It Doesn’t Cost Anything To Be Charitable

Would You Give #zerofive Of Your Income To Charity?

By way of the campaign #nulapet (#zerofive), CNVOS (Centre for Information Service Co-operation and Development of NGOs) was promoting the option to anyone who pays personal income tax in Slovenia to give up to 0.5% of his or her income tax to non-governmental organisations.

Every taxpayer can choose up to five organisations and thus give a half of one percent of his or her income for their further services. Such a donation does not cost anything, as the half percent would otherwise be going to the state budget, so people could decide to give up 0.5% to non-governmental organisations instead, which are active in the public interest. With such a donation people would be contributing to a better fire safety provided by voluntary (non-governmental) firefighting societies, to several packages of assistance for people living in poverty, to several beds for homeless people, to holidays for the children of the poor, for local sports and culture and much more besides.

60% of Slovenes didn’t decide to take this step – and so almost 5 million euros remains in the state budget. In numbers this means, for example, half a million additional dietary packages or holidays for 16,000 children from socially at risk families, and the list of examples goes on. It means that millions of funds in the state budget remain unallocated each year, although this kind of money could have a significant impact on the development of a local sports club, fire brigade, animal shelter, cultural institute, environmental or charitable organisation…and an additional long list of those striving for a higher quality of co-existence in our current society.

On November 28 2016, CNVOS took a media campaign #zerofive online and also through traditional media. The simple and memorable #zerofive is a call to those who do not devote their half of a percentage income tax to anyone. The action immediately met a remarkable response, with more than 100,000 people watching videos on Facebook.

The campaign was communicated at a number of levels – locally through municipal media and nationally via social networks and mass media. And the budget for campaign? Zero euros! The campaign was also supported by various Slovenian celebrities who prepared video clips with an appeal to everyone to devote #zerofive to one of the NGOs.

The result of the campaign was a huge success! In the past year, 25,000 more people than the previous year decided to follow up with the #zerofive project, altogether 441,562 taxpayers collecting over 600,000 euros more than the previous year. According to the Financial Administration, the taxpayers dedicated part of their personal income tax to 5,054 different beneficiaries (last year 4,814) to the total amount of 4,603,843 euros, against last year’s 3,999,802 euros.