, internet website.) The campaign was continued in 2005, with culmination in April. The Academy"s partners, who constitute the Campaign"s Partners Board, will support us in the implementation of the campaign"s goals. We invited representatives of NGOs, public administration, business, and research institutes to cooperate on the implementation of the campaign.

Accomplishments:

• we prepared current information about 1% deductions and placed it on the website www.jedenprocent.pl

• we sent television and radio commercials regarding the 1% option for airing (TVP 1, TVP 3 Regionalna, Channel One of the Polish Radio, RMF FM, Radio Kraków, Radio Kołobrzeg, Radio BRW Rozgłośnia Regionalna).

• we printed 2,000 small posters, 10,000 postcards, and 6,000 flyers that were distributed nationwide, including to regional organizations of tax advisers, community foundations, and the grant beneficiaries of the Act Locally program.

• we had a dozen or so interviews on the subject of the 1% mechanisms and the campaign on the radio and in the press. The information was on Informacyjna Agencja Radiowa [news agency of the public radio], Wiadomości [main evening news broadcast of the public television], Teleexpress [afternoon news broadcast of the public television], Panorama [evening news on the public television], Rzeczpospolita [daily], Gazeta Wyborcza [daily].

• we began cooperation with the Ministry of Social Policy for the realization of selected goals of the campaign.

• a representative of the Academy provided the information on the actions taken as part of the 1%-Good Tax" campaign during the conference „The Public Benefit and Volunteerism Act in the view of research" organized by the Ministry of Social Policy.

• 86% of taxpayers heard of the possibility of transferring 1% of their taxes to public benefit organizations, but only 6% of them, or 4% of all individual taxpayers, used the possibility, research conducted by the CBOS pollsters on May 6-9, 2005, suggests.

• taxpayers reduced their personal income tax payments for by transferring  of their taxes to public benefit organizations, donating 41,616,000 zlotys.