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 they are already using them to support communities and boost their capabilities.
Brigade initiatives
CFA will deliver on a program to allocate tools and equipment to brigades. This project accounts for $4.8 million of donated funds.

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 will be distributed to 95% percent of brigades. Some of the most popular items selected are thermal imaging cameras, torches, chainsaws and apparel.
Statewide initiatives
CFA will deliver 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.

We will further enhance volunteer safety through the provision of 100 Breathing Apparatus kits and the creation of a cylinder exchange and maintenance program.

We will improve communications, interoperability with other agencies and the availability of complex information and images in the field through the provision of dedicated devices in vehicles.
Defibrillators

We will purchase and install up to 400 defibrillators in applicable CFA vehicles and provide a 5-year replacement and maintenance plan.
Organisation-wide initiatives
Following endorsement by the CFA Board, Executive and an independent panel, CFA will deliver 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 to be spent over the next five years and include the following:

We will build leadership capability through programs such as external leadership and management training, CFA bespoke leadership training, mentoring and coaching programs, scholarships and wellbeing training.

We will establish 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 will improve the capacity of CFA's volunteer trainers and assessors by purchasing hundreds of 4G-enabled tablets for use in training delivery and assessment.
How we distributed $27.84M in donations following the 2019/20 fire season:

* Includes $1.85M in donations received prior to 1 October 2019
Thank you to all the community members, community groups, organisations and small businesses within Australia and abroad who donated to CFA or fundraised on behalf of CFA between 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020 in response to the 2019-20 fire season.
Each donation no matter how big or small helps us to continue our work in protecting lives and property in Victoria. The generosity from the community is very much appreciated by our organisation and our volunteer firefighters who endured one of our most challenging fire seasons in our recent history.
Major Donors
Sincere thanks to our major donors and community fundraisers who gave CFA $100,000 or more (1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020)
List of major donors |
ANZ |
Jodie Silva's Facebook fundraiser |
Ben Luckock and family, his colleagues and global business associates at Trafigura, supported by the Trafigura Foundation. |
Kylie Jenner |
Brighter Days Foundation Inc. (Brighter Days Festival, Bright) |
Many Little |
Chris Hemsworth |
Metal Manufactures Pty. Ltd. |
Coca-cola Australia |
Metallica's philanthropic foundation - All Within My Hands |
Crown Resorts |
Newcrest Mining Limited |
CSL Limited |
Spell & the Gypsy Collective |
Decjuba |
TEG Dainty and TEG Live (Fire Fight Australia - concert for National Bushfire Relief |
Gandel Philanthropy |
The Chainsmokers (DJ and production duo) |
Grange Investments |
The Minogue Family |
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia |
Volkswagen Group Australia |
Hengyi Pacific |
Westpac |
*The list excludes donors who asked to remain anonymous.
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Page last updated: Thursday, 8 December 2022 6:23:48 PM