2011 has brought tragedy, suffering and need to many Australians affected by flood and fire. Our hearts go out to those affected.

Many of our community partners are providing support to those in need as a result of these events. I encourage employer partners to enable their employees to donate to the relief efforts through their workplace giving programs. It would be fantastic if employers match their employees' donations!

Planning for this year's workplace giving awareness and participation raising campaign is well advanced. Full details and a toolkit will be available in mid-February.

We are asking all our partners to plan for a focus on promoting workplace giving during June which will be our Workplace Giving Month. We are also keen to see employer and community partner applications for our inaugural Workplace Giving Awards.

Finally you will see below a tribute to John Kelly, a member of the ACF family who died tragically over the holiday period. I was honoured to count John as a personal friend.

Edward Kerr
CEO, The Australian Charities Fund
edward.kerr@bain.com

At only 50 years of age, John Kelly died tragically in an abseiling accident over the holiday period.

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ACF was quick to respond to the Queensland floods, immediately reaching out to employer partners with a communication advising how they could donate to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal.

“We’re pleased the vast majority of our employer partners are leveraging their workplace giving program facility to temporarily add the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal to their program allowing employees to donate pre-tax. Many are starting the pot with generous donations, and nearly all are matching employee donations dollar for dollar, including those who traditionally do not match employee workplace giving contributions” said ACF CEO Ted Kerr.

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When disaster strikes, everyone is affected. Lifeline Australia has released two self-help tool kits providing practical information on ways to cope with the aftermath and for those with children, how to help them cope.

• Coping with loss and change in a community covers common emotions during loss and change, reactions to stress, and strategies to cope.
• Helping children cope after a natural disaster covers common responses from children after a natural disaster, how you can help them, and when to consider further help.

Lifeline Australia GM Fundraising Marketing & Media Brendan Maher says knowing how to recognise trauma reactions and respond in a caring and supportive way can help reduce stress.

For our partners based in Brisbane or those with offices and employees across Queensland, we encourage you to download or share the tool kits to help those affected cope better

With its Fortitude Valley office flooded, Lifeline Community Recovery Officers were in the thick of flood ravaged Queensland clocking up over 1,000 face to face contacts providing psychological and emotional support to individuals and families.

On top of face to face counseling, Lifeline Australia general manager fundraising marketing & media Brendan Maher said volunteers are handling up to 1,300 telephone calls a day with a 50% increase in calls from people in Queensland and NSW.

While Lifeline is increasing volunteer hours to help, the demand is placing a strain on the organisation with increased demand on infrastructure. “There are very real costs in terms of answering calls. Telephony, IT support. Each call costs Lifeline $40.”

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ACF is leveraging its research insights to create a more strategic approach for our employer partner charity selection processes, and collaborating with community partners for more impactful charity presentations.

Pitching to be included in a recent employer partner program, where community partners engaged ACF advisory support services to help ensure their selection presentations met the relevant employer criteria, all were successful in securing the employer partner.

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Tapping into a critical insight identified in ACF’s Cutting to the Heart of Workplace Giving research, Children’s Cancer Institute Australia has launched lab tours so its employer partners and donors can see their donations at work. To reach beyond its Sydney lab HQ, CCIA is also launching a capital city roadshow to showcase its science on the road.

“On lab tours we can really make a connection and explain how our work is making a difference in the fight against childhood cancer” said CCIA corporate partnership executive Jo Booth.

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With lower brand-recognition than some of the larger charities, smaller charities often struggle to attract the attention of employers when they are selecting workplace giving program partners.

To help tackle this challenge, ACF has been facilitating a working group of smaller community organisations. Working collaboratively, ACF and the working group have identified a range of opportunities to drive more workplace giving dollars in their direction.

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An increasing number of ACF employer and community partners saw Christmas as a time to demonstrate their commitment to workplace giving to drive employee engagement and make a difference where they could.

ACF saw a spike in alternative Kris Kringle initiatives and growing numbers of employer and community partners leveraging the cost effectiveness of technology, with more sending Christmas e-cards to internal and external stakeholders and donating the funds saved from printing and postage to charity.

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