OzBargain 2022 Christmas Donations - $30,000 to Charities of Your Choice

Update 17 Dec 2022 — poll has finished and these are the charities chosen by our community:

  • Sikh Volunteers Australia
  • Cancer Council
  • beyondblue
  • Royal Flying Doctor Service
  • Dementia Australia
  • RSPCA Australia

Thanks to all who voted.


Same deal as previous years, it's the Christmas donation time! $30,000 to the most voted charities. However we are scaling back the event a little bit

  • I am currently away on a trip, and I won't have the time moderating suggested poll options. Therefore,
  • No more suggestions. I'm taking last year's 50 charities and ask everyone to vote on those again.
  • No more $10 extra per unique commenters, since we aren't asking for more suggestions.

Poll will run until Saturday 17 Dec 2022 at 12:00PM. I'll sort out the payments to charities after getting back from overseas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many charity organisations will OzBargain donate to this Christmas?

We will donate to the top 6 donations based on the number of votes, and each charity will get $5,000.

Q: Why is foo charity on the list? Why is bar charity NOT on the list?

Those charity organisations listed in the poll were suggested by the community from last year's Christmas charity donations event. Sorry we aren't taking more suggestions this year, but we are likely to revert back to our usual suggest-a-charity + $10 extra donations per commenter format next year.

Poll Options expired

  • 128
    Sikh Volunteers Australia
  • 64
    Cancer Council
  • 63
    beyondblue
  • 53
    Royal Flying Doctor Service
  • 41
    Dementia Australia
  • 41
    RSPCA Australia
  • 30
    Kids With Cancer Foundation Australia
  • 30
    Lifeline
  • 29
    Compassion Australia
  • 28
    Black Dog Institute
  • 25
    Foodbank Victoria
  • 24
    OzHarvest
  • 24
    Salvation Army
  • 23
    Pets of the Homeless Australia
  • 22
    Aboriginal Literacy Foundation
  • 22
    Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC)
  • 22
    Médecins Sans Frontières Australia
  • 20
    Australian Red Cross
  • 20
    RU OK?
  • 19
    The Smith Family
  • 18
    Fred Hollows Foundation
  • 17
    HAART (Homeless & Abused Animal Rescue Team)
  • 17
    MND Australia
  • 17
    PanKind (The Australian Pancreatic Cancer Foundation)
  • 17
    Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation
  • 16
    headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation
  • 14
    Kids Helpline
  • 14
    NeuroEndocrine Cancer Australia
  • 13
    Orange Sky Laundry Australia
  • 11
    MAA International (Muslim Aid Australia)
  • 10
    The Heart Foundation
  • 10
    The Indigenous Literacy Foundation
  • 9
    Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Australia
  • 8
    Act for Kids
  • 8
    Heart Kids
  • 7
    Crohn’s & Colitis Australia
  • 5
    PANDA
  • 5
    Telethon Kids Institute
  • 5
    UNICEF COVAX
  • 4
    White Ribbon Australia
  • 3
    Captain Australia's BIG WALK / The Kids Cancer Project
  • 3
    Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
  • 3
    Mummy’s Wish
  • 3
    Project Underdog Rescue
  • 3
    Samaritan's Purse Australia
  • 1
    Choice Passion Life (formerly known as Cerebral Palsy League)
  • 1
    Mind Australia
  • 0
    Deaf Services Limited
  • 0
    Novacare Community Services Limited
  • 0
    SANE Australia

Comments

  • +42

    Thanks again scotty and ozbargain. Another awesome effort.

  • +3

    Legends.

    • -2

      I hope people are downvoting the joke and not the idea that Aboriginal people deserve to be literate.

  • +1

    Thanks Scotty!

  • +27

    Sikh Volunteers Australia

    Btw because I volunteer for them on and off, make regular donations etc, I am just about informed enough to say that they are truely not-for-profit…
    The biggest testament to their legitimacy is the fact that so many of its own unpaid volunteers, still donate to them because even after working closely with them, they know it’s fully legit.

    • +6

      This is what i voted for. I saw them rock up to the floods in lismore and mucked in to help out, i think they were doing food drops for heaps of people.

      Fantastic org.

  • +16

    Big fan of PanKind. Pancreatic Cancer research is terribly underfunded and the cancer still often discovered too late.

    Even if you dont vote for PanKind, if you're middle aged, make sure you take your free bowel cancer screen from the Govt and at any sign of gastrointestinal changes, you see a GP.

    • +4

      Good advice I'm 41 years old and got diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in September. Doctors ignored my symptoms because of my age hopefully this isn't my last Christmas with my family.

