Saving the Koalas Donation Campaign
Overview of the Australian Koala Foundation
The Australian Koala Foundation(AKF) is a non-profit organization formed to create awareness, enhance conservation measures, and manage wild Koala in their natural habitat. Since its inception in 1986, the organization has grown tremendously in no small organization worldwide recognition in its conservation and wildlife management programs targeting the endangered Koala species. In recognizing this organization’s efforts, several bodies, both government and non-governmental, have come forth in supporting the organization’s conversation programs and measures. Organizations such as the Ray Group have had a long-term partnership with the organization, which has resulted in several developments towards the conservation of the Koala’s natural habitats (“Australian Koala Foundation,” 2020).
The Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) has a staff of over 20 personnel, all of whom are specialists in different disciplines relevant to the organization’s conservation processes. Being a non-profit entity, the organization has a straightforward management structure with just the National Board comprising six board members and fantastic staff made up of different professionals relevant to promoting the organization’s objective.
The Foundation has a profound presence, even on social media platforms. It drives its campaigns and advocacy for the conservation and protection of the Koalas in their natural habitat. The organization has also been at the forefront in championing the enactment of various legislation relevant to the recognition of the Koala as an endangered species. The Foundation is presently rallying individuals towards forming the ‘Koala Army,’ a group of supporters of conservation measures on the Koala, to help push for enacting the Koala Protection Act by the Australian government (“Australian Koala Foundation,” 2020).
In the recent Australian Bushfires that had such devastating impacts on the Koalas, the Foundation was in the forefront in driving up support through donations from different entities and organizations in marshaling up aid to assist the Koalas in getting water, treatment, new home homes, and working towards the proofing of the forests from further incidences of fire.
I chose the Australian Koala Foundation campaigns since it provides for the protection and conservation of the environment by initiating campaigns to enable the endangered Koalas’ preservation and sustainability. As an environmental enthusiast, I find these community relations more fulfilling to my interests and that of the community and wildlife at large (“Australian Koala Foundation,” 2020).
Australian Koala Foundation of Public Relations Programs
Public Relations aim to enable an organization to effectively communicate its objectives and forge working relationships between the organization and its various stakeholders to execute their respective duties and responsibilities.
Further to enhanced relationships, Public Relations has the effect or importance of gaining influence and enhancing loyalty among the different consumers of the organization’s services. Therefore, an organization needs to take cognizance of the importance of utilizing all the available platforms such as online presence through social media or websites and offline presence through the use of traditional media platforms.
To achieve its purpose and goals, the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) has engaged in several campaigns and Public Relations activities to create awareness, get funding, and promote the need for recognition of the Koalas in their natural settings. The different campaign and public relations activities initiated by the Foundation are made available on online platforms and other channels to widen their reach to different people both in Australia and across the world. The programs or activities initiated for the promotion of the conservation efforts for the Koalas which well designed to attract the public into taking part in the conservation measures include; Adopting a Koala, Sighting or mapping the Koalas in their natural habitats, saving the Koala Online Shop, Planting a tree online, and making donations towards saving of the Koalas.
Donation towards Saving the Koalas from the Australian Bushfires.
Research
According to the Foundation, Koalas have an immense contribution to the economy of Australia. Because of the conservation measures that the organization has put in place over time in promoting the protection of the natural habitats of koalas, their population has increased over time, which has had a positive effect on the tourism sector in Australia. A community of nearly 30000 people is directly employed in the tourism sector, whose one primary source of attraction is the Koalas in their natural habitat (Philippe, 2020).
One of the significant challenges or threats to Australia’s flourishing tourism industry is the bushfires and forest fires. Whenever the fires strike, they usually burn down millions of land areas, which has the effects of killing the koalas or driving them out of their natural home settings. In the summer of 2019, over twelve million hectares of land burnt down, leading to the loss of nearly 50% of Koalas’ population in the country. Already on the verge of extinction as a result of increased land reclamation for urban development and growth alongside increased agricultural activities, the koalas are threatened by different factors, which has necessitated the need to enhance conservation measures and donation drives during emergencies to save the few that are still in existence (Philippe, 2020).
