philanthropyOz Blog

Position Vacant at Philanthropy Australia

Philanthropy Australia has a position for a Web and Communications Administrator in our Melbourne CBD office.

Description: Great opportunity for bright person keen to use their initiative, IT and admin skills to best advantage. Busy office, small team with lots of variety. Must have experience in html and, ideally, dreamweaver; excellent communication skills, both verbal and written; and be an organiser and team player. Hours 9.00 am – 5.30 pm. Salary dependent on experience

To register your interest please send your resume to the CEO Gina Anderson at g.anderson@philanthropy.org.au by 4 March 2009

Victorian Bushfire relief - how you can help

Thank you to all our readers who have commented on previous entries requesting more information on ways to help with the bushfire relief efforts, and to all our members who have pledged support! Here are the best sources for information on practical ways you can help.

OurCommunity has an excellent roundup of different ways to help. Of particular note are the specific calls for skilled people such as doctors, builders, electricians and plumbers who wish to donate time and expertise. There is also a long list of ways to help assist animals and some information on how to help from interstate.

OurCommunity also has a page of links to organisations seeking online donations for bushfire assistance.

The ABC’s How Can I Help? page lists specific requests for assistance and is a good general source of information.

Bushfire Housing has been set up to register offers of temporary accommodation to those left homeless by the fires - preferably in or close to bushfire survivors’ own communities.

Register to give blood through the Red Cross Blood Service here.

Handmade Help is requesting handcrafted items both for fundraising efforts and to give direct to bushfire victims.

I’ll continue to update this entry as more ways to help come to hand.

Philanthropic Response to Victorian Bushfires

Thank you to our members who have pledged major donations to the Victorian bushfire appeals:

ANZ, $1 million; Westpac, $1 million, plus matching staff donations; National Australia Bank, $1 million; Foster’s, $750,000; AMP/AMP Foundation, $1 million plus matching staff donations; Macquarie, $1 million, plus matching staff donations; The Gandel Group, $1 million; Telstra, $500,000 plus matching staff contributions; AXA, $100,000; Bendigo Bank through the Community Enterprise Foundation, $100,000; Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, $500,000; and many others.

We will continue to update this page as members inform us of their actions in aid of bushfire relief.

Victorian Bushfires: donations and assistance

The current bushfires in Victoria have now destroyed over 750 homes and killed 108 people.

Donations of cash may be made by the following methods:

The Salvation Army online at https://salvos.org.au/donate/secure-online-donations/?appeal=drvicfires or by calling 13 Salvos (137 258)

The Red Cross online at http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm or by calling 1800 811 700

To donate to the NAB’s bushfire relief fund, phone 136 NAB (136 622); the Commonwealth Bank’s bushfire relief appeal, www.commbank.com.au.; ANZ’s bushfire appeal, www.anz.com/; and Westpac’s bushfire appeal, www.westpac.com.au.

To donate to the Salvation Army, call 13 Salvos (137 258) or www.salvationarmy.org.au. To donate to the Red Cross through Myer and have it matched dollar-for-dollar to a total of $500,000, visit the service centre at a Myer store.

The ABC’s ‘Where can I help?’ page has numbers for affected Shires for those who wish to make direct offers of accommodation. It also includes information for those wishing to donate blood or offer agistment for horses or stock.

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch

Philanthropy Australia would like to congratulate one of Australia’s most-loved philanthropists, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE, on reaching the age of 100 this weekend! In celebration we have made our 2003 special edition of Australian Philanthropy, ‘Honouring the Philanthropy of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch’, free for download in its entirety.

Click here to download the entire issue in PDF format, or here to see the list of contents.