      • +2

        Hopefully it wont be 🙏 Have they considered a surgical option?
        I had a cyst on my Pancreas found by accident in a CT during an ED admission. Hospital ignored it, GP followed up. By the time i was back in for a second CT it had quadrupled in size.
        Admitted for a biopsy (size of a large marble now) and they managed to aspirate it. Cancerous.
        Then they forgot about me for 2 years.
        Ever seen a Specialist cry? I have. He was devastated and the Hospital did a piss weak investigation and found someone forgot to add me to the schedule.
        They prepared me for needing a Whipple but when they did the MRI, it was gone.
        I was 34 by this point. Just recently transitioned to long term surveillance. I thought if i made it to 40, id be a happy camper!
        Colonoscopies and bowel checks need to be taken more seriously by everyone. This arbitrary age limit for cancer screening is nonsensical and provides excuses to medical professionals not to look harder.

        • Sounds like things have improved if you have been moved to long term surveillance? I bet the mistakes in your treatment were made by Monash health. For me surgery will be required at some point to keep my bowel working but as far as a treatment option its spread to far into other organs and my bones. At the moment chemo is best chance for a bit more time with my family. It's just so hard trying to stay positive especially with kids who at the moment think I'm going to be saved.

          • @Fornax: Im sorry to hear you dont have a better prognosis. Getting kids to understand is terribly difficult.
            I started writing letters to mine. Everytime i go into hospital now i make a video just in case. I dont know how old yours are but maybe do the same, especially if they still have big birthdays ahead.

      • +1

        Reading your guys experiences have got me teary eyed over here.
        I am only 26 and can only begin to relate to the unfairness that life could present someone with..
        Thanks for sharing, it’s now prompted me to ask my Gp about a cancer screening for myself.
        God bless you both.

        • +2

          Certainly get you skin checks done. 22 years ago I thought I had an age spot until I noticed it had two eyes. The age spot was a BCC, but the eyes were melanomas. They ended up taking a 1 cm margin all the way around the area but I didn’t need any other treatment because the margin test came back clear.

          The best defence you have is a good GP. My first set of tests were indeterminant but my GP knew it was a melanoma. He took it off and sent it for testing. He arranged for a specialist to see me, outside hours, so I didn’t wait months for an appointment. The specialist is who ordered the surgery for the 1 cm margin because he was concerned at the cancer’s depth.

          If you catch a cancer early enough the outcome doesn’t, always, have to be bad. I get regular checks and, fingers crossed, I’ve been pretty clear.

  • +1

    Tenner.

    Don't forget about Effective altruism.
    And info post by ToniYellow —-
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/11493353/redir

    Would be cool if we could cast vote for Up to 2-3 that we really want and see how that results.

  • +24

    NeuroEndocrine Cancer Australia

    I don't expect this to get a lot of votes but any awareness is good. I recently survived a very rare type of gastrointestinal neuroendocrine cancer that had metastasised elsewhere in my body. The treatment was similar to pancreatic cancer and the survival rate was significantly lower than the already low rates of survival pancreatic cancer has. The most common kind of NETs is in the pancreas and the most well known case of pancreatic NETs is Steve Jobs.

    Not many doctors know about NETs and the cause is unknown, however cases are on the rise. There is a link between the MEN1 gene and preputial gland NETs but I don't have the gene. The tumour is often slow growing (aggressive in my case) and won't present symptoms until later in life, often when it's too late. It doesn't respond to chemo, radiation is often too risky or ineffective and surgery only works if they're able to get it all.

    Fortunately there are clinical studies that are proving to show some success in treating the advanced cases where it's spread to the liver etc that make surgery less viable. I personally underwent a more experimental kind of surgery lasting just over 10 hours to save my life.

    • +3

      Sounds like great reasons to vote for it. I'm in. And genuinely glad to hear of the success.

    • +4

      Best of luck with your treatment.

    • +1

      Sorry you had to go through all that! Definitely voted for this as i'm a sucker for the unknown and the uncurable. Godspeed on the journey ahead champ. you're stronger than you think and I hope wish you all the best to you and the future mate

    • +1

      Hope you get better soon. 🙏🙏🙏

  • +$10
    This is a great initiative. Donations really do go a long way in supporting those organisations that help those affected.

    • +2

      No more $10 extra per unique commenters, since we aren't asking for more suggestions.

      • +1

        Whoops.

  • +$10
    Foodbank VIC - Amazing Org

  • +6

    Voted for Dementia Australia. I can’t remember why?

    Seriously it is something that might affect any of us as we get older.

  • Awesome. Thanks Scotty!

  • +1

    Thanks

  • This is an amazing list still

  • +3

    I've been with this site for maybe over a year, or so. And I'm still discovering just how awesome it is. Thanks, Scotty. Love how you give back to the community via the various campaigns you run throughout the year.

  • +1

    An OzBargain tradition

  • Thanks mate

  • Awesome tradition Scotty!

  • Noice!

