Be Good, Do Good

Each year, NIOK engages in an information and media campaign designed to encourage and enable and citizens to provide a small part of their income to support nonprofit work in their country. This work is being carried out in an effort to engage the community in adhering to a 1996 law introduced to support the work of the nonprofit sector through voluntary tax-time donations. For the 2005 campaign, NIOK organised a countrywide consortium with the collaboration of the regional Nonprofit Service Centres to increase the efficiency of the national campaign. With the slogan "Be good, do good - Give a share to the nonprofit sector - 1%", organisers sought to draw citizens' attention to the fact that although 1% might seem a small or even negligible amount to them, it is not so for nonprofits. In fact, organisers claim, it would solve many of the organisations' problems if the largest possible number of taxpayers donated their 1%.

NIOK uses several communication channels to provide information to taxpayers on 1% donating as well as on organisations eligible for 1% donations:

• First, NIOK invited contact through the telephone; technical questions arise, for instance, as to whether it is possible to submit a 1% declaration if the tax return has already been sent. In response to all such questions, NIOK provides answers on its toll-free number (06 80 200 074), starting each year at the end of January, with NIOK staff helping callers find the organisation of their choice and assisting them with emerging questions and problems.
• Second, the internet is being used as a means for sharing information about donation. NIOK's portal of the Hungarian civil sector (in English and Hungarian) is an information and service centre aiming to supply Hungarian organisations with guidelines and opportunities to exchange strategies for their work, as well as to provide information about the Hungarian nonprofit sector to visitors from abroad. It is supplemented by "Hungary's largest public database on nonprofits, with data on over 10,000 organisations (of which over 6,000 are eligible for 1% donations)", which can be used free of charge by anyone who needs information on an organisation. Inclusion in the database is open; organisations may register free of charge. The database has been continuously extended and updated over the years.
• The printed medium is also used to provide guidance and other information. For instance, several thousand copies of a booklet about 1% donating were printed, and are being distributed to employers, employees, organisations, etc. who seek information about the process of donating.
• Radio and television media have also supported the campaign by broadcasting information and responding to questions about 1% donating.

Philanthropy, NGO Survival.

NIOK has found that many Hungarian taxpayers do not know how to complete a 1% declaration, do not have the tax number of the organisation they wish to support, and do not understand what 2x1% means (it is not always clear to taxpayers whether both 1% shares may be donated to nonprofits). Many are not sure what entities fall into the category of NGOs or whether political parties are eligible for 1% donations.

By providing guidance to at least one-sixth of taxpayers, which is estimated to result in donations totalling over 1 billion forints, "the services provided by NIOK Foundation and the collaborating Nonprofit Service Centres have grown to be a most effective supportive force to the sector." During the 2005 campaign, NIOK registered 2,900,000 downloads on its website - 90,000 a day when the campaign reached its peak. In addition, its information service received 5,000 phone calls, and "WAP" downloads amounted to 11,000, which implies approximately 200,000 visitors and potential taxpayers.

"Percentage philanthropy" refers to legal mechanisms that allow taxpayers to allocate a certain percentage of their previous year's paid income tax to beneficiaries entitled to receive such funds. By the spring of 2003, percentage-type laws had been adopted in 4 countries in Central and Eastern Europe: Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Poland. The number and types of beneficiaries vary, country to country, but largely include NGOs carrying out public benefit activities and other public cultural institutions. For additional background on this initiative, please visit the "Percentage Philanthropy Project" website, co-ordinated by NIOK. Its contents include news, legislation, and key documents on similar systems to Hungary's 1% scheme. A major study on percentage philanthropy is also available on this site.