CFA received $27.6 million in donations from over 22,000 deposits from 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020 in response to 2019–20 fire season.
CFA Executive, the CFA Board and the Trustees of the CFA & Brigades Donations Fund collaborated on a plan to spend the funds in line with donor intent and to ensure all our volunteer brigades would be positively impacted.
All donations were distributed to programs by the end of October 2020 and allocated through four channels:
- Designated donations to specific brigades, group of brigades or local District for approved projects
- A District Pick List Program to support brigades with practical items at a local level
- Statewide initiatives
- Organisation-wide transformative initiatives.
Donations designated to specific brigades, group of brigades or local Districts were paid directly, and and are used to support communities and boost their capabilities.
Brigade initiatives
CFA distributed $4.8 million to provide brigades with tools and equipment.
Items allocated through the District Pick List Program range from a significant purchase for the whole district, to some smaller items for brigades such as hoses, torches and chainsaws. Over 12,000 practical and “desirable” items were distributed to 95% percent of brigades. Some of the most popular items selected were thermal imaging cameras, torches, chainsaws and apparel.
Statewide initiatives
CFA is delivering on three strategic projects through the statewide initiatives program to further enhance volunteer safety and capabilities when responding to incidents. These projects account for $4.29 million of donated funds.
This project provided 100 Breathing Apparatus kits and the creation of a cylinder exchange and maintenance program.
This project improved communications, interoperability with other agencies and the availability of complex information and images in the field through the provision of dedicated devices in vehicles.
CFA purchased and installed up to almost 400 defibrillators in applicable CFA vehicles and provided a 5-year replacement and maintenance plan.
Organisation-wide initiatives
Following endorsement by the CFA Board, Executive and an independent panel, CFA is delivering on three projects under our Transformative Initiatives Program to provide funding for statewide initiatives to help transform the capability of our volunteers. These projects account for $10.45 million of donated funds including:
We built leadership capability through programs such as external leadership and management training, CFA bespoke leadership training, mentoring and coaching programs, scholarships and wellbeing training.
We have established a fleet of vehicles fitted with props, digital capability and collateral to support innovative and accessible community education and to provide community briefings during major incidents.
We improved the capacity of CFA’s volunteer trainers and assessors by purchasing hundreds of 4G-enabled tablets for use in training delivery and assessment.