GRANTS & FUNDRAISING
SUPPORT FOR OUR VOLUNTEERS More than $2.5 million in revenue from grants, donations and fundraising helped improve facilities, support training and keep our units rescue-ready in 2019-20.
MARINE RESCUE NSW REVENUE
T
he organisation continues to rely on these sources of finance to supplement its annual income received from the State Government and boating community, which this year totalled $18 million.
GRANTS FUNDING Marine Rescue NSW this year benefited from almost $1 million in grants from a range of government agencies, NSW Clubs and other funding bodies and three units had members of their local communities to thank. The State and Commonwealth announced the bulk of the funding, allocating $784,000 to assist units and Headquarters with a number of capital works, equipment, training and recruitment activities and resources. Three units will receive more than $430,000 in funding in the State Government’s inaugural My Community Projects grants program, in which members of the public had the opportunity to vote online for projects they wanted to proceed in their communities. MR Broken Bay was allocated $200,000 towards its new rescue vessel, due for delivery in the second half of 2020, MR Norah Head $140,835 for a now-completed boat shed to house rescue vessel Norah 20 and MR Jervis Bay $90,000 towards the refit of its radio base with new online marine radio technology. The State and Commonwealth governments committed $197,499 in joint Emergency Volunteer Support Scheme grants for 19 MRNSW projects focused on training equipment and activities. MR Ballina, Bermagui, Broken Bay, Brunswick, Forster-Tuncurry, Hawkesbury, Kioloa, Lake Macquarie, Merimbula, Middle Harbour, Moama, Newcastle, Port Kembla, Shoalhaven, Sussex Inlet, Terrey Hills, Tuggerah Lakes and Wooli received a total of $97,573 for training facility fit-outs and equipment and volunteer recruitment resources. State Headquarters received almost $100,000 to complete the roll-out of VHF radio training kits to 34 units. The State Government also allocated Community Building Partnership grants worth almost $120,000 to MR Evans Head, Norah Head, Port Stephens, Port Macquarie, Central Coast and Lake Macquarie for new and upgraded equipment and facilities, including a boat trailer, a jetty and pontoon, vessel repowering and an IT update. The Commonwealth Department of Social Services assigned $16,280 to MR Newcastle, Terrey Hills, Hawkesbury and Broken Bay for new IT equipment and travel costs. Emergency Services Minister David Elliott announced seven units would receive new automated external defibrillators, worth a total of $20,000, to ensure they could respond to medical emergencies. MR Ballina, Central Coast, Cottage Point, Middle Harbour, Newcastle, Port Kembla and Port Macquarie will install the life-saving devices in their bases. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Safety of Life At Sea Trusts contributed $70,000 to support major works to eliminate blackspots in marine radio reception on the South Coast and another $18,000 to upgrade technology on rescue vessel Ballina 30. Another $106,000 in individual grants was committed to units from bodies including local clubs, Clubs NSW, councils, the Wallarah Coal Project and Essential Energy.
46 MARINE RESCUE NSW | ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020
NSW Govt funding
51%
Donations
3%
Boat levies
31%
Other
3%
Grants
5%
Sales
1%
Activities & fundraising
5%
Games of chance
1%
Marine Rescue NSW is grateful to receive 82% of its revenue from the NSW Government and the boating community, through the levy on recreational boating licences and registrations.
FUNDRAISING A total of $1.6 million in revenue was generated from fundraising activities and donations this year. Our units were not spared the financial impact of the dual crises facing the State, with the combined effect of the bushfire season and the Coronavirus eliminating many opportunities for fundraising to support local operations. Despite these challenges, units still managed to fundraise $959,600, representing a significant 21.5 per cent decrease over last year. Donations fell 16.7 per cent from 2018-19 to $709,759. This has not impacted core services, rescue vessel delivery or capital works projects, with units’ capacity to contribute to costs factored into financing decisions. We thank the businesses, individuals and community groups who continued to support our volunteers in their mission to save lives on the water. This assistance is always valued but never more so than in 2019-20.
