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5 Fundraising Trends To Watch In The Next 12 Months

5 Fundraising Trends To Watch In The Next 12 Months

It’s been a challenging year for non-profits and charities; Thanks to the COVID 19 pandemic, everyone’s pockets are a little tighter and previously relied-upon face-to-face fundraisers have been almost non-existent or have had to be reinvented. As we enter the New Year, these are my predictions for the fundraising future.  Donors will demand more transparency – Amidst a greater number of charity…

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What's A Social Enterprise & How You Can Easily Swap Everyday Purchases To Support Them

What’s A Social Enterprise & How You Can Easily Swap Everyday Purchases To Support Them

It can be easy to confuse a non-profit or charity with a social enterprise, as they all are set up to make a positive change in the community. However, it’s important to know the difference between them, to make your time and your dollar count.

According to the ACNC, a non profit is “an organisation that does not operate for the profit, personal gain or other benefit of particular people.”

For an…

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Auctioning An Original Artwork For Australian Bushfire Recovery Appeal

Auctioning An Original Artwork For Australian Bushfire Recovery Appeal

Like all Australians, I’m extremely grateful for the tireless work of all our firefighters, particularly to the heroes at the Three Mile Fire who prevented disaster from reaching my own family’s property. As an artist, I wanted to create a snapshot of both the heartache & bravery we’ve all witnessed & felt through these fires. As a Rural Aid Community Ambassador, I’m auctioning this original…

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Social Media Tips for Community Organisations, Sports Clubs & Non-Profits

Social Media Tips for Community Organisations, Sports Clubs & Non-Profits

Do you run your kids’ sports club’ Facebook page? In charge of your local Rotary’s social media accounts? Helping a start-up social enterprise by being an admin on their page?

Most grassroots sporting clubs, community organisations and non-profits are online these days, and recognize all the advantages of social media. However, being run mostly by volunteers with little or no previous…

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Volunteering For Self-Care; How Helping Others Can Actually Help You

Volunteering For Self-Care; How Helping Others Can Actually Help You

  A lot of us have or will battle anxiety at some point in their life. And, a lot of us have also volunteered for something at some point too. But, have you ever thought about the connection between the two?

There are over 54,000 registered charities in Australia, and that doesn’t even include all those smaller non-registered ones… volunteer committees like school P&C’s and sports clubs. A lot of…

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7 Leadership Lessons in 7 Days

7 Leadership Lessons in 7 Days

Thanks to an unforgettable experience at the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, I was lucky enough to spend a week with 70 inspiring young people from across the state.

With a line-up of incredible speakers and unique challenges, these are the key lessons I took away after 7 jam-packed days;

1. Be vulnerable

In the social media era where our achievements are so heavily focused on, vulnerability is…

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The majority of 2018 I spent educating people about the worst drought in 800 years. The Central Coast listened; we not only banded together to raise thousands of dollars, but we filled an entire truckload of donations to deliver to farmers in Western NSW.

It all began sometime around February, when I can recall seeing an article somewhere about how Australia was currently in drought. My family own and operate Mangrove Produce and Hardware, where we supply hay, grain and feed to locals in the Mangrove Mountain region. My mum had mentioned she was having a bit of trouble sourcing feed, because with no grass for cattle to eat, the demand was quickly rising – and so were the prices.

One night when I was reading statistics and stories about the drought, I stumbled across a charity called Rural Aid, who’d been running their fundraising campaign, Buy A Bale, for some time. The aim was to encourage donors to purchase a bale of hay for a struggling farmer by donating $20 or more.  It was a fantastic idea, and I got in contact with them. At a time when they weren’t a very well-known non-profit nationally, they were eager to send me fundraising materials to help raise money and spread the word.

March 2018: Help my Mum & I raise money for Buy A Bale!

As I asked around friends and family, and began posting about the drought on social media, I found that most didn’t even realize the majority of our own state was in the middle of severe drought. My good friend and photographer Andrew Cooney approached me with an idea; he discussed travelling to the worst of the drought-affected areas to document the damage, and we agreed to team up with our fundraising efforts to educate the Central Coast and just how bad it really was.  Below are some of his photographs from his first visit to a farm in Gunnedah, NSW, and they speak for themselves.

