Friends of the Koala is a registered charity, and we rely heavily on public donations and volunteer support to protect and save koalas in the Northern Rivers region and by extension, koalas as a species. As a matter of fact, the very existence of our Northern Rivers Koala Hospital is threatened by lack of adequate funding.
We are organising a Save the Koala Day fundraising luncheon on Save the Koala Day on September 27th to help generate support for and awareness of our work.
You may be aware, we operate the only dedicated koala hospital in the Northern Rivers, providing expert onsite veterinary treatment and supportive care year-round. Our rescue line is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week and admit approximately 350 koalas each year.
Our hospital is specifically designed for the medical treatment of koalas, distinguished as the only wildlife hospital in New South Wales licensed to vaccinate all treated koalas against Chlamydia, the number one cause of death for koalas in the Northern Rivers.
The Northern Rivers is a wildlife-rich region that benefits everyone and by protecting koalas and their habitat, we are in turn protecting our environment – clean air and water, bush, the beauty the region is known for and we are also strengthening our resilience to climate change.
Just as the koala is faced with multiple threats, the future of our koala hospital is faced with multiple challenges, a decline in donations and available funding impacted by the rising costs of living had a huge impact on us.
We know that we are not alone in feeling the pinch of rising costs and we don’t like asking for support during financially difficult times but have no other choice. We need to raise $500,000 annually just to keep our doors open. The closure of our hospital would impact koalas very badly and they are struggling already.
We are very lucky and thankful that some of our partners have extended their funding to cover parts of our operational costs, but this only takes us so far. Private donations are critical due to the lack of government funding, committed donors who care about our objective – to save koalas from extinction. It’s not about ambitious fundraising goals – with close to 300 volunteers we keep our operational costs remarkably low – it is about the threat to our ability to operate the Northern Rivers Koala Hospital.
Friends of the Koala are organising a Save the Koala Day fundraising luncheon on Save the Koala Day on September 27th to help with our operating costs. Please read more here (link to luncheon page) and if you live locally or are visiting the area, please join us!
We have also launched our Friends of the Northern Rivers Koala Hospital VIP program, where you can show your dedication to koala conservation by choosing the friends plan that best suits you. All friends enjoy exclusive benefits, or you could spread the love and give the gift of friendship.
Business and philanthropic partnerships are also crucial to furthering our mission and we have many different options to get involved in a meaningful way. Please take a look at how we can go the extra mile together for koalas.
Our major point of difference to other organisations working to save koalas from extinction is our holistic approach. We focus on all aspects of koala conservation and with almost 40 years’ experience, we are widely acknowledged as the lead koala conservation group in the Northern Rivers region.
