ROMA – “Eliminate the maximum collection ceiling of 5 per thousand, equating it to 8 per thousand, for which there is no limit”. Ten of the main ones are loudly asking the Government for it Non-Governmental Organizationswhile the budget bill is being examined. At the very least, they add, increase the financing, taking into account the growth in choices of taxpayers, who in 2023 numbered 17.5 million, who signed their tax return for their donation.
The organizations are: ActionAid, AIRC Foundation, AISM/FISM, EMERGENCY, FAI – Italian Environment Fund, Lega del Filo d’Oro, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, Telethon Foundation and UNICEF
A total figure of 552 million euros. There were – therefore – 17.2 million taxpayers who allocated 5 per thousand to public bodies Third sector with approximately 730 thousand more signatures compared to 2022 for a total of 552 million euros, confirming a growing awareness of the social value of this instrument. Since 2017, there has been a growing trend in taxpayers’ choices which, despite the progressive increase in financing up to the current 525 million euros, has translated over the years into an exceeding of the foreseen maximum ceiling: 9 million more in 2017, 13.7 million in 2018, 23.5 million in 2019, 3 million in 2020 and 4.4 million in 2022. The year 2021 is the only exception, as an obvious consequence of the drop in income due to the pandemic.
The ceiling this year was exceeded by 28 million. This year the ceiling was exceeded by almost 28 million euros. Resources, these, which in the absence of the threshold could have been distributed to the bodies of the Third Sectorto finance services for the most vulnerable people, medical-scientific research projects, support initiatives for the most vulnerable individuals and families for environmental and cultural protection. Furthermore, the recalculation mechanism paradoxically implies a greater penalty for entities that have collected more signatures.
8 billion raised since 2006: example of fiscal subsidiarity. From 2006 to today, a contribution of over 8 billion euros has been raised with the 5 per thousand contribution: an excellent example of fiscal subsidiarity, of which the State is the guarantor, which restores to citizens the trust expressed through the Third sector. Introduced on an experimental basis in 2006 and made structural in 2015, the 5 per thousand instrument, without costs for taxpayers, allows them to choose the mission most relevant to them, thus supporting the activities of public bodies Third sector and social entities committed to supporting scientific and health research and numerous other activities of general interest in solidarity volunteering. The current legislation provides for a maximum limit of resources that can be allocated to the 5 per thousand distribution, equal to 525 million euros, regardless of the actual quantity of taxpayers’ choices.
All projects not started due to unavailable resources due to the cap imposed at 5 per thousand.
The almost 28 million euros not distributed to the institutions of the Third Sector due to the ceiling being exceeded, they concretely limit scientific research projects, assistance to people with disabilities and many other activities with social impact.
1) – Italian Multiple Sclerosis Association (AISM). From the establishment of the first research fund in 1986 to today, together with its FISM Foundation, they have been able to finance research that has led to extraordinary results: increasingly earlier diagnoses, new therapies that did not exist before and responses that improve the quality of life of patients. people with multiple sclerosis and related diseases. Research infrastructures such as the national disease registry and research-specific MRIs have also been created. However, due to resource caps, AISM and FISM did not receive the full amount chosen by taxpayers to support multiple sclerosis research. This limits the possibility of financing further therapeutic trials and primary prevention projects, studying causes and risk factors. The over 350,000 euros that will not be paid take away resources to finance an important three-year research project.
2) – AIRC Foundation. The Association for Cancer Research benefited from a growing number of choices that would have produced an extra revenue of 5 per thousand equal to 3.7 million not paid due to the fixed ceiling. With these funds, AIRC could have significantly increased the amount of funding for researchers and projects committed to making cancer increasingly treatable: 5 start-ups for returning from abroad for a total of 1 million euros, 5 My First AIRC Grant to start independent projects for young researchers for a total of 500 thousand euros and 15 Investigator Grant entrusted to researchers with proven experience for a total of over 2 million euros.