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His photographs caught the eye of Samuel Lentini from Eastcoast Beverages – a local juice company on the Central Coast. Sam decided that he wanted to come on board our fundraising campaign as well, and so – with me still busy collecting our donations, spreading the word, and putting together marketing materials – Andrew and the Eastcoast Beverages team headed to Gunnedah once again, where they delivered a truckload of orange peels from the factory for the cattle to eat. It was such an extraordinary site, it attracted a lot of media attention, including The Daily Telegraph, ABC and Prime 7!

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We spent another few weeks fundraising in person and online, when all of a sudden, the national media seemed to wake up. TV stations and major news publications started to report on all the debt, all the cattle lost, and all the mental struggles the farmers were dealing with.

That was when I met a lady named Sara Evans. She came into my workplace at the radio station, after listening to the breakfast shows discuss the massive impact of the drought. A co-worker steered her in my direction, as I had already been campaigning and fundraising to support our farmers for several months. Sara basically said to me, ‘I’ve got a truck and a driver who’s willing to donate his time, I want to do something really BIG to help these farmers.’

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We both agreed to organize a Coast-wide donation drive, which was a huge job, and we’d only given ourselves a month to plan, market and collect donations leading up to the event day. The idea was to run a drive-through drop-off zone in a central location near the freeway, as we wanted to make it as easy as possible for the public.

We both had a bit of previous fundraising experience, but nothing of this scale, and we hadn’t taken into account exactly just how much help we were going to need – pallets to pack the donations on, a place to sort and store the goods before they were loaded onto the truck, a forklift and qualified driver, traffic control on the day, a LOT of fuel money to get the semi-trailer across the state and back… we’d sort one problem, and then another would arise. And we were juggling this all while still working full-time. It was definitely a giant learning curve for both of us, but we were so incredibly grateful to have the help from dozens of local businesses.

Working for a media company, I was lucky enough to have marketing materials at my disposal – radio interviews and commercials, flyers and posters, and access to our promotional cars to draw listeners in on the day. My whole workplace was extremely supportive, and I am still so thankful to this day for all of their help. I couldn’t have pulled it off without a platform to send out the message across in the first place.

The Central Coast For Our Farmers Donation Drive was a success – while the number of people we had wasn’t as many as we were hoping, the amount that came brought an enormous amount of goods. There were donors who had collected that much dog food, groceries and water that they had to make second and third trips to bring it all to us. We had local schools collect items, business owners filling boxes and boxes of stuff at their workplaces, and families who had added extra items into their trolleys every week when they did their own shopping. It was just phenomenal how much people wanted to help. I certainly didn’t expect collecting enough donations to fill the entire truck, but we did!

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When deciding on where we were going to deliver the donated goods, we had a look into some of the most remote parts of the state, where help hadn’t yet reached. We chose the Packsaddle region, an area about 180km north of Broken Hill. The standout feature of this barren land was a popular venue called Packsaddle Roadhouse on Packsaddle Station, where tourists and truck drivers would often stop to stay the night and grab a feed.  The roadhouse was also home to the local SES Base, and Sara got in contact with the venue owner, who kindly offered up the venue for free to deliver and unpack the donations for the farmers, as well as a place for us to stay the night.

We began the road trip about 2 weeks later, with volunteers from Rotary Gosford North coming along as well. My wonderful Dad offered to drive my partner and I in his car, and on the first day, we traveled 14 hours to Broken Hill. As soon as we passed the Hunter Valley region, it was like entering a different country – the overcast weather and rolling hills of the wine country suddenly turned into flat open plains scattered with gumtrees. Everything was so incredibly dry and brown, it was hard to believe that it was once all green. We passed lots of herds wandering the roadside, with farmers leading them from behind to any patches of greenery they could find – the paddocks had turned to dust, so they were forced to look beyond their own properties for food.

