The Rear Window column in today’s Australian Financial Review incorrectly states that the Foundation doubled its revenue in the 2019/2020 financial year whilst receiving Job Keeper payments from the federal government.
We are currently seeking a correction to this article as it was based on comparing a six-month reporting period with an annual reporting period (1 January 2019 to 30 June 2019 with 1July 2019 to 30 June 2020).
Like so many Australian charities, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation experienced a downturn in donations in 2020 due to Covid-19 and were eligible for economic stimulus measures offered by the government.
The Reef Trust Partnership, which is a grant received from the Australian Government in 2018, is a distinct program of on-ground Reef protection activities which must be kept separate from other Foundation operations and activities. This grant is governed by a contract with clear rules that all expenditure must be spent in the delivery of this program only, not on general Foundation operations.
Revenue from the government’s stimulus measures were used to support Foundation staffing and operations to deliver the Foundation’s critical reef work that sits outside the Reef Trust Partnership.