3) – Telethon Foundation. For over 30 years it has been financing scientific research in the fight against rare genetic diseases through a rigorous project evaluation method. This year, due to the 5 per thousand ceiling, it will lose an amount estimated at around 250 thousand euros. This sum corresponds to the possibility of financing almost a new research project. A waiver that impacts the commitment in the fight against rare genetic diseases made by the Foundation with the patient community and on the pact with the donors who have chosen to subscribe 5 per thousand to support the Telethon Foundation Mission. A fundraising channel in which the Foundation is investing in a targeted and growing way and which must be exploited in all its potential
return.
4) – The League of the Golden Thread. Which for sixty years has responded to the complex needs of people with deaf-blindness and
multi-psychosensory disability, the lack of resources amounting to 500 thousand euros could have strengthened the staff with the hiring of at least 15 operators to support the various Territorial Offices, with a notable impact on the families who turn to the Foundation.
5) – Save The Children. The failure to provide Save the Children with the portion exceeding the 5 per thousand ceiling, equal to approximately 175 thousand euros this year, translates into a decrease in the number of girls and boys reached by the Organization’s interventions. If the sum had been paid in full, it could have supported the activities of a company for an average of one year Light pointone of the 26 educational centers present in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods throughout Italy to combat educational poverty and around 350 minors would have been able to benefit from free training and educational opportunities: from accompaniment to study, to attending environmental education workshops, reading, courses theatre, physical activities.
6) – ActionAid. A penalization of programs aimed at combating male violence against women, food poverty and educational poverty, with the aim of promoting the social inclusion of the most marginalized communities, such as that of NEETs, young people aged 15 to 34 who do not work, nor do they study.
7) – UNICEF. With 5 per thousand it guarantees treatment for millions of girls and boys around the world against preventable diseases, aggravated by malnutrition. The failure to provide funds due to the cap means that 4,000 children will not receive life-saving nutritional therapies for severe malnutrition.
8) – Doctors Without Borders. In 2023, 5 per Thousand represented approximately 10 percent of the funds raised and was allocated to five medical-humanitarian projects in some of the most critical countries in the world, including Nigeria, Afghanistan and Yemen. These are extremely fragile contexts, with prolonged and complex crises in which MSF guarantees free and quality care to fight malnutrition, prevention and treatment of malaria, maternal and child health, trauma surgery. The loss of around 400 thousand euros due to the roof prevented the purchase of 27 thousand life-saving emergency kits.
9) – EMERGENCY. For thirty years it has offered free treatment to victims of war and poverty. A significant part of the budget derives from the choices that Italians make in their tax returns. For the 2023 financial year, the organization received from the 5 per thousand an amount roughly equivalent to the cost of running its hospitals in Kabul and Anabah in Afghanistan, as well as the Goderich surgical center in Sierra Leone. If the ceiling on the funds allocated thanks to the 5 per thousand were removed or at least adjusted, the NGO could plan other treatment interventions, for example adding two clinics to the network of its facilities present in Italy.
10) – Italian Environment Fund – FAI. The 5 per thousand supports the management, maintenance, protection, conservation, enhancement and promotion of priceless places of the Italian cultural and landscape heritage, which in 2023 alone engaged the FAI-Italian Environment Fund in more than 100 restoration and conservation.
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1. What are some of the main challenges faced by NGOs in Italy due to the ceiling on funds collected through the 5 per thousand tax provision?
2. How has the pandemic impacted the amount of funds collected through the 5 per thousand instrument and how has it affected the work of NGOs?
3. What are some of the success stories and significant impacts of the 5 per thousand campaign over the years?
4. What does the current legislation on the 5 per thousand distribution mean for NGOs and their ability to provide services to those in need?
5. How does the threshold for funding impact scientific research projects and their potential for breakthroughs in various fields?
6. What are some creative ways NGOs have found to maximize the use of the funds they receive through the 5 per thousand campaign?
7. How do organizations manage to stretch their resources to provide aid and services in the face of limited funding?
8. Are there alternative funding models that could be explored to supplement or replace the 5 per thousand campaign?
9. How does the government’s role in fiscal subsidiarity affect the development and growth of NGOs in Italy?
10. What is the role of taxpayers and their choices in contributing to the success of the 5 per thousand campaign?
