Guide Dogs Victoria caught lying to donors

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EXCLUSIVE

ANTHONY KLAN

Guide Dogs Victoria has been caught lying to donors about its poor performance, including blaming its surging wages bill on increasing clients – when its client numbers have actually fallen substantially over a decade.

The Klaxon has obtained copies of emails sent in response to donors who have contacted the charity raising serious concerns, following a string of exposes by this publication.

As previously revealed, the charity is charging taxpayers four times what it was a decade ago to deliver just three-quarters of the services; has missed every one of its own guide dogs supply targets since 2016; and, in the 2020-21 financial year, supplied just 35 guide dogs (it spent $1.99m providing dogs in the year, against revenue of $22.8m).

The emails, which contain multiple serious false and highly misleading claims, were sent by Evan Gordon, the “General Manager, Fundraising & Philanthropy” for both Guide Dogs Victoria and Guide Dogs NSW & ACT.

“Thank you for your email and I totally understand your concerns,” Gordon writes to one donor seeking to cut ties with the charity.

“However I would like to clarify that these reports that you refer to which originate from an independent social media commentator are grossly untrue.

“These reports that you refer to which originate from an independent social media commentator are grossly untrue” – Evan Gordon

“The views expressed about our organisation are based on fundamental inaccuracies and misrepresentations of the information we share publicly each year,” writes Gordon.

Regarding the charity The Klaxon has revealed:

• Taxpayer funding up from $1m to $4m
• Over $10m in “redevelopment” grants
• Wages bill up 40% to $9.44m
• Delivering just three-quarters the total “services”
• Only 35 guide dogs provided in FY21
• Missed every guide dogs target since 2016
• CEO paid $299,000 in 2014 – salary a secret since

The revelations are entirely accurate and the information comes directly from Guide Dogs Victoria’s financial statements.

Over the past decade Guide Dogs Victoria’s wages bill has surged 40 per cent – from $6.37 million to $9.44m – while its client base has fallen by around 25 per cent.

Its taxpayer funding has grown from $1m a year to $4m.

By the numbers: Guide Dogs Victoria’s performance. Source: Guide Dogs Victoria (data), The Klaxon (graphic)

In 2020-21 Guide Dogs Victoria provided services to 1227 clients, which was 24 per cent fewer than the 1614 clients it provided services to in 2011-12.

The total number of hours the charity delivers to all clients each year, its “total client hours delivered” has similarly plummeted, down 26 per cent on a decade ago.

“Guide Dogs Victoria’s client base has fallen by around 25 per cent”

As previously revealed, in 2020-21 Guide Dogs Victoria supplied 35 guide dogs.

Gordon’s letter continues:

“Incorrect assumptions were made about our range of services: 70 per cent of which are not dog-related, and all of which are reported in publicly available reports each year”.

Yet no “incorrect assumptions” were made: that Guide Dogs Victoria states 70 per cent of its services are “not-dog related” is not contested.

As previously reported, the charity has been stating that 70 per cent figure for many years.

(We’re aware of this because, as stated in our earlier expose: “The Klaxon has analysed every document the charity has published over the past ten years”.)

Guide Dogs Victoria’s 2017-18 annual report. Source: Guide Dogs Victoria

The concern is both dog related, and non dog-related services have both performed extremely poorly.

Again as previously revealed, Guide Dogs Victoria’s “non-dog related” services actually performed as bad as – or even worse – than its “dog-related” services, such as providing guide dogs.

The figures above regarding clients and total client hours (which show a 25 per cent slump over the decade) include both its dog and “non-dog” services.

Guide Dogs Victoria has refused to stand by the claims made by Gordon in the emails.

Evan Gordon, General Manager Fundraising & Philanthropy, Guide Dogs Victoria. Source: LinkedIn

Both Gordon and Guide Dogs Victoria CEO Iain Edwards refused to comment when The Klaxon approached them with detailed questions about Gordon’s false claims.

Edwards released a statement to the media in June which makes some of the false claims repeated in the Gordon emails, although Gordon’s false claims are even more extensive.

Guide Dogs Victoria made headlines in mid-April when it emerged then CEO Karen Hayes had appeared in political advertisements spruiking then Treasurer Josh Frydenberg for re-election.

It is illegal for charities to advocate for politicians or political parties.

