Australia is currently in the midst of one of the worst wildfire seasons they've seen in decades. Large parts of the country have been damaged since the fires began in late July 2019. In order to provide relief, ShoppingGives has partnered with Friends of the Australian Bush Heritage Fund.
Friends of the Australian Bush Heritage Fund (FOABHF) will be sending the donations they receive split evenly, 50% to Bush Heritage Australia and 50% to WIRES. As a registered 501(c)(3), our partners are still able to support FOABHF with tax-deductible donations while directly providing aid in Australia.
About Bush Heritage Australia: Bush Heritage Australia is an independent not-for-profit that buys and manages land, and partners with Aboriginal people, to protect Australia's irreplaceable landscapes and magnificent native species forever. Like so many areas around the country, Bush Heritage has experienced significant fire impacts and increased threats to their conservation reserves. At the end of 2019, on-ground staff and neighbors fought fires of varying severity on six Bush Heritage reserves across three states. Your donation today will support Bush Heritage Australia's full-time National Fire Program Manager and well-prepared conservation reserve staff who are working tirelessly to activate fire plans as necessary to minimize damage to the animals and plants that are counting on them during these next few months.
The complexity and challenges of managing bushfire risk and its impact on communities and the environment are increasing with climate change. The technology, strategies, and experience to mitigate bushfires risk in Australia are also improving and will be the key to managing the bushfires of the future. Bush Heritage's capacity to prevent the extent and severity of future bushfires will rely on robust science, technology, and policy which recognizes all the challenges and potential solutions. These solutions include improving pre-fire season fire planning across all regions as well as increasing the funding and opportunities for coordinated mitigation activities, including firebreak construction, prescribed burning, vegetation management and improving the fire preparedness of conservation assets in fire-prone areas.
About WIRES: NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service Inc (WIRES) has been rescuing and caring for native animals for over 30 years. They have over 2500 volunteers in 28 branches involved in the rescue and care of wildlife and they have a dedicated Rescue Office that operates 365 days a year assisting the community to help native animals in distress. WIRES helps tens of thousands of animals every year, receiving up to 95,000 requests for rescue advice and assistance every 12 months.
Sydney University has estimated over 800 million animals have been affected by the fires since September. In December alone, there were over 20,000 calls to the WIRES 1300 line and volunteers attended over 3,300 rescues. WIRES is working to rehabilitate and preserve Australian wildlife, your donation aids in their effort.
Understanding the challenges of cause marketing for US-based organizations and allocation donations to the Australian bush fire relief efforts, ShoppingGives is an end-to-end donations solution that enables eCommerce retailers to donate to the Friends of the Australian Bush Heritage Fund and receive tax-deductible donations for any contributions to our efforts. All donations through ShoppingGives are dispersed through their partnership with PayPal Giving Fund to Friends of the Australian Bush Heritage Fund and provide them with complete transparency into which retailers are making generous donations. ShoppingGives has offered to waive all processing fees for new partners who donate to the Friends of the Australian Bush Heritage Fund from January 8, 2020, through March 31, 2020, as a credit to their account received May 1, 2020.
If you have any questions on how to set up donations for your online store, please contact us here.