SU National, Fundraising Tips and much more…

Wishing you a very warm welcome to a new school year. 2021 is already shaping up to be full of promise, and I’m looking forward to serving with you. 

As many of you would be well aware, your chaplains spent the week before school returned at our annual Prayer Retreats, which is a great way for them to recharge their batteries before the busyness of Term 1 begins. 

I want to sincerely thank you for your support for your wonderful chappies. I know how much they appreciate all the work you put in behind the scenes, and I’m looking forward to what this year holds for us all.

SU across Australia 

Firstly, let me share an update about some discussions we’ve been having with other SU movements across Australia. We all share the same heart to care, support and champion a child-safe environment for young Australians to thrive. We have also come to understand that by working independently of one another, we are limited in the impact we can have. 

This is why we are now taking active steps towards forming a united, national SU movement, where we will share resources and expertise to meet the needs of young people in communities across Australia, including communities where little support is currently available. 

In terms of what this will look like on the ground for your chaplaincy service, not much will change. Over time, you may notice an increase in access to resources, including professional development options for your chaplains, because we’ll be working with other movements in a national context, but for the most part it will be business as usual. 

We are aiming to have the official “SU National” process finalised by mid year. We appreciate your support in this new adventure. It has been many years in the making, and we’re excited to see things come together.

LCC Recovery Fund

As mentioned previously, SU QLD has set up an LCC Recovery Fund with the goal of keeping all chaplains sustained at least to October 2020 levels through the whole of 2021. SU’s heart is to support LCCs who need help. This is in keeping with the goals of JobKeeper 2, which supports employers to keep all current employees connected to their organisation and not dropping hours.

Since being approved in our application for JobKeeper 2b (i.e for Jobkeeper funding in Term 1 of 2021), we will also monitor actual LCC balances progressively each Term to see if there are any other schools or LCCs which may need assistance from the LCC Recovery Fund, on a discretionary basis.

SU has completed a forecast across 2021 to see which schools are likely to run out of non-grant funds at some point in 2021. Obviously NSCP and state-government grant funds will continue. The LCC Recovery fund is not designed to cover a situation where a school or P&C decides to reduce their funding below 2020 levels. The fund is there to support LCCs who, due to the current climate, have difficulty with their fundraising plans to raise the gap funds to support their chaplain’s hours.

The Recovery fund will provide support for every school that is faced with a negative balance in Term 1, 2021, and we’re working through other terms too. The support will include 10 weeks of gap funding, which will give those schools and their LCCs the time to set up a fundraising plan and make decisions about how to sustain their service going forward.

Rest assured we have already been in touch with the LCCs that fall into that category to let them know that funds are being provided to support their service through Term 1.

Fundraising in 2021

We know that “fundraising” can be a daunting word, but don’t worry – you’re not alone. There are people here to help! Our Fundraising Team are looking forward to working closer with your LCC in the year ahead, and exploring ways that together we can work smarter, not harder. 

So, how to kick-start Fundraising for your LCC?

Here are some basic checklist items. If your LCC hasn’t had the chance to sit down and forecast what the year ahead might look like, it’s a good idea to make this a priority: 

  • Have you got a Fundraising Plan for the year?
  • Do you know how much money you need to raise in 2021?
  • What’s your budget?
  • Do you have access to your cost-calculator budget? (click here)
  • Do you need to approach your school or P&C for additional support? 

Last year we pulled together a list of creative COVID-safe fundraising ideas, (you can have a re-read here), but some other opportunities include:

Colour Fun Run

https://schoolfundraising.com.au/

This light-hearted fundraiser was very popular last year, and we’re expecting it to take off again in 2021. Ex-football player Shaun Hart is a big advocate for this easy way to bring joy to a community. 

Plus, primary school chaplaincy fun-runs receive the colour powder for free – definitely something to take a look at!

Bunnings BBQ

Us Aussies love a good Bunnings BBQ, and it’s a fool-proof way to raise some extra funds for your chappy. Just be sure your Event COVID-Officer is up-to-date with the latest guidelines. If you’ve got any enquiries, reach out to support@suqld.org.au.

Chaplaincy QR Codes

Sounds crazy, right? But this modern initiative is worth checking out. Click here.

Gold4good – turn old jewelry into cash

SU QLD engages in a variety of partnerships with various businesses, and throughout 2020 our Fundraising Team trialled this initiative with supporters.

Needless to say, it had an outstanding response. If we can do it, so can you – just follow the simple steps here.

And that’s it for fundraising! Let’s be COVID-safe in 2021, and have a great time raising money for our awesome chappies. 

LCC Zoom Meetings

Lastly, our LCC Zoom Meetings became quite popular last year, so we will be running them  again in 2021. They are a great opportunity to catch up on the latest LCC news.

At the moment, we have the following meetings scheduled:

Brisbane

Brisbane is booked for Tuesday, March 23 @ 10.30am.

Join the Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81170028168?pwd=eU1ocVVncXNiajEvR1RNSUtjd1Qvdz09

Central North QLD

CNQ has a Zoom-Recruitment opportunity on Tuesday, March 2 @ 7-8:30pm.

Contact Ian Cumming (ianc@suqld.org.au) for the link.

We are really looking forward to working closely with you this year. We’ve been through a lot together in the last 12 months, and coming through the other side, I’m so proud to see you still standing tall for our young people and chappies. Thank you again for all that you do. It really makes a world of difference.

Blessings,

Jenni Dobbin