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The halfway point to Broken Hill was a town called Cobar, and that was really when the effects of the drought were evidence. I almost expected a tumbleweed to roll past as we got out of the car for a stretch. From there, it got worse – we passed countless signs marking where rivers once were, now dry as a bone. The amount of dead animals on the roadside almost doubled, and as we drove the endless, straight route towards Broken Hill, there was almost no evidence that it had actually rained 50mm in the previous 24 hours. Most of the puddles had dried up already, and the sudden dump of rain had washed away the top soil on any spring crops that were planted. It was heartbreaking to think that at the time we were travelling, it was supposed to be the peak season for growth, but there wasn’t a blade of green grass in sight.

After a night’s stay in Broken Hill, we drove another 4 hours north to deliver and unpack around 60 pallets of donations. Sara and I had organized a party for all the local farming families at the roadhouse, and some had already arrived when we got there to help us set up.

The people I met were just amazing – the most hardworking, honest and down to earth people who could laugh at anything. The best part was seeing the joy on their faces. These farmers, they’d been stuck in a depression, some had really been struggling to get up to work each day. I feel so humbled and privileged to get to see first hand these people reunite with their neighbors and friends, some who they hadn’t seen for months, but had known all their life. We cooked them a free feed for lunch and dinner, treated them to plenty of free beer and set up the truck as a stage where they sang, danced and partied on till early hours of the morning.

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Most of them owned well over 100,000 acres. I spoke to a beautiful woman who’d lived on the land her whole life. To give you an idea of the size, the entire city of Chicago in the USA is around 149,000 acres – she had 250,000 acres, with a few thousand head of cattle. I asked when she’d last received rain. She laughed and said the last time she can recall was late 2015 – more than 3 years ago.

She had 10 working dogs, and the bagged dog food cost too much, so she was shooting kangaroos for them to eat instead. Each dog needed about 2 kangaroos each for a decent feed, but the ammunition for the bullets cost hundreds as well, with each bullet equaling about $5 each. There were hundreds of goats on her property which she could also shoot and sell (too skinny for the dogs to eat), but their value had dropped to $2 per goat – less than the cost of the bullet needed to shoot them.

This same lady had broken down in tears when we showed her the shed full of donations, because it wasn’t the donations themselves that brought these people overwhelming joy – it was the fact that we had gone to the effort to collect them, bring them out here, and put on a big party for them.

We wanted to show them that we cared beyond just making a cash donation for a farm thousands of kilometers away, we wanted to say ‘we hear you, we know you’re there, and we’re coming to give you a well deserved break from the day-to-day stresses of the big dry.’

Every farmer would only take the bare minimum of what they needed, insisting that there were others that needed it more. It was like a big supermarket; they could grab bags and boxes and fill up their utes with whatever they needed. They put aside boxes and pallets of stuff for their friends and neighbours who couldn’t make it.

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Many had told me that a major problem they’d encountered was the rise of bore water in the area. The water quality from the bore water, due to a substantial increase in bores being put in, meant they had to go deeper, and the little water that they could get was full of poisonous minerals and wasn’t drinkable. Most of the money they had went to buying bottled water and bagged feed, because hay prices had skyrocketed.(My family’s own business was suffering too, and we were getting phone calls from all over the state with people willing to travel hours and hours for any hay available to purchase). A lot had told me in terms of food, water and feed, they were down to about 3-4 weeks supply on hand at a time, because they couldn’t afford to redirect any money to stock up. The donations we brought have added another few weeks’ worth of supplies for them and – as equally as important, if not more – a well needed mental relief.

Andrew and I have continued to raise funds for Buy A Bale, long after I returned from delivering donations with Sara and the Rotary team. We just recently crossed the $19,000 mark, thanks money raised at our local Grill’d restaurants through their Local Matters program. We also raised money through selling merchandise and continuously spreading the word through an online campaign, radio commercials, money tins in our workplaces and articles in local newspapers and magazines.

Despite raising the money and delivering the donations, what truly touched my heart and made this experience stand out from other non-profit work I’ve done was actually travelling there and seeing the devastating impact of drought for myself. It’s one thing to press a button, share an article, give some money, but to actually see the difference it’s making is just extraordinary, and to this day it is one of the most challenging but life-changing things I’ve ever done.

