Vinnies Bushfire Appeal

To date: 

• $25.9 million has been raised through the Vinnies Bushfire Appeal
• $24.0 million (93%) has been spent and committed in Queensland, NSW, ACT, Victoria and South Australia
• $1.9 million (7%) has been committed to recovery projects from July 2020 to December 2022.

Commonwealth Emergency Relief Funds

• $12.2 million has been provided by the Commonwealth Government to support Emergency Relief
• $12.2 million (100%) has been spent.

The Vinnies Bushfire Appeal was first opened in response to catastrophic bushfires in northern NSW in late September 2019, and later expanded to become a national appeal to support communities affected by the 2019-20 Black Summer Bushfires across Queensland, NSW, the ACT, Victoria and South Australia.

Thanks to generous donations from members of the public, businesses and philanthropists, $25.9 million was raised to support people who suffered devastating damage to their homes and their livelihoods from the fires.

Please note that for NSW, it is likely the donations committed will remain relatively static for reporting purposes until all confirmed spends across the programs are allocated.

How we have helped so far

Our presence embedded in communities across the fire-devastated areas meant that Vinnies was often the first to render assistance immediately after the destruction. 

Many of our volunteer members live and work in the affected communities. They were on the ground to support their neighbours and start providing a hand up to those in need. The generous donations of Vinnies supporters enabled them to play that vital role.

Thanks to the incredible public fundraising effort, our volunteers were able to deliver assistance including:

• making cash payments of up to $3,000 to supplement the Commonwealth’s Emergency Relief Fund payments of $1,000
• delivering food, clothing, essential items, grocery vouchers
• paying for emergency hotel accommodation for people who lost everything
• paying bills to help households recover
• referring people onto other organisations providing crisis accommodation and specialised services
• giving emotional support and practical assistance in the wake of the fires.

So far, Vinnies has disbursed more than $24.0 million in Vinnies Bushfire Appeal funds, supporting almost 10,700 households across Queensland, NSW, the ACT, Victoria and South Australia. 

In partnership with the Australian Government, we also helped to distribute $1,000 Emergency Relief Fund grants in Queensland, NSW, the ACT and South Australia, ensuring these funds could reach those who needed them most. So far, we have distributed almost 10,700 of these government grants (in addition to the Vinnies Bushfire Appeal funds).

Who we're supporting

On behalf of everyone at Vinnies and those we assist, thank you to the generous donors who supported the Vinnies Bushfire Appeal. We acknowledge all the people and organisations who provided donations both from home and overseas. In particular, we wish to thank our Vincentian brothers and sisters whose emotional and financial support during the peak of the bushfire crisis highlighted the collegiality that has its origins in the good works demonstrated by our founders. 

The continuing journey to recovery

As we move forward towards the recovery journey, Vinnies wants to inform our donors and those we are assisting that our approach to recovering from a natural disaster is a marathon, not a sprint. We are committed to being there beside communities for the duration of that journey, just like we have done in the past. For instance, Vinnies is still supporting people who lived through the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009 in Victoria, and more recently the Tathra bushfire of 2018 in NSW. Our role is to support local people to develop their plans to rebuild their houses, their local communities and their towns. 

It is important for donors to be confident that every dollar raised to assist those who have been impacted by the bushfires across such a large area of Australia will be spent on those in need.

We have taken no administration fees from donations to the Vinnies Bushfire Appeal (we are very lucky to be able to cover costs through other income sources). All funds donated to the Bushfire Appeal will be spent to help those people and communities affected by the bushfires including direct response already provided and ongoing community rebuilding over the next 12-18 months. 

Our focus is on developing enduring relationships with people in affected communities – something we are uniquely equipped to do through more than 45,000 volunteers and members who live and work in metropolitan, suburban and regional locations right across the country.

We recognise that no two people’s experience of the bushfires is the same; nor are their future needs likely to be identical. 

We aim to be flexible and effective in our recovery response, ensuring that we are giving people and communities the assistance they need rather than deciding what is needed for them.

The impact of coronavirus – and next steps

We plan to conduct a series of community meetings to work together with communities in determining our local and hands-on response. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis has delayed these plans, but we are urgently considering contingency methods such as live-streamed, online meetings.

As the coronavirus restrictions begin to ease, our bushfire recovery coordinators are starting to again go out to communities and consult on the local recovery plan – particularly for large-scale rebuilding projects to restore community facilities, farms and businesses.

Importantly, we will continue supporting individuals. Over the coming months, our members will be providing additional one-on-one support and connecting those who are doing it particularly tough with specialised services. We will give particular attention to those dealing with more complex matters in their recovery journey, including those living with a disability, experiencing family violence, addiction, mental health challenges and trauma, and who are at risk of homelessness beyond the temporary dislocation caused by the bushfires.

Community grant application processes have been completed or are underway in NSW, Canberra Goulburn (covering the Far South Coast NSW) and Victoria, making the remaining appeal funds in bushfire-affected locations available for communities to access. A range of projects and activities that provide the most benefit to those in the impacted communities have been supported. Community development officers will also be established in NSW and the Far South Coast. Beyond granting the money, Vinnies will be on-hand to work alongside these communities in bringing their recovery plans to life.