District 9800 Response to Catastrophic Bushfires in Tasmania
As we have seen so many times in recent years, our New Year has started with a natural disaster on a large scale.
As news of the catastrophic bushfires in the Tasman Peninsula and Bicheno areas of Tasmania has emerged, we have also seen reports of fires emerging elsewhere across Australia. With the early start to the bushfire risk period this summer and climatic projections dashing hopes of an early respite, the prognosis this summer is presently very pessimistic.
District 9800 has acted to throw our support behind efforts to assist with recovery projects wherever they may be required and as far as our ability to raise funds will permit.
With the situation in Tasmania already clear, we have seen much loss of property, with the lives of many residents greatly disrupted. While losses of life have fortunately not been anywhere near the extent of our own “Black Saturday” Fires that took 173 lives in 2009, the present fires have spread and there cannot be any firm prediction about what the future holds.
Following the “Black Saturday” Fires that caused so much damage and loss, Tasmania responded through Rotary International District 9830 (Tasmania), raising a large amount of money and many valuable “in kind” contributions to assist recovery in our state. There is no doubt that we Victorians currently owe Tasmania our support in its time of great need.
The District has launched this appeal for donations to enable assistance to be provided in the first instance to Tasmanians in need in cooperation with District 9830. We earnestly seek your support to ensure that we can do so generously. We urge you to take steps now to determine how your Club can best raise funds for this noble purpose.
How You Can Donate
Donors can make donations to the Appeal in the following ways:
Option 1 - Donate Directly by Electronic Fund Transfer (Preferred Method)
The RI D9800 Inc Australian Bushfire Recovery Fund 2013 is operated by D9800. Donations to this Fund will not be tax-deductible. You can donate to this fund by EFT or Cheque. The advantage of this account is the District can quickly and easily allocate funds from this account to initiatives as required. If you do not require tax deductibility and want to make an individual donation, you should use this method of donation.
EFT
This is a simple way to donate using your bank account electronic funds transfer (EFT) facilities to provide funds directly to our District’s Bushfire Recovery Fund.
The details of the account to donate to are as follows:
| Acct name: | RI District 9800 Inc Australian Bushfire Recovery Fund 2013 |
| BSB: | 033 181 |
| Acct No: | 434 481 |
Cheque
Post or deliver donations by cheque to:
District 9800 Treasurer
5 Ipydene Court
Chadstone 3148
Option 2 – Tax Deductible Donations (Online Gateway or Printable Form)
The RI District 9800 Australian Bushfire Recovery Fund is operated by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR). All donations over $2 will be tax-deductible.
The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) has provided District 9800 with an online gateway and printable form through which tax deductible donations can be made on our behalf.
Online Gateway
The online gateway can be accessed with instructions and explanations here: http://www.frrr.org.au/cb_pages/donate.php (From here, click onto the link for online donations in the text or you can proceed straight to the direct link to the online payment gateway by clicking here: https://www.frrr.org.au/online_donations.php)
Please note you will see a drop down box titled “FRRR hosted donation accounts (for community groups)” on the right hand side.
Please select the RI District 9800 Australian Bushfire Recovery Fund option.
Printable Form
Alternately, you can print / download the payment form below (with instructions included) and return it with cheque or credit card payment details to the address provided in the document.
Option 3 – Donate via Rotary Clubs
Rotary Clubs can seek donations from their members. After accumulation, funds can be transferred “in bulk” to the special District 9800 Account using either method described above. This approach is only available for non-tax-deductible donations.
Some Clubs are administratively and legally equipped to handle tax-deductible donations: if they wish to assist their members they can receive such donations and then forward those with the required documentation to the FRRR-managed Fund as described above. Clubs that are not equipped to operate in this way can offer to facilitate donors by setting up to act as a “post box” for completed FRRR donation forms and the accompanying cheques.
We encourage you to direct donations from your Clubs and individuals who wish to contribute through these accounts. We will be providing updates in the coming weeks and months detailing how these donations provide assistance to the recovery process.
We thank everyone able to contribute a generous donation to help our friends in need and hope all those threatened by the bushfires remain safe.