  • Thanks for organising this again scotty. its such a great initiative and im glad to be a part of it (:

  • +2

    Great tradition! Keep it up

  • -6

    Donate it to your employees.

  • Legend!

  • +1

    All done for pancare.

  • Thank you! <3

    Merry Christmas

  • +1

    Veterans miss out again!

  • Thanks Scotty. Love that you always give back.

  • Love your work Scotty!

  • Keep up the good work! :)

  • RSPCA, given people don't want their pets anymore now that the pandemic is over and that the rental market is bad and they need to surrender their pets to have a chance at finding a rental.

    • +4

      Homeless and Abused Animal Rescue Team (HAART) do the work of the RSPCA but without the massive government handouts. If you want to help animals, vote for HAART. Every single dollar helps animals as there are no wages, no expenses etc. and they are funded solely by donations such as this campaign and year-round fund-raising.

      Unlike the RSPCA, HAART are a 'no-kill' animal rescue charity.

      Thanks Scotty 🙏

  • Thanks Scotty

  • Thanks Scotty. Appreciate your work.

  • :) thanks Scotty

  • Good work

  • I love when this happens every year!

  • Merry Christmas!
    Thanks Scotty :)

  • Enjoy your holiday Scotty!

  • Thanks Scotty!! have a great break

  • +1

    Thank you! So many great causes to choose from. Voted for MND Australia as it’s still something close to my heart.

    • +1

      Same

  • +10

  • Great job Scotty!

  • -2

    Ummmmmm ok so no Pride Foundation??

  • Thanks for that, CPL or choice Passion Life do an amazing job taking care of my sister who is profoundly disabled with Cerebral Palsy and Autism .

  • Indigenous Literary Foundation so they can read and take advantage of the deals on Ozbargain.

  • Thank you Scotty.

    Merry Christmas to all Ozbargainers.

  • Good on ya, Scotty

  • +1

    I’m voting for Mummy’s wish again. An amazing organisation that helps mums dying of cancer who have young kids.

    Thanks to them, I have bears for my boys that have mummy’s voice recorded on them that they can press and listen to her, cuddle it etc.

    They also help heaps with practical stuff- cleaning, childcare arrangements, helping to prepare the kids for what’s coming, social stuff, etc.

    Thankyou Scotty, an amazing and kind initiative.

  • +1

    👍

  • So impressive that OzBargain can donate $30,000!

    • perhaps show receipts for transparency sake

  • Amazing OzBargain! Showing the true spirit of Christmas!!!

  • Great work Scotty

  • Once again. Awesome

  • Thanks Scotty and team.

  • +3

    I asked this last year and I know you are going with the same offerings as before, and I understand that. However, for next year, PLEASE let's have some environmental offerings to choose from (for example Bob Brown Foundation, Wilderness Society, Greenpeace, Climate Action Network, Aus Conservation Foundation).
    Would it also be worthwhile allowing more than one vote per person? Not necessarily an infinite number, but, say, three to five.

    • +4

      The list this year was taken from last year's 50 suggested charities. We are open for suggestions again next year (hopefully).

      As of multiple votes per account — this feature is simply not implemented in my poll module. Moreover I think one vote per account would be the fairest. Just pick ONE that you are just interested in.

  • Gosh there are so many good options here, hard to pick.

  • Thanks Scotty!

  • Voted for the RSPCA once again. Good work Scotty.

  • Thank you so much

  • Great job Scotty.

  • Thanks once again. This is awesome.

  • I'd be eager to see MINUS18 Foundation on this list next year.

  • awesome thanks scotty

  • Awesome.

  • Happy Festivus !

  • Thanks Scotty :)

  • Thanks Scotty! Captain Australia's BIG WALK / The Kids Cancer Project has contributed significantly to research into childhood cancers and they are also directly supporting the research I'm working on immunotherapy based treatment for childhood sarcoma (solid tumors). Sarcoma comprises 20% of all childhood cancers with 20-25% of children not surviving beyond five years!

  • +5

    Poll has finished and these are the charities chosen by our community:

    • Sikh Volunteers Australia
    • Cancer Council
    • beyondblue
    • Royal Flying Doctor Service
    • Dementia Australia
    • RSPCA Australia

    Thanks to all who voted.

    • +1

      Thanks for organising this. Good options.

    • +1

      Thanks for organising this with the rest of the ozb ha team. These are all wonderful charities that were voted for!!

  • Thank you Scotty & Ozbargain, well done as always!!

  • Thanks Scotty and Ozbargain team.

  • -1

    If this bloke can give 30K he's making easy 3mil per year from this side gig

  • Thanks Scotty and OzBargain for your generosity. I should monitor the forums more often - totally missed this post

    • +2

      Sub to posts from scotty

Login or Join to leave a comment