Build a better future
We celebrate the lives of those who died in the Australian bushfires and send our deepest condolences to their families and friends.
The threat of bushfires remains and the recovery will require a sustained effort to restore property, infrastructure and stock losses. Attention will also need to be placed on the loss of habitat and wildlife.
Advance Community Fund
In anticipation of the tremendous effort required and with the help of our good friends at Good2Give and GoFundraise, Advance has established the Advance Community Fund and you can donate here to the Advance Global Australian Bushfire Appeal 2020.
We have chosen charities that can make the most difference to those impacted by the bushfires. The individuals, families and communities as well as the wildlife and habitat.
The funds raised by the Advance Global Australian Bushfire Appeal 2020 will be shared with the following charities:
- Australian Red Cross – crisis disaster and relief
- Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal – the only national organisation offering funds to rural and regional communities across Australia
- Landcare – dedicated to managing environmental issues in local communities
- Lifeline – providing access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services
- WIRES – Australia's largest wildlife rescue organisation.
Make a donation
I invite you to make a tax deductible donation of any size to the Advance Global Australian Bushfire Appeal 2020.
What about time and talent?
For those who want to donate your time and expertise to charities supporting affected communities, please register at Communiteer.
Global Australians respond quickly
Our community of Global Australians has responded quickly with significant donations arriving from Australia and around the world:
- Celeste Barber's public appeal drew over $45 million in the first four days.
- Foundations including the Atlassian Foundation (which has made a donation that will be matched by Founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar), the Pratt Foundation, James Packer and the Crown Foundation and the Ramsay Foundation have made contributions to charities or pledged funds for the rebuilding of communities. As has the Minderoo Foundation which announced a $70m bushfire recovery donation and has appointed former Advance Chairman Adrian Turner to lead the project which will consider the aspects of mental health, water security and climate change.
- Artists including Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Kylie and Danii Minogue and Chris Hemsworth joined friends of Australia including Pink, Elton John and Metallica to make donations.
- Companies including Afterpay, The Iconic and General Pants have donated their sales on 9 January and banks including the Macquarie, NAB, Westpac and the ANZ have provided bushfire relief. Firms including Gilbert + Tobin have made donations and others including Atlassian, First State Super and KPMG have also given staff Emergency Services leave to respond to the fires.
- Sports women and men including Ash Barty and Nick Kyrgios have pledged funds and Shane Warne's baggy green was auctioned, attracting a million dollars from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia with the cap now on permanent display at the Bradman Museum.
We all recognise much more will need to be done.
Staying in touch
The team at Advance will be sending periodic updates and I invite you to stay in touch, and provide additional contact details so we can get news to you. I'm also keen to ensure that we share stories of the contributions made by our members in Australia and around the world, so feel free to write and let us know what you're working on via [email protected]
Help spread the word
I would like to invite all members of the Australian diaspora - everyone who is living, working and studying overseas or those who have returned home, to spread the word about the Advance Global Australian Bushfire Appeal 2020.
The headline of my first blog as CEO - The year ahead. Together - is a call to action that is more important now than ever.
Stay safe.
Maria MacNamara, CEO, Advance.org
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I would like to thank our good friends at Good2Give and GoFundraise for their help with the establishment of the Advance Community Fund which is supporting the following organisations:
