Frequently asked questions
Matched giving is a time-bound campaign, in which donations are matched dollar-for-dