Bushfire relief donations pass $100 million as celebrities, corporations and communities dig deep

A mind-blowing amount of money has been donated to charities, organisations and fire-affected communities in the tens of millions of dollars.

More than $100 million has been raised to aid the Australian bushfire disaster, from charities and local fundraising pages to celebrities and huge corporations, including money pledged to the children of the firefighters who died.

Here’s a list of organisations and charities accepting donations to assist people and animals.

Below are just some – given thousands of funds have been created over the last seven days – of the enormous, publicly-declared donations made over the past few days and weeks.

Flinders Chase National Park after bushfires swept through on Kangaroo Island this week. Picture: David Mariuz/AAP

CHARITIES AND FUNDS

• Australian Red Cross Disaster Response and Recovery Fund: More than $31 million since New Year’s Eve including $13.3 million in the donation drive from the ABC fireworks coverage involving the City of Sydney

• WIRES Emergency Fund for Wildlife (NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service): $9.4 million and counting

• Port Macquarie Koala Hospital GoFundMe for fire-affected koalas: $4.6 million and counting

• Bendigo Bank Bushfire Disaster Appeal endorsed by the Victorian government which added $2 million on January 5, with the option to donate to national or state/territory-based appeals

• Vinnies Bushfire Appeal, in partnership with Channel Nine: $1 million in late November

• The South Australian government activated the State Emergency Relief Fund in December after the Cudlee Creek bushfire, pledging $1 million to kickstart the donation drive

• Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park owner Dana Mitchell’s GoFundMe: $739,870 and counting

• Fire Relief Fund for First Nations Communities GoFundMe: $526,706 and rising quickly

• Mallacoota Fires Support Fund for East Gippsland on GoFundMe: $195,000 and counting

• Australian photographer Kara Rosenlund’s koala crisis bushfire recovery GoFundMe: $95,915 and counting

• Mogo Zoo on the NSW South Coast GoFundMe established by MP Emma Husar: $74,000 and counting

• South Australian Adelaide Hills Wine Region Fire Appeal GoFundMe: $57,000 and counting

• A GoFundMe to rebuild the Bargo Dingo Sanctuary in NSW: $20,900 and counting

• The Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund appeal for fire-affected East Gippsland communities

• Zoos Victoria has set up a Bushfire Emergency Wildlife Fund for tax-deductible donations

• The Queensland government contributed $100,000 back in September when bushfires tore through the state including $25,000 each to Red Cross, Lifeline, Salvation Army and Vinnies

• Hillsong Church Bushfire Appeal for Australian volunteer firefighters and their families

IDENTITIES

• News Corp co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch and wife Sarah have pledged $2 million to recovery efforts. Their contribution will be allocated to organisations focused on rural recovery

• Comedian Celeste Barber’s Facebook fundraiser for The Trustee for NSW Rural Fire Service & Brigades Donations Fund passed $42 million on January 7, rising more than $1000 a minute

• The Packer Family Foundation and the Crown Resort Foundation: $5 million to support the firefighting effort and recovery including an initial pledge of $1 million to the NSW RFS

• Actor Chris Hemsworth announced on Instagram on January 7 on behalf of his family: $1 million to bushfire relief

• Australian billionaire businessman Anthony Pratt: $1 million to the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal

• Elton John has restarted his farewell tour in Australia and announced that he was donating $1 million to victims of the “apocalyptic” bushfires.

• Shopping centre owner and billionaire John Gandel and his philanthropist wife Pauline: $1 million to be split across the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul Society

• Australian author, fitness empire owner and mother-of-four Sophie Guidolin: $1 million halved between NSW RFS and SA CFS plus bootcamps to raise money for Kangaroo Island

• Ellen DeGeneres has launched a GoFundMe for Australia Bushfire Relief: $860,640 and counting

• Actor Nicole Kidman and singer Keith Urban: $500,000 to the rural fire services

• American singer Alecia Beth Moore aka Pink: $500,000 to the local fire services

• Kylie Minogue and the Minogue family: $500,000 to immediate firefighting efforts and ongoing support

• Australian businessman and Merivale empire owner Justin Hemmes: $500,000 to the RFS

