UBI Banca, with the scientific support of AICCON (Italian Association for the Promotion of the Culture of Cooperation and Non-Profit), presents the sixth edition of the UBI BANCA Observatory on "Finance and the Third Sector", set up with the aim of monitoring the state and evolution of the financial needs of the various subjects that make up the Third Sector.
For the sixth consecutive year, the observation of the main legal types of non-profit organizations continues, undertaken in 2011 with the annual analysis on social cooperation, to which has been added over the years the focus on associations (2012), on foundations ( 2013), on social enterprises with the legal form of Srl (2014) and on organizational hybrids with a cooperative matrix (2015).
The sixth edition of the survey, referring to the year 2016, was carried out through a sample analysis carried out through the administration of a survey questionnaire addressed respectively to the managers of 250 social cooperatives and consortia of social cooperatives and 100 large associations in terms of income (above 50 euros).
According to the most recent data (October 2016, source: Unioncamere), there are 22.744 social cooperatives registered in the Business Register. The Register of Social Cooperatives of the Ministry of Economic Development, on the other hand, numbers 23.110 (February 2017).
The Italian associations, on the other hand, number a total of 269.353 (Istat, IX Census of Non-Profit Institutions, data relating to 2011) and have a revenue volume exceeding 31,6 billion euros. There are 50 associations with revenues of more than 100 euros, from among which the 46.128 entities that make up the Observatory sample were selected, or 17,1% of the total number of associations, which in terms of revenues represent 91,0 % of total association revenue.
The focus on social cooperatives
The sixth edition of the UBI Banca Observatory on “Finance and the Third Sector” offers a picture of Italian social cooperation which highlights, on the one hand, a reduction, compared to the previous edition of the Observatory, of the stability forecasts for 2017 in relations with the public (-2,4%) and, in general, a worsening of the revenue forecasts from grants, agreements, donations and relationships with the Public Administration (a decrease of -3,6% of the growth forecasts and an increase of 6,8 .1,6% of the decrease forecasts); on the other hand, an improvement in growth forecasts (+2,0% compared to the previous year) and stability (+2015% compared to XNUMX) of market revenues, confirming a growing orientation by social cooperation towards the demand-paying market made up of private citizens in order to achieve its economic sustainability.
On the demand side (social cooperatives), above all there is a demand from the banking system for services based on ICT digital technologies and support in terms of fundraising tools. Compared to the use of services/tools made available by the credit institutions with which they have relationships, over 9 out of 10 social cooperatives indicate that they have used digital services, while with regard to the request for the development of new tools/services by the banks, the main request (more than 7 cooperatives out of 10) concerns support for fundraising (+2,8% on the previous year) which, more generally, can be read as a request for support in terms of financial skills of which sometimes Third sector organizations are not totally masters. Requests for loans increased overall (3,6% on 2015, the year in which both requests for loans to support activities and for investments had recorded a negative trend). In particular, 23,6% (+2,4% compared to 2015) of social cooperatives declare that they have used financing for investments in the last 12 months.
The point of view of the social cooperation observed with respect to the issue of finance with a social impact is interesting: just under 1 cooperative out of 4 claims to know these tools, even if this knowledge is more linked to an awareness of their existence, rather than to a real insight into the working mechanism of these tools. Among those who claim to know the social impact finance tools, 7 out of 10 claim to be interested in using these tools. In order to implement the use of financial instruments with a social impact, the cooperatives concerned declare that it is necessary to deepen, in addition to the knowledge of the instrument itself, also the criteria used to identify the objectives of social impact, the latter theme which today, with the reform of the third sector (ln 106/2016), is the subject of discussion both at ministerial level (with the relative implementing decree which will have to implement what is foreseen in the text of the reform) and within the world of social cooperation, increasingly oriented towards understanding the tools and processes aimed at assessing the social impact they generate.
For the current year, social cooperatives also expect an increase in their financial needs for investments (+11,2% compared to the previous edition). Among those planning investments (60,4% of the sample) self-financing is confirmed as the main source of coverage (40,9%, -6,4% on the previous year) for development and investment needs.
Lastly, 40,4% believe that the establishment of a dedicated guarantee fund is necessary to support and increase the demand for investments and therefore requests for financing; the percentage of those who, on the other hand, believe that for the same purpose it is necessary to expand the offer of specialized finance is growing (21,2%, +8,4% on 2015).
The focus on associations
The second part of the XNUMXth ed. of the Observatory reports the evidence relating to Italian associations, examining the differences and similarities existing between associations for social promotion (APS), voluntary organizations (ODV) and other forms of associations not regulated by special laws (such as, for example, associations cultural and recreational), as well as with respect to the world of social cooperation.