With the continuous and almost annual bush and forest fires, the Australian Koala Foundation has been at the forefront and collaborates with many other organizations to help promote conservation efforts and provide emergency services to the koalas whenever a tragedy occurs the form of fires strike. To achieve their efforts, the Australian Koala Foundation has encouraged donations from volunteers and donors both locally and globally to make funds available for meeting the koalas’ emergency needs, like making water available, providing alternative homes for accommodating the Koalas (Philippe, 2020).
Therefore, it is apparent that the Campaign for Saving the Koalas from the devastating Australian bushfires was based on the given statistical data and with relevant research on the need to continue making the habitats conducive for the Koalas survival (Jean-Philippe, 2020).
Objectives
A review of the Australian Koala Foundation’s public relations strategies, the objectives are indicated to help in the public and other stakeholders understand the reasons for the different campaigns that the Foundation has been running. In “the saving Koalas donation from the Australian bush fires,” one of the objectives that were indicated and involved; raising of necessary funds to provide the response and recovery programs to the affected populations of Koalas, through this the funds would be used in the treatment of injured and partly burnt koalas, provision of water and recovery services and other facilities to the Koalas, and in building hospitals like the Koala ark for those koalas who lost their habitats to the ravaging fires. The second reason for seeking the donations was to source for the funds to be used in the process of restoring the habitats of the Koalas, with funds the Foundation sought to embark on the process of restoring the natural forests that were burnt down by the fires so that the koalas would be able to get back to their natural set-ups. With the funds, the organization would support the best practices of conserving the indigenous forests for the future generations of the koalas (Philippe, 2020) sustainably.
Through the donations, the organization was looking forward to securing adequate funds to facilitate the installation of future preventive measures from bushfire outbreaks. Future fire outbreaks can be contained by applying innovative and new approaches related to mitigating measures towards issues like global warming or climate.
Programming
Considering the organization’s activities and appeals during the campaign for raising funds through donation appeals, the messages were in line with the Foundation’s objectives of promoting conservation and protecting the natural environment (Philippe, 2020).
In campaigning for the donations, the organization promoted public interests through appeals for funds to finance the conservation measures. Koalas are an essential part of the tourism industry in Australia, which employs thousands of individuals and earns billions in dollars annually, contributing immensely to the country’s economy. Therefore, the koalas’ negative effect will have far-reaching economic consequences and repercussions, such as unemployment and decreased contribution to the country’s GDP from the tourism industry (Philippe, 2020).
In the promotion campaign for the donation for Koalas, the organization utilized various media platforms such as newspapers and online platforms. Through multiple platforms, the campaign managed to have a broad reach through which numerous individuals and organizations globally made immense financial contributions towards the campaign.
Evaluation
A critical analysis and evaluation of the results and impacts of the campaign to save Koalas from the Australian bushfires highlight the existence of positive effects both in the short term and in a long time. As a result of the campaign initiated by the Australian Koala Foundation, many organizations and prominent personalities made their donations towards the campaign. The campaign shows participation in donations from celebrities such as Jason Momoa, Lizzo, Hillary Duff, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle (Jean-Philippe, 2020).
Alongside the individual personalities, several other organizations such as the Australian Red Cross, St. Vincent de Paul Society Bushfire Appeal (NSW), Victorian Bushfire Appeal, State Emergency Relief Fund (SERF), Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, and Zoos Victoria, all took part in the campaign through making financial donations providing both essential and requisite services and goods which were crucial in the processes of response and rehabilitation of the Koalas habitats (Jean-Philippe, 2020).
The campaign was a success since it delivered on the intended objectives set in the initial stages and has led to a positive outlook on the organization based on its concerning promotion of a sustainable environment for the Koalas and the surrounding communities.
References
Australian Koala Foundation. Savethekoala.com. (, 2020). Retrieved 4 November 2020, from https://www.savethekoala.com/.
Jean-Philippe, M. (2020). How You Can Help Those Affected by the Australian Bushfires. Oprah Magazine. Retrieved 4 November 2020, from https://www.oprahmag.com/life/a30417193/australia-bushfires-how-to-help-donate/.
Philippe, I. (2020). A look at koalas in Australian culture amid the fires that are devastating their population. ABC NEWS. Retrieved 4 November 2020, from https://abcnews.go.com/International/koalas-australian-culture-amid-fires-devastating-population/story?id=68195336.