Updates
18 Dec 1:00PM: We have 991 unique commenters in this poll (at 12PM on 18 Dec), which means we will be donating $39,910 to the 7 most voted charities ($5,702 each). Here is the list of charities we will be donating to this Christmas:
- beyondblue
- Sikh Volunteers Australia
- Cancer Council
- RSPCA Australia
- Dementia Australia
- Aboriginal Literacy Foundation
- Lifeline
Donations will be made next week.
14 Dec 9:50AM: We have already reached 50 charities. No more suggestions, but please keep on voting on the already suggested charities.
Original Post
It's that time of the year! OzBargain is committing to donate at least $30,000 to selected charity organisations this Christmas, and we are asking our community for recommendations!
OzBargain has been a for-profit company since 2010 (which surprisingly some didn't realise, from interactions with some users at the birthday meetups). Banner ads and affiliate links served to non-logged in users generates revenue for OzBargain, which is used to pay for all our full-time staff, hosting and other operation costs. Money we make from the banner ads is also used to sponsor all the meetups, free T-shirts and hoodies, monthly prizes, etc. Moreover, we have been setting aside some funds at the end of each year to give to charities voted by the OzBargain community, for the last 10 years.
For this Christmas, we will be donating $30,000 to 6-8 different charities, and for each unique commenter in this forum post, we will be donating an extra 10 bucks, up to $10,000 extra. For example, if there are 1,000 OzBargain users commented in this post, we'll be donating $40,000 to 8 different charities ($5,000 each).
But which charities? It's up to you, the OzBargain community. For starter, I'll pre-select 20 charities from last year's Xmas donation. Commenters can also suggest new charities using the Suggestion box above the comment form.
If you are suggesting a charity, please also
- Provide a link in the comment.
- Add one or two sentences on what this charity is about, to help the community to decide.
Even if your preferred charity has already been suggested, leave a comment and let us know! Remember every unique commenter on this thread will add an extra $10 to the donation.
The poll will run until Saturday 18 Dec 2021 at 12:00PM. After poll expires, votes will be revealed and we will divide up the final donation amount to give to the top 6-8 charities. I will sort out all the donations next week (before Christmas).
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which charity should I suggest?
Update: As we already have 50 charities on the list, we are no longer taking suggestions.
There are some limitations on the charity that a user may suggest:
- It must be a registered charity eligible for DGR (deductible gift recipient). That would unfortunately make NPOs like Wikipedia & Sea Shepherd & some international charities ineligible.
- As we are OzBargain, it would be great if the charity is Australia based or benefits Australians.
- The suggestion feature will also be closed after having 50 charities on poll.
Please note that all the suggestions will have to be manually approved by the moderators, so they might not show up straight away.
Q: How many charity organisations will OzBargain donate to this Christmas?
6-8, depending on the final donation amount. For example,
- No one commented on the post — $30,000 will be donated to 6 charities with $5,000 each.
- 100 unique commenters — $31,000 will be donated to 6 charities with $5,167 each.
- 500 unique commenters — $35,000 will be donated to 7 charities with $5,000 each.
- 1,000 unique commenters — $40,000 will be donated to 8 charities with $5,000 each.
Q: Why is foo charity on the list? Why is bar charity NOT on the list?
All the charity organisations are suggested by the community (either this year, or from previous years). If you think certain charity organisation ought to be on the list, please suggest it (provided that we haven't reached the 50 options limit). If you do not think a certain charity should be there, please leave a comment in the post, and use "Report" to notify a moderator. We will assess your claim and decide whether to remove that charity from the list.
Q: Any bargain?
Free $10 to the top charity when you comment!
My vote goes to Foodbank. Great initiative. Thanks OZB.