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Disaster Relief: How to Help Australia
The Community Foundation is available to help facilitate giving in response to the Australian bushfires.
According to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, as of Jan. 13, 28 people have been killed in as a result of the summer season bushfires that began in October. At least 2,200 homes have been destroyed plus hundreds of other structures. It is estimated that a billion animals have been killed, not counting frogs or invertebrates. Approximately 26 million acres have been destroyed to date and the smoke covers an area of nearly five million square miles. Cooler and rainier weather is anticipated this week, which, while not expected to extinguish fires, should reduce them and make them easier to fight.
If you are an existing Community Foundation fund donor and would like to contribute from your fund to any of the nonprofits responding to the disaster, log in to DonorCentral and submit a grant recommendation.
Contact our staff if you have any questions about where or how to give.
The Community Foundation recommends GlobalGiving’s Australian Wildfire Relief Fund, a U.S. intermediary, to help facilitate international giving. We are available to facilitate giving through Australian community foundations to impact a specific location within the country. We are monitoring needs and responses through the Center for Disaster Philanthropy's designated website.
The New York Times has a comprehensive guide to ways to give in support of Australian bushfire disaster relief. This webpage includes links to helping foundations, the Australian Red Cross and Salvation Army among other organizations.