Financial dimension of the activity of faith-based organizations with the status of public benefit organizations in Poland : research results

Abstract

PURPOSE: This paper aims to assess the structure of financing and the directions of spending resources on social activities carried out by faith-based organizations with the status of public benefit organizations in Poland.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The analysis of literature sources was used in the theoretical part of the paper, whereas in the research part of the paper, basic techniques of descriptive statistics were applied, such as tabular description, graphical presentation of results, selected measures of distribution in the form of arithmetic mean and median, as well as a measure of concentration - Gini coefficient.

FINDINGS: The article shows that the primary source of financing the activities of faith-based organizations having the status of public benefit organizations in Poland are public funds, most often coming from the budgets of local government units. At the same time, the largest share in the revenues of the surveyed organizations has a group of entities with the most significant financial potential. The main direction of spending by these organizations is the free of charge activities carried out mainly for the benefit of children and youth burdened with poverty, the disabled, and care activities for the elderly.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The study is a starting point for evaluating the effectiveness of raising and spending funds for social purposes by a selected group of public benefit organizations in Poland that combine religious and social missions. The presentation of the activity of these entities in the financial aspect is part of the research on the development of civil society.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: In Poland, there is no research on the structure of financing and the directions of spending money by faith-based organizations with the status of public benefit organizations. The results of this research allow us to assess the activity of faith-based organizations with the status of public benefit organizations in the direction of raising and spending public and private funds.