CAF client, QR National launched its Community Giving Fund this week offering charitable grants up to $20,000.

CAF in the UK reports UK Government’s initiatives coming out of the Office for Civil Society plans to encourage companies and their employees to give more money and time.

CAF Australia now disburses donated funds to more than 1,000 charities - from the historically recognisable institutions such as Red Cross to smaller and more localised groups such as the Lorne (Vic) Surf Life Saving Club.

“One family only had a moment to cling to the guttering of their roof to save their lives… what is needed now is long-term counseling and the rebuilding of lost and damaged homes and lives. It will take a long time but The Salvation Army will be there.” Lockyer Valley Salvation Army Officer

“For some, the road to recovery is just beginning,” said Red Cross National Recovery Co-ordinator Kate Brady. “Many people do not realise the full extent of the impact on their lives until a few months after the disaster.”

$272.9 million has been donated to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal as of the 6 July 2011 to assist the victims of the Queensland Floods and Cyclone Yasi.

At a Macquarie Business Leader’s briefing recently, Macquarie Group Executive Director, Nicholas Moore presented a series of detailed graphs comparing the economic positions of the USA, Europe and Australia.

A new independent statutory agency called the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission will be introduced by July 2012 as part of a $53 million crackdown on charities in this year's Federal budget.

A report released May 2011 revealed that 76 per cent of community organisations in Australia need more volunteers, which is starting to impact many organisations’ ability to provide their essential services.

65 percent of donors who responded to the CAF Disasters, Donors and Giving research study in April 2011 said that charities do not communicate well to donors post-disaster appeals. So to help charities reach their donors, CAF has updates from the following charities on their disaster relief efforts:

• The Salvation Army
• Australian Red Cross
• Qld Premier’s Disaster Relief Fund
• Save the Children

Save the Children has played a major part in supporting children and their families in response to flooding in Queensland and Victoria by establishing Child Friendly Spaces. The spaces have enabled children to retain some sense of normality in their lives, as well as giving parents a chance to have some time out to deal with the realities of lives turned upside down.