Financial contributions invited through Council rates notices

Lane Cove Council, NSW
www.lanecove.nsw.gov.au

Each quarter, Lane Cove Council sends a letter with the rates notices inviting residents to participate in the Voluntary Contributions to Bushcare scheme. A financial contribution (such as $10 per quarter or a one-off donation of $40 per year) can be made to a special fund that will assist Bushcare activities. The contributed funds are spent on training for volunteers, establishing new Bushcare volunteer groups, purchasing tools, promoting environmental awareness particularly among children and producing publications to promote the values of bushland.

The scheme, which started in 2000, is not the same as an environmental levy. The funds raised from the voluntary contributions automatically go toward to the Bushcare Program, and the amount varies each year based purely on how much is donated. In the first year, over $10,000 was donated, which went a long way to establish the new Bushcare program. In the following two years, the donations still came in, but the total amounts were slightly less. This still worked well because the expenditure for the program was also slightly less, as the initial set up costs for materials, tools and publicity were spent with the first year's money.

Although a $40 annual donation is requested, some people have generously donated $100 - $200. Another benefit has been the number of new volunteers as a result of the widely distributed letter and the positive reports in the Bushcare newsletter, which is sent to all contributors and volunteers.

Whilst this scheme can work well, it should not be relied on as a long term substitute for a Council's own funding allocation to support the volunteer program.

The Volunteer Coordinators Network (Natural Areas) Manual © 2004