How we do it
The Country Education Foundation of Australia (CEFA) is a national not-for-profit organisation that assists rural and remote communities around the country to establish local Education Foundations. These local foundations raise funds that are used to provide grants to local youth to assist them with their transition from high school into further education, training or vocations. To help each local Education Foundation become established, CEFA contributes up to $10,000 over the first three years by matching locally raised funds.
Helping Local Communities
CEFA provides interested communities with an Establishment and Procedures Manual which provides all the information they need to get started. For instance, it includes such things as the CEFA constitution, a step-by-step guide to establishment including suggestions on the people and skills mix of the committee, information on how to apply for incorporation and setting up a bank account. The CEFA has a national public liability policy that covers each of our member communities for any fundraising events and activities they have.
Julia Burton Taylor, a founding board member, said
"The most important thing for anyone to know if they are considering starting their own regional foundation is that we will always be there to help. Each town will need to rally together to make its own foundation viable, but to help this happen the Country Education Foundation of Australia will provide guidance and financial assistance for the first three years. We match funds raised dollar for dollar up to $5,000 in the first year, fifty cents in the dollar up to a total of $3,000 in the second year and twenty-five cents in the dollar up to a total of $2,000 for the third year. Our past experiences have shown that a community wishing to establish its own regional foundation will need to raise between $3,000 and $10,000 a year."
Fundraising
Each of the regional foundations has its own ways of raising funds within their community. Generally, funds are raised through a combination of fundraising events and both tax deductible and non-tax deductible gifts from individuals, businesses and organisations.For instance, in February 2006, the Yass District Education Foundation ran the inaugural ‘Great Rat Race’. Yes that’s right, a race for rodents! With much planning, members of the Yass District Education Foundation pitched in to build a very impressive rat race track with starting stalls and barriers.
It was discovered that a local 13-year-old, Tom McLucas bred rats and supplied the local pet shop. After an approach from Norm Bolitho, Vice-President of the Yass District Education Foundation, Tom happily agreed to breed and train some rats for this good cause.
Norm explained,
"Each rat was put at the starting gates and their meal was put at the other end, so they got the idea in their head that that’s where dinner was. But on the night it didn’t really work like that. We’d get one who’d go blasting up the race and be just about at the finish line and then he’d turn around and come running back. An entertaining form guide was produced and each of the rats wore individual racing colours with their name on it. An auction was conducted before each race so that individuals or groups could purchase a rat. Four races, each with a field of eight, were held with punting done through a Calcutta.
"Spectators were encouraged to come dressed as rats, which quite a number of people did – and they looked terrific! Prizes were awarded for the best dressed ‘rats’. The race caller could barely be heard above the excited crowd cheering their rats along. Local band ‘Bulls for Sale’ provided dance music in between and after the races.
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