Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
69,118
40,141



Apple is now accepting donations from users to help Australian bushfire relief efforts. The company has updated its U.S. and Australian websites with a banner that visitors can click on to make donations, 100 percent of which go to directly to the aid agencies involved.

australian-bushfire-relief-banner.jpg

Depending on the device you're using to access Apple's website, clicking on the banner launches the Music app or the iTunes Store where you can select how much money to donate from a series of pre-defined amounts. The U.S. site offers six buttons ranging from $5 to $200.

Donations made via the U.S. site go to the American Red Cross, while donations made through the Australian site go directly to the Australian Red Cross. Visitors to the sites outside of their respective regions don't appear to be able to donate at this time.

The plea follows Apple's own donation pledge in late December to support fire fighting efforts in Australia. For several weeks now, bushfires have been burning across Australia due to one of the worst droughts in history and record-breaking heat waves.

At least 27 people have died and more than 800 homes have been destroyed. Wildlife has also been impacted by the ongoing fires - an estimated 25,000 koalas were killed when flames devastated Kangaroo Island last week.

Apple often provides donations during major disasters and most recently donated money to help fight the wildfires in California.

Article Link: Apple Accepting Donations to Help Australian Bushfire Relief Efforts
 
Thanks Apple for this, and the donation!

...but why are they going to the American Red Cross? They should all go to ours, or the firies directly.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973 and vox1
Thanks Apple for this, and the donation!

...but why are they going to the American Red Cross? They should all go to ours, or the firies directly.

My first guess is there may be a legal reason. Does the Australian Red Cross have a US tax number? Since Apple is likely to hand over a large sum maybe they expect to exceed some threshold that could be associated with money laundering? It’s a good question.
 
Still waiting for the first post to complain about the expected complaints regarding apples donations.

you beat me to it.


I don’t care for donating to the American Red Cross, but I’m hoping it will go to the proper places. The devastation is unreal.
 
Such devastation it’s so horrible to see the images of people and animals lives being completely changed.

Imagine animals that normally don't interact with humans being so scared they’re running up to humans with water bottles to drink from them. Heartbreaking.

Thank you Apple for assisting in this one as well
 
  • Like
Reactions: fullauto
Thanks Apple for this, and the donation!

...but why are they going to the American Red Cross? They should all go to ours, or the firies directly.

As stated before legal reasons. They appear to be working as a payment processor or middleman for the Red Cross. They are just making it easy for people to donate and to encourage them to do so. People whom itemize deductions will want to be able to write off their donation. Apple's own donations are separate.
 
...but why are they going to the American Red Cross? They should all go to ours, or the firies directly.

To expand on the previous posts, solicitation of donations by charities is heavily regulated in the United States as a result of scams. Most states require registration. Solicitation by international charities can create even more difficulties due to differences in tax and charity laws, audit requirements, etc.

Therefore, donations are typically routed through a US-based organization or branch, e.g. UNICEF America, Amnesty International USA, Oxfam America. This is true in other countries as well, there's 36 different UNICEFs, 52 Amnesty International branches, 19 branches of Oxfam.

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: TheFluffyDuck
If only all this money had went to clearing the dead fuel and underbrush.
If only people stopped imagining magical solutions to complex problems and listened to the people who are actually knowledgable on the matter.

 
  • Like
Reactions: TheFluffyDuck
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.