• Actor Dacre Montgomery Australian Bushfire Appeal GoFundMe: $299,000 and counting

• Australian YouTuber Muselk: $125,000 including a $20,000 donation from creator Dakotaz

• Russell Crowe’s auction of dirty Rabbitohs cap: $105,000 to NSW RFS in November 2019

• Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar: $100,000 each in November

• Australian musician, DJ and producer Flume: $100,000 to WIRES

• Writer, singer and comedian Em Rusciano is asking for donations and has raised over $76,000 for The Trustee for NSW Rural Fire Service & Brigades

• Beauty vlogger Chloe Morello’s GoFundMe for Batemans Bay locals: $33,800 and counting

• Singer Dami Im and husband Noah: $10,000 to the Australian Red Cross

• American actor and singer Hilary Duff and her husband Matthew Koma on January 5 said they are “coming up with a number that we feel comfortable with to donate”

• The Wiggles’ original members are reuniting for an over-18s concert in Sydney on January 18, with $35 tickets to fire relief selling out in the hours after they were released on January 7

• Make It Rain ‘Fund the Firies 2020’ concert in Byron Bay on January 8 and 9 with acts including Bernard Fanning, Wolfmother, Tex Perkins and more

• Four-time ARIA winner Tones and I has announced a bushfire benefit concert with Adrian Eagle and other artists in Melbourne on January 28

MELBOURNE ❤️
There has been a lot of devastation in Australia lately that is very saddening to witness. There is no way to lightly talk about the topic, it has been apocalyptic.
Myself, Adrian Eagle and some other surprise guests will be putting on a charity show.... continued pic.twitter.com/OVNfmfAKWl

— Tones And I (@tonesandimusic) January 6, 2020

• #AuthorsforFireys started by Emily Gale, an auction on Twitter ending Saturday for signed books and/or experiences with various authors, such as $5000 for a personal poem by Maxine Beneba Clarke and $1000 for dinner with Jamila Rizvi and Rosie Waterland

Getting queries about how #AuthorsForFireys works:
- Twitter is the auction room.
- You are your own auctioneer.
- Dispatch the item (or service) to the highest bidder after receiving proof of donation.
- Starts tomorrow, ends Saturday.
- You're the best, you know that?❤️

— Emily Gale (@EmilyGale) January 5, 2020

SPORTS AND RACING

• World No. 1 tennis player Ash Barty will donate all of her prize money from next week’s Brisbane International, up to $A360,000 if she wins the tournament

• Tennis Australia has announced a special Australian Open Rally for Relief exhibition match in Rod Laver Arena on January 15 as part of its Aces for Bushfire Relief program

• Every ace served across the 10-day ATP Cup in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney will deliver $100 to the Australian Red Cross bushfire disaster relief

Each ace served across the @ATPCup at all three venues will deliver $100 to the @RedCrossAU bushfire disaster relief and recovery efforts.

With more than 1500 aces expected to be served, the tournament contribution is expected to exceed $150,000.

— ATPCup (@ATPCup) January 2, 2020

• Shane Warne put his famous baggy green cap up for auction and it was sold to a person in Sydney for $1 million

• Essendon Football Club skipper Dyson Heppell is shaving his head for bushfire relief with over $130,000 raised to support the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund and Wildlife Victoria

• Commentator and ex-rugby league player Allana Ferguson: $65,000 to NSW bushfire appeal

• $500 per horse for every horse sold at this week’s Magic Millions, owned by Gerry Harvey, while international polo star Nacho Figueras donated $50,000 with his fellow ambassadors, matched by the event’s sponsor The Star Gold Coast

• Carlton Football Club’s Bushfire Disaster Appeal: $41,000 of $100,000 target raised so far

• Richmond Football Club fundraiser for the Salvation Army and WIRES Wildlife Rescue: $30,000 and counting

• Demons star Christian Petracca’s GoFundMe on behalf of the Melbourne Football Club for the Red Cross: $30,000 and counting

• Collingwood AFL player Dayne Beams has put his 2010 premiership medallion up for auction, with bids reaching $24,000 by January 7

• Ex-AFL ruck Daniel Gorringe (Goz) GoFundMe for the Red Cross: $21,700 and counting

