What is the "F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Charity Fund"?

It is the "Fallen Riders In Extreme Need - Ducati Support Charity Fund". The fund has applied for an Authority To Fundraise, which allows it to appeal to the general public for donations. It has also applied for an ABN and Deductible Gift Recipient status which allows all donations over $2 to be tax deductible.

As the title suggests, where the club determines that the particular circumstances of a fellow motorcyclist warrant charitable support, AND the club has the resources to provide such support, we have put in place the infrastructure to allow this to happen quickly and effectively. See the Club Constitution (www.hunterdogs.org/Constitution.htm) for details on how this is implemented.

It would also appear that it is relatively straightforward to extend the use of this charitable fundraising infrastructure to others who want to support injured motorcyclists, at least in NSW - subject to some fairly simple but important administrative housekeeping (contact the committee for details or email FRIENDSfund at HunterDOGs.org - use an @ symbol).

Why Exactly Are We Doing This?

We have all been involved in circumstances where a fellow motorcyclist has an accident. It is never a good situation. However, sometimes there are significant consequences, especially where the breadwinner is demobilised for an extended period and there is a dependent family who are greatly affected both by the injuries involved and the difficulty to maintain / generate additional income to cover the sudden loss. Whilst the extended family can be counted on for support this can often only go so far - and the young family is headed for considerable emotional turmoil and financial difficulty when an extended recuperation / permanent and disabling injury is involved.

Unfortunately we have recently experienced such a tragedy very close to home with Scott Priestley inexplicably colliding with armco and a telegraph pole on 7/11/06. It put him in a coma with serious injuries. The outcomes are still not known but it will be a long haul for Scotty, his wife Paula and their two lovely daughters.

Considering how much Scott and Paula have put of themselves into the motorcycling community it wasn't long before a few of us wanted to give them something back in their time of  need. Of course when life suddenly centres around the intensive care ward of the local hospital there is nothing much that we can do to lessen the pain of all that. However, we are hoping we will be able to remove some of the burden for the Priestleys as they travel the difficult road ahead.

Establishing the charity fund properly is a bureaucratic process that just takes a bit of time to go through, however doing it properly is likely to allow us to generate a higher level of support where such needy circumstances arise. We have made the charity a formal part of Hunter Ducati Owners Group Inc as that allows it to exist for free and be easily reactivated in the unhappy event that it is needed again.

If You Want To Donate

The bank account to contribute directly to is:

Account Name: Hunter Ducati Owners Group Inc

BSB: 650300

Account No: 973398705

If you do donate and send us an email to FRIENDSfund at HunterDOGs.org (use an @ symbol) we will issue a tax deductible receipt now that we are endorsed.

Click to see the Authority To Fundraise Approval (36kB)

Click to see Deductible Gift Recipient Status Endorsement (42kB)

Updates on Scott's progress will turn up here from time to time: http://hunterdogs.org/DiscussionBoard/index.php?topic=115.0

The 17/02/07 Fundraiser for the Priestleys was a brilliant success, we will post updates of what the money is to be spent on in the progress updates section above (click here for original fundraiser flyer / info sheets)