Australia battles bushfires every year, but few can recall a fire season as deadly or destructive as this one, with fires burning at one point in all six of Australia’s states. The fires have already claimed the lives of 20 individuals and, by some estimates, as many as 480 million wild animals. Remote communities have been decimated by the blazes, and millions of acres of wildlands have been torched.

You can easily support the charitable organizations on the ground who are responding to this natural disaster by using your Vanguard Charitable donor-advised fund.

In partnership with Charity Navigator, Vanguard Charitable has confirmed that the highly rated organizations in the table below are supporting the Australia bushfire relief efforts. We have expedited the granting process so that your contribution can be put to use as quickly as possible. Charity Navigator encourages donors to support any of the 3- and 4-star charities featured.

To support these charities or others:

Log in to your online account by clicking on the Login button in the upper right hand corner.

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On the Account summary page, click the Grant button under your current balance or select Recommend A Grant under the Grant tab in the navigation menu at the top of the page.

Select the charity you would like to recommend a grant to. If the organization is not in your saved charities list, enter the charity’s name in the search bar above your saved charities, to search Candid and find the organization. You can then add the charity to your saved charities list.

Choose the specific grant purpose titled Disaster Relief: Australian Fires in the first step of the recommend a grant process. If you want to donate to a specific disaster or affected area, indicate so in the space provided.

If you are interested in supporting local Australian organizations, Charities Aid Foundation of America (CAF America), our preferred partner for and a leading expert in global giving, has also put together a list of charities. As an organization committed to enabling cross-border charitable giving, CAF America stands ready to assist Vanguard Charitable donors who want to support the important recovery efforts taking place. Additional fees for international grants may apply.

To support Australian organizations that CAF America has identified, recommend a grant to Charities Aid Foundation of America, EIN 43-1634280, choose Other as the purpose of the grant, and then add additional comments. Here you can write in your preferred Australian charity and a specific area of support. (For example, "Sydney Food Cupboard - Australia Fires.")

CAF America is working with the following Australian charities to provide relief:

• Australian Red Cross Society 
• Foodbank NSW & ACT 
• Foodbank SA 
• Foodbank WA
• World Wildlife Fund

CAF America also works with their partner in Australia, Good2Give, to expedite grants to charities registered with the Australian Business Register who have DGR-1 status.

If you do not have online access to your account, you can register by selecting the Login button in the upper right-hand corner. Follow the prompts to register for online access to your Vanguard Charitable account.

The nonprofit community's response will be ongoing, and as such, these lists are not meant to be exhaustive.

For additional resources and information on how you can support disaster relief efforts, visit Charity Navigator or reference The Center for Disaster Philanthropy's website. Vanguard Charitable encourages you to approach disaster relief the same way you approach all giving: strategically. Learn more about the best ways to support disaster relief efforts.