Local businesses are doing it tough and desperately need an economic boost from visitors. A recent NSW Business Chamber survey in regional areas found the drought has negatively impacted more than 84%. Domestic tourism is the backbone of many regional communities, with 86% of domestic travel done by car.

Tourists spent $110 billion in local towns, cities and communities in regional Australia during 2016-17. However, of the international tourists that do visit, over 90% only stay in Sydney or Melbourne.

The best thing you can do to support our farmers is get out and shop in the local shops, eat at the local pubs, and get the money flowing through the local economy again, because the drought affects everyone – not just everyone in these remote towns, but our whole economy.

Drought conditions of NSW as of 24th January 2019 (Source: edis.dpi.nsw.gov.au)

How I Led A Team Of Volunteers to Deliver A Truckload Of Donations & Raise Over $19,000 For Aussie Farmers The majority of 2018 I spent educating people about the worst drought in 800 years. The Central Coast listened; we not only banded together to raise thousands of dollars, but we filled an entire truckload of donations to deliver to farmers in Western NSW.

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I Tried Making These Pinterest Christmas Crafts So You Don't Have To

I Tried Making These Pinterest Christmas Crafts So You Don’t Have To

While it is the most wonderful time of year, it’s also the most expensive… So, when my workplace challenged us to an office Christmas decorating competition, I thought I’d do it as cheaply as possible. Here are the results!

Cardboard Box Snowman

While I had all the materials at home for free, this one took longer to put together than I expected – a couple of hours. I used white cloth tape (you…

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Almost all of NSW is in drought, and while local communities are doing all they can to help our farmers, they need more support to keep their cattle fed and their entire livelihoods going.

According to the state government’s Combined Drought Indicator, more than 99% of NSW is in drought, or at the onset of drought. This autumn has been the fourth-warmest on record in Australia, with below average rainfall for most of the country, according to the Bureau of Meteorology‘s autumn summary,  and The Conversation claimed that recent Australian droughts may be the worst in 800 years.

Take a look at the drought in April 2018….

Now, take a look at the drought in June 2018; 99.3% of the state is in drought, drought-onset, or is borderline. (Source: NSW Combined Drought Indicator.)

The Buy A Bale Hunter campaign – a partnership between Fairfax Media’s the Mercury, Newcastle Herald, Dungog Chronicle, Scone Advocate, Hunter Valley News and charity Rural Aid – has given farmers more than $830,000 worth of help since February 14.

Why is this a problem?

Despite this incredible feat, the need for help is continually increasing as water resources dry up across the state, and fodder supplies become critically low. While Buy A Bale has already delivered more than $200,000 worth of hay throughout the Hunter, the waiting list continues to grow, and calls for help are flooding in from other areas of NSW too. The photographs below taken by Kyle Porter of Tamworth and surrounding suburbs speak for themselves.

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The Newcastle Herald revealed that the rising demand has pushed the price of lucerne hay up to more than $500 a tonne. That price has jumped $100 a tonne in the past two months. Freight costs are thousands of dollars more than the price of the fodder. For example, a load of 30 bales of hay from Victoria (near the NSW border) costs around $1500, and it costs another $6000 to bring it to the Hunter.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud stresses that small businesses and produce suppliers have been affected as well.  “We’ve been able to catch up with [the business owners] and sit around the table and hear about their concerns because they’re impacted in all this as well,” he said. “They don’t get away from the drought, because if the [local farmers] don’t have dollars in their pockets, there’s no-one else much spending money in the town.”

Sheep and cattle grazier Tim Trescowthick’s photo of sheep grazing in the shape of a dollar sign has gone viral. Picture: Tim Trescowthick

The partnership between Rural Aid and Fairfax Media’s mastheads (the Mercury, Newcastle Herald, Dungog Chronicle, Scone Advocate, Hunter Valley News) has been extremely helpful in gaining the public’s interest regarding the financial consequences of drought, and what our farmers are currently struggling through.

Managing Editor NSW Central Chad Watson said the Fairfax Media mastheads had united to help make a difference.