The associations, and in particular the voluntary organisations, are mainly characterized by forecasts for 2017 of stability of relations with the Public Administration and related revenues. The social promotion associations, on the other hand, are the subjects with the highest percentage (23,5%) in relation to the decrease in this type of income. On the other hand, most of the associations questioned expect not to have relations with the market and consequently no income, confirming the generally non-commercial nature of Italian associations. Among those who expect market revenues, however, there is a forecast of substantial stability compared to the previous year. By crossing the revenue forecasts with the areas of activity, it emerges that the "Sports activities" sector is the one with the best growth forecasts in both cases (25,0%), confirming the dynamism and growth already underway associations operating in this context.
The degree of use of the services offered by the banks and the interest in terms of development of new tools on the part of associations corresponds to what has been observed for the world of social cooperation, albeit obviously with different percentages between the two legal forms. Also in this case, in fact, the most used services are the digital ones (92,0%; +0,4% compared to the sample of social cooperatives), while the main orientation in terms of innovation in the banking offer goes in the direction of development of fundraising support tools (84,0% against 74,6% of social cooperatives). Only 18,0% of the associations made requests for funding (-33,6% compared to social cooperatives), of which 8,0% for investments.
In the case of associations, both the level of knowledge (3 out of 10 associations) and the interest in the implementation of finance instruments with a social impact expressed by the associations in the sample (19,0% of the associations) are low, especially for that which concerns social promotion associations (respectively 29,4% and 11,8%).
For the current year, more than half of the associations questioned expect an increase in their financial needs for investments (57,0%). Among those who plan investments, self-financing is the main source of coverage (35,9%, -5 percentage points compared to social cooperatives) of the financial needs foreseen by associations, followed by income from private entities (34,0%).
UBI Banca's commitment to the Third Sector
The annual appointment with the presentation of the survey by the “UBI Banca Observatory on Finance and the Third Sector” is part of a strategic process of understanding and more effective support for the non-profit world launched by UBI Banca in 2011 with the introduction of an organizational structure specifically dedicated to managing relations with customers belonging to the lay and religious non-profit sector. At the end of 2016, as part of the Single Bank Project and the 2019/2020 Business Plan, a new organizational structure and placement was defined for the world of institutions, with the establishment of a new strategic area called UBI Community with the aim of overseeing and develop business areas and commercial relations linked both to the world of the third sector and the civil economy and to public bodies and associative systems. Through this evolution, UBI Banca sets itself the objective of consolidating and further strengthening the relationship with the areas of insertion, with the various players and with the economic and social realities of which they are an expression, while at the same time creating shared value for the communities of reference. This is thanks to the promotion and support of public, private and private social initiatives, to an ever greater inclusion and involvement of local communities, as well as to the sharing of skills and competences of the UBI Banca Group.
In this context, the UBI Community Area, through the Third Sector and Civil Economy Service, aims to support investments oriented towards social impact and to support social entrepreneurship paths linked to local, community and new supply chain development as well as to consolidate and develop the role of strategic partner of Third Sector organizations, both secular and religious, capable of supporting them in the pursuit of social and/or pastoral goals and in sustainable growth processes.
According to Vincenzo Algeri, Head of the UBI Community Area of UBI Banca “The Observatory confirms how the quality and specialized diversification of the banking offer is essential for building a long-term relationship with the world of social enterprise and non-profit in general. A sector which confirms its resilience and which continues to grow particularly in markets where we are witnessing the decline of the Public Administration. With the new UBI Community strategic area, UBI Banca sets itself the objective of being the reference partner of the various subjects of the social and civil economy capable of supporting and promoting synergies and forms of convergence between the public, private and social private".
"The sixth edition highlights how the world of social cooperation, despite a still low level of knowledge, is very interested in deepening tools aimed at social impact." – explains Guido Cisternino, Head of the Third Sector and Civil Economy of UBI Banca – “Obviously a lot will depend on the results of the Third Sector Reform which we expect will unlock the potential of all non-profits and promote the diffusion of an ecosystem made up of hybrid models of social finance interventions aimed at supporting impact-oriented investments and innovative solutions capable of responding to the new social challenges we are facing”.
“The bank for social enterprises is not perceived only as an intermediary, but as a subject that enables connections and supports management and investment processes.” – adds Paolo Venturi, Director of AICCON – “For this reason the challenge in the future will be, also for the banking system, to build platforms and ecosystems of services to support innovation and the development of a deeply transformed sector”.