• Sydney Swans Football Club bushfire appeal: $10,000 and counting since night of January 5

• Geelong AFL superstar Gary Ablett has set up a Facebook fundraiser for the Australian Red Cross where he and his father are also running a silent auction, including a signed guernsey

• Two-time Dakar Rally winner Toby Price pledged to donate his starting jersey and pants for this year’s Dakar, with the auction already in excess of $13,000 on Tuesday, along with $2677 and counting donated to the NSW RFS

• Multiple Group One-winning Sydney jockey Tommy Berry on January 3 announced he would donate $250 for every winner he rides during January

• The National Jockeys Trust has announced the net proceeds from this month’s T20 Cricket fundraiser will be directed to animals affected by the current bushfire crisis, while Cranbourne’s racing community has donated tens of thousands of dollars to bushfire victims

• Netball Australia on January 4 said it was looking forward to adding its support to the “significant contributions” already made by many individuals and organisations

• Cricketers Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson also donated:

Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson to donate $1000 for every wicket taken to the bushfire appeal ❤️ #AUSvNZL @7Cricket

— Melanie McLaughlin (@Mel_Mclaughlin) January 3, 2020

COMPANIES, ASSOCIATIONS AND RETAILERS

• The Business Council of Australia has founded the Australian Volunteer Support Trust as a “permanent and ongoing fund to support the children of volunteers who have died fighting these fires and in future disaster” with an initial goal of $25 million

• National Australian Bank (NAB): $5 million to bushfire recovery efforts including $4 million to the NAB Disaster Relief fund and $1 million to the Red Cross and local organisations in impacted communities

• Coles: $3 million in gift cards to over 6000 rural fire brigades across Australia, plus more than $1.5 million donated to the Red Cross including $500,000 from Coles customers

• Woolworths Group: Almost $1.3 million raised for the Salvation Army in the months to Christmas, since surpassing $3 million including donations from its own customers

• Mining company BHP: $2 million to the Australian Red Cross

• Westpac Group: $1.5 million bushfire fund including $500,000 in grants to immediately supports customers, $300,000 to state-based volunteer fire services, $250,000 to the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal and $100,000 to the Victoria Bushfire Appeal

Our hearts are with those impacted by the Australian bushfires and with the courageous volunteer force fighting the unprecedented blazes across the country—please stay safe. Apple will be donating to support relief efforts.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) December 26, 2019

• ANZ: $1 million including $300,000 to volunteer fire services across NSW, Victoria and SA

• Explosives company Orica: $1 million shared between the NSW RFS and Victorian bushfires appeal

• Mining company Rio Tinto: $1 million to the Red Cross including $250,000 donated in November

• Commonwealth Bank: $1 million for bushfire disaster relief including $750,000 worth of grants and a $250,000 donation to the Australian Red Cross

• Port Kembla steelmaker BlueScope: $1 million to the Red Cross bushfire relief appeal

• McDonald’s has handed out 20,000 free cheeseburger meals and continues to distribute thousands of bottles of water to firefighters and members of the community in fire-affected areas. $500,000 has been given to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. They will be matching employee donations up to a further $200,000.

• Rideshare service Uber Australia: $300,000 for the Red Cross and $200,000 for rural fire services

• Fashion brand Decjuba: $500,000 to bushfire relief, charities supporting “frontline heroes”

• Scentre Group, owner of Westfield centres: $500,000 donation to the Salvation Army

• Fashion retailer boohoo Group: $300,000 evenly shared between Red Cross, NSW RFS and WIRES

• Retail property group Vicinity Centres: $250,000 distributed between the Salvation Army and Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal

• Cotton On Group: $250,000 to support bushfire relief efforts plus matching employee donations dollar-for-dollar

• Australian fashion brand The Daily Edited: $202,000 for the NSW Rural Fire Service, Country Fire Authority Victoria and the Salvation Army

• FlexiGroup Limited: $200,000 to Australian Red Cross ($500 for each Australian staffer)

• CMV Group: $100,000 to the SA State Emergency Relief Fund and $100,000 to the Victorian Bushfire Relief Fund

• XXXX Beer: $161,000 including $100,000 to the Red Cross and the rest to bushfire victims

• Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi: $150,000 donation and will match all donations made by staff

• Credit Union Australia (CUA): $150,000 distributed between rural fire services in NSW, Queensland and Victoria following a $25,000 donation to the Red Cross made in December

• Myer: $150,000 upfront minimum contribution to the Salvation Army Disaster Appeal in November 2019

• Rockpool Dining Group: $150,000 to rural fire services across the country, plus diners can add a gold coin donation to their bill at any of the 85 restaurants nationwide until January 27

• Plus Fitness: $1 from membership fees for each member totalling more than $110,000

• The Spotlight Foundation (established by owners of Spotlight, Anaconda and Mountain Designs retail brands): $100,000 shared equally between the Country Fire Authority and RFS

• David Jones: $100,000 to the Red Cross bushfire appeal

• eBay Australia: $100,000 to the Red Cross Disaster and Relief Recovery Fund

• Bupa healthcare and insurance: $100,000 to the Red Cross and $10,000 each to the local RFS and CFA where care homes were impacted, starting with Eden, Tumut and Bairnsdale

• Country Road: $100,000 to the Red Cross Disaster and Relief Recovery Fund

• Bed Bath N’ Table: $100,000 distributed as $50,000 to the Australian Red Cross, $25,000 to national fire services and $25,000 to WIRES

• Zip Pay: a minimum pledge of $100,000 distributed across Red Cross and WIRES

• Tasmanian jewellery label Francesca: $100,000 to the Red Cross via its Bushfire Awareness Bracelet sales

• Beauty brand Mecca Cosmetica: $100,000 to the Red Cross bushfire appeal

• Bec Judd’s Jaggad activewear brand on GoFundMe: $100,000 and counting to the Red Cross

• Subscription TV business Foxtel: $100,000 to the Red Cross bushfire appeal

• Comiskey family of the Sandstone Point Hotel in Queensland: $100,000 to Vinnies

• News Corp Australia: $50,000 to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army plus proceeds of every metro newspaper on January 21, and the advertisements placed, to the Salvation Army, World Wildlife Fund and Rural Aid Australia with the goal of raising more than $1 million

• Quest Apartment Hotels bushfire appeal GoFundMe: $48,714 and counting

• Club of United Business (CUB) GoFundMe for small businesses: $21,325 and counting

• Art and clothing brand Shuturp: $21,200 in shirt sales distributed between Wildcare Australia, Team Rubicon Australia, Rural Aid and first nations communities via GoFundMe

• Comparison site Finder: $20,000 and further fundraisers over $10,000 for WIRES NSW and Red Cross

• Spell Clothing: $20,000 donated to the CFA Victoria

• Bared Footwear: $15,000 donated to the Salvation Army

• Thermomix Australia/New Zealand Disaster Relief GoFundMe: $14,500 and counting

• General Pants Co. will donate 100 per cent of profits from January 9 to the Red Cross, with dozens of businesses in its ‘All In’ initiative such as streetwear brand Culture Kings and footwear label Hush Puppies

• Designer brand Alex Perry will donate 100 per cent of sales between January 5 and 11 to the NSW RFS

• Designer brand Christopher Esber will donate 100 per cent of profits from January 5 to 12 to the NSW RFS

• Faithfull the Brand will donate 100 per cent of online sales from Australian website between January 1 and January 7

DON’T DONATE TO A SCAM

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Tuesday opened its dedicated number – 1300 795 995 – for reporting bushfire-related scams. Reports can also be made on the Scamwatch website, where more information about where to get help is available.

Donors can protect themselves by being wise to cold-calling, fake websites, and direct messaging, the consumer watchdog said.

“Do not donate via fundraising pages on platforms that do not verify the legitimacy of the fundraiser or that do not guarantee your money will be returned if the page is determined to be fraudulent,” a spokesman said.

“If you are unsure, make your donation to an established charity instead.”

The Australia Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Charity Register lists all registered charities and their official websites.

The figures in the above article were correct as of 6pm on Tuesday, January 7, 2020.

Know about other people or brands who have made significant financial contributions? Comment below.