Farming is such an important part of the New England and North West. We are partnering with Rural Aid to help the farmers who have been hit hard by the drought,

– Managing Editor NSW Central Chad Watson

Country Valley Dairy Farm‘s Adopt A Cow campaign went viral nationally, and thousands of volunteers have banded together on Facebook to help however they can; Lending green pastures to cattle through #shareapaddock; and collecting bulk donations of toiletries, food and other essentials.

There has been some progress from those in power. On June 13, Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair made a significant announcement for additional funding for the Farm Innovation Fund, a new weather station, mental health and a new kangaroo management plan to help those affected around the state.

However, more needs to be done.  

“We have done a lot as a government but can we do better than what we’ve done?” says Mr Littleproud.

Fairfax Media has now launched a NSW drought petition, which urges the state government to offer farmers relief on the cost of freight, fodder, water and Local Land Service rates as well as offer the collection of livestock genetics, and restocking/replanting loans after the drought breaks.

How can I help?

Click here to register for a copy of the petition and obtain signatures.

Make a donation to Buy A Bale to purchase hay for drought-stricken farmers.

Join ‘Doing It For Our Farmers’ on Facebook to donate essential goods to farmers.

Apply for volunteer jobs on farms through Farm Army.

Register your boss for an outback retreat fundraiser with Under The Stars.

A Central Coast schoolgirl with her collection of groceries to give to struggling farmers, donated by her family and friends. (Source: Tanya O’Neill‎ via ‘Doing it for our farmers’)

Almost all of NSW is in drought, and while local communities are doing all they can to help our farmers, they need more support to keep their cattle fed and their entire livelihoods going. Almost all of NSW is in drought, and while local communities are doing all they can to help our farmers, they need more support to keep their cattle fed and their entire livelihoods going.

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A Beginner's Guide: How To Successfully Hold Your First Ever Fundraiser

A Beginner’s Guide: How To Successfully Hold Your First Ever Fundraiser

So, you’ve been given the task of raising funds for a good cause. Whatever organisation or community group, keep in mind these tips to get the most out of your event, and give back to your cause as much as possible! Start brainstorming ideas

Forgive the cliche, but the possibilities are endless – car wash, cake stall, raffle, fun-run, exhibition, trivia night, wishing tree, concert, gala dinner,…

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Police station on same street as chaotic AirBnb party: ‘I called the cops 6 times but nobody ever came’

The lack of regulation of AirBnb listings, and those who stay in them, is a problem that’s getting bigger, as more holiday-makers are preferring to use the site. During a house party thrown by AirBnb guests in our strata building, I called the police 6 times… Unfortunately, they never came…

My partner and I live in a strata complex on the Central Coast. The beachside suburb is a popular tourist…

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How To Engage Young People In Community Radio

How To Engage Young People In Community Radio

Whether you like it or not, young people are the future of your organisation’s survival. No matter what type of voluntary non-profit organisation you are, or what genre of music your community radio station plays, you won’t be around forever if you don’t have someone to take over one day.

I have volunteered in community radio for about 3 years, at CoastFM 96.3, in a number of roles including…

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Art Works: Creativity & Expression Helped Me Break The Stigma of Mental Illness

Art Works: Creativity & Expression Helped Me Break The Stigma of Mental Illness

October is Mental Health Month in NSW, and it aims to encourage all of us to think about our mental health and wellbeing, regardless of whether we may have a lived experience of mental illness or not. It’s an opportunity to understand the importance of mental health in our everyday lives and encourages help seeking behaviors when needed.

As part of Mental Health Month, The Central Coast Mental…

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7 Easy Habits To Be The Most Organised You

7 Easy Habits To Be The Most Organised You

Staying healthy, keeping your house tidy and fitting in coffee catch-ups and family dinners in between working full-time? I’m exhausted just thinking about it! For a lot of us, being organised in our day to day lives can seem pretty overwhelming, but don’t stress! Practice fitting in these really simple habits and get your life – and your mindset – back on track!

Stock up on cheap clearance…

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Nestled against the barrier wall separating Israel from the Palestinian territories, controversial street artist Banksy has built a fully-functioning hotel, complete with a bar, museum and gallery of politically-charged artworks by the anonymous artist himself.

