Charities and not-for-profit organisations are in line for a taxpayer donation with the NSW government revealing a $50 million fund for the sector.
COVID-19 has sparked demand for charity assistance in the community but also taken a toll on their traditional sources of revenue.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, who will deliver the state’s 2020/21 budget on Nov 17, has announced $50 million to help the sector.
“Small and medium size not-for-profits are the backbone of our community services sector and play a hugely important role in the lives of vulnerable people right across our State,” he said in a statement on Nov 14.
“This fund will support these organisations, and the tens-of-thousands of people they employ, by giving them a hand up during this challenging and uncertain time.”
The money will provide grants for social sector organisations to modernise, digitise and expand their operations.
In a year of ongoing drought, ravaging bushfires and the coronavirus pandemic, the strains have been great on the sector, NSW Council of Social Service CEO Joanna Quilty said.
“This fund will enable social services organisations to secure some of the positive changes they’ve made, so they can continue to transform to meet the challenges of the future,” she said.
The government on Saturday also announced $10 million for a specially-equipped ambulance designed to diagnose and treat stroke patients while on-the-move.
“This mobile stroke unit will be the first of its kind in NSW and only the third in operation in the southern hemisphere,” Perrottet said.
An on-board radiographer will relay CT scans from patients in the ambulance to stroke specialists to help determine the best form of treatment.
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