Serious false and misleading claims: one of Gordon’s emails. Source: Supplied

The Klaxon subsequently undertook a series of forensic investigations into the charity, raising many serious concerns, including that it spends more than twice as much on fundraising than it does providing guide dogs.

Hayes, who had been CEO since November 2011, was suspended by the charity’s board when the Frydenberg scandal broke.

On May 31 it was announced Hayes had “resigned” from the charity.

“Gordon and Guide Dogs Victoria CEO Iain Edwards refused to comment when contacted about Gordon’s false claims”

Refusing to respond: The Klaxon’s letter to Guide Dogs Victoria, including two of Gordon’s emails. Source: The Klaxon

Gordon writes to one concerned donor:

“The claims are based on fundamental inaccuracies and misrepresentations of the information we share public about our remuneration – such as the figure being quoted as the CEO’s salary, when that figure is not the remuneration of a single Corporate Officer”.

The Klaxon’s reporting has been entirely accurate.

Guide Dogs Victoria has at all times refused to state how much it paid CEO Hayes.

The charity’s 2013-14 annual report states “Key Management Personnel” were paid $298,678 in the year, and that Hayes was the sole person included as “Key Management Personnel”.

Since then, payments to “Key Personnel” have continued to grow – to $553,000 in the 2020-21 financial year – but the charity is refusing to say who, or how many people, are included in that “Key Personnel” figure.

“Guide Dogs Victoria spends more than twice as much on fundraising than it does providing guide dogs”

Guide Dogs Victoria’s false and highly misleading claims:

1. The letter states: “These reports that you refer to which originate from an independent social media commentator are grossly untrue”.

In fact: The reports were published in The Klaxon, an Australian investigative news outlet. The reports are entirely accurate and sourced from Guide Dogs Victoria’s own financial statements.

2. The letter states: “Recent inaccurate and disrespectful online social media commentary about the “amazing work being done by our organisation” and “many people across the wider Guide Dogs Community, including our own valued clients, have been deeply offended by the insensitive and personal views being directed against our organisation”.

In fact: The Klaxon’s reporting has been entirely accurate and conscientiously ethical at all times.

3. The letter states: “The views about our organisation are based on fundamental inaccuracies and misrepresentations of the information we share publicly each year about performance, our outcomes and our remunerations – such as the figure being quoted as the former CEO’s salary when the Annual report this was taken from clearly states that the figure is not just the remuneration of a single member of Key Management Personnel”.

In fact: The Klaxon’s reporting has been entirely accurate. Guide Dogs Victoria has at all times refused to state how much it paid CEO Karen Hayes.  The charity’s 2013-14 annual report states “Key Management Personnel” were paid $298,678 and show that Hayes was the sole “Key Management Personnel”. Since then payments to “Key Personnel” have continued to grow, to $553,000 in 2020-21, but the charity is refusing to say who, or how many people, are included in that figure.

4. The letter states: “Furthermore, incorrect assumptions were made about our range of services; 70 per cent of which are not dog-related, and all of which are reported on in publicly available reports each year”.

In fact: No incorrect assumptions were made about Guide Dogs Victoria’s “range of services”  – and that 70 per cent of those services are “not dog-related” is not contested. As previously reported, the charity has performed as bad, or even worse, when it comes to those “non-dog services” than it has delivering guide dogs.

5. The letter states: “Our Guide Dog graduation and matching rates have remained steady”.

In fact: That’s the problem. As The Klaxon has reported since our first expose, Guide Dogs Victoria supplied 35 guide dogs in 2020-21, which was the same number as a decade earlier, despite its government funding surging four-fold.

6. The letter states: “The increase in our employee wages bill…is as a result of additional staff employed to help meet the needs of our increasing client base…”

In fact: Guide Dogs Victoria’s client base is 25 per cent lower than it was a decade ago.

7. The letter states: “The social media commentary and subsequent media reports were incorrect to suggest that government funding received by Guide Dogs Victoria has ‘exploded’.”

In fact: Government funding received by Guide Dogs Victoria has exploded. It has grown four-fold over the past decade, despite it supplying the same number of guide dogs, and providing around 25 per cent less services.

8. The letter states: “Claims that our services to the public have plummeted are grossly inaccurate.”

In fact: Guide Dogs Victoria’s services to the public have plummeted. It is delivering 26 per cent fewer hours of services each year than it was a decade ago.

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Thank you very much for your support.

Anthony Klan,

Editor The Klaxon

Do you know more? anthonyklan@protonmail.com

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