True to the British artist’s demeanour, The Walled Off Hotel – which was once an old pottery workshop – was developed completely under the radar over 14 months, and even building staff weren’t aware the project was on his behalf.

According to Banksy’s website, “it’s exactly one hundred years since Britain took control of Palestine and started re-arranging the furniture – with chaotic results… the aim [of the hotel] is to tell the story of the wall from every side and give visitors the opportunity to discover it for themselves.”

One of the hotel’s Scenic rooms overlooking the wall, complete with wifi, fridge, personal safe and air conditioning. (Photo: banksy.co.uk)

The hotel was styled with a strong colonial theme, reflecting Britain’s role in the region’s past, and the Piano Lounge is decorated with mounted CCTV cameras. There’s also statues choking on teargas, a painting of Jesus with a laser target on his forehead, and an exhibition dedicated to the 8 metre high wall, featuring art made by Palestinians and Israelis.

There are 4 types of rooms – the Artist, Scenic, Budget and Presidential – all of which have “the worst view of any hotel in the world”, looking onto the graffiti-strewed concrete wall and get just 25 minutes of direct sunlight a day. Prices start at $30 (£25) for the bunk-bed accommodation, and the Presidential suite is “equipped with everything a corrupt head of state would need.”

The luxurious Presidential suite, which accommodates up to 6 visitors, features a library, home cinema, tiki bar, roof garden and a 4-person hot tub. (Photo: banksy.co.uk)

Banksy first came to Bethlehem more than a decade ago, leaving a series of paintings on the barrier that have become a tourist attraction in their own right. Since then, the region’s mostly tourism-fuelled economy has been destroyed by ever-tighter controls on travel between Israel and the Palestinian territories, so The Walled Off Hotel is expected to provide a welcome boost in visitor numbers and jobs, with the facility already employing 45 local staff members.

In a statement on his website, the artist assures people this isn’t a money-making scheme, saying he “paid for the installation costs and has now handed it over as an independent local business. The aim is to break even and put any profits back into local projects.”

The piano lounge is designed around the room’s self-playing piano, providing eerie music against the confronting decor. (Photo: banksy.co.uk)

To kick off the opening celebrations, Banksy enlisted music legend Elton John to play the hotel’s piano remotely, with a few lucky individuals watching the show in the Piano Bar. Every night at 9pm, the pre-programmed piano will play back a concert recorded exclusively for the hotel. Upcoming artists include Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Flea and Hans Zimmer.

From today, the piano bar, museum and art gallery are open to non-residents (the general public, people not staying in the hotel) every day from 11am – 7:30pm. The piano bar is open every day to non-residents, serving food and drink from 11am – 10pm.

The hotel opens to guests on 20th March, with bookings via the website. The on-site graffiti supplies store called WallMart also opens on 20th March.

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  The Walled Off Hotel: Banksy Opens Dystopian Tourist Attraction In Bethlehem With The “Worst View In The World” Nestled against the barrier wall separating Israel from the Palestinian territories, controversial street artist Banksy has built a fully-functioning hotel, complete with a bar, museum and gallery of politically-charged artworks by the anonymous artist himself.

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"You Don't Have To Be Rich To Help Somebody": Rihanna Gives Moving Speech As She Receives Harvard's Humanitarian Award

“You Don’t Have To Be Rich To Help Somebody”: Rihanna Gives Moving Speech As She Receives Harvard’s Humanitarian Award

With a string of awards and nominations for her work in music, film, and fashion industry, Rihanna is one of the highest achieving ladies in Hollywood. And now she’s been recognised for her generous heart, receiving the super prestigious Harvard University Humanitarian Award.

The Harvard Foundation honoured the ‘Love On The Brain’ singer for her work building a centre for oncology and nuclear…

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28 Free Loyalty Programs That Give You Birthday Benefits

28 Free Loyalty Programs That Give You Birthday Benefits

Let’s be real – we want to maximise the gifts we receive on our birthday, right?! Like honestly, everything should be free on our special day (…okay, that’s a bit far-fetched, I know). But in all seriousness, we deserve the extra love from the shops and cafes we love!

There’s hundreds of loyalty programs and VIP cards out there, all trying to win you over, and some of them are winning to give…