Community Flood Relief Fund Raises $1M
In just four weeks since launching The Flood Relief Fund, a grassroots community-led fund formed in response to the devastating floods across the wider Northern Rivers region, over $1 Million in funding has already been raised.
With donations received from 8 countries and every state and territory in Australia, the sincere and heartfelt support for the impacted Northern Rivers region is evident and is travelling from far and wide. A number of generous matched funding donations were made over the past two weeks from Foundations and Private Funds, which resulted in donor contributions being doubled or tripled during the respective periods, propelling the fundraising forward by a significant $650,000. The Fund’s aim is to align with more matched funding donors to maintain this same fundraising momentum.
Fund Committee member, Lynda Dean OAM, says “I knew that our caring, generous community would break all records reaching this fabulous target of $1 Million. It means hundreds, even thousands of people are being helped by this initiative. We’re extremely proud of everyone’s effort”.
In these four weeks since commencing, The Flood Relief Fund has funded 46 community grants, which have been thoughtfully, yet quickly, allocated by the Fund Committee, to support not-for-profit organisations working in immediate and short-term flood relief and recovery.
The organisations and projects funded to date represent a broad geographical spread and a diverse range of support for immediate needs in flood affected communities across the Northern Rivers region. These include community food pantries and kitchens, meal delivery services, housing, mental health services, Indigenous community support, disability services, animal welfare, pregnancy and early parenting support, and landcare landslide management - to name a few. The complete list of funded organisations are public on The Flood Relief Fund website.
Mieke Bell of Winsome Soup Kitchen in Lismore, an early grant recipient, says "The smallest contribution means a lot-–your time, your energy, your funds—every little bit adds up. When we were here cleaning the mud, teams of people and individuals turned up to help us and it meant so much. If you want to do something, just do it. It does make a difference."
The first round of grant applications will close on April 30th 2022, so all not-for-profit organisations working in flood recovery across the seven local government areas in the Northern Rivers are urged to submit a 10 minute application or request a call back from the NRCF to complete one over the phone, both of which can be done via The Flood Relief Fund website.
To make a donation to the Northern Rivers Flood Relief Fund or for more information, please visit www.floodrelieffund.org or call the Byron Community Centre office +61 (2) 6685 6807. Credit and debit cards, bank transfer, cash and Cryptocurrency are accepted. All donations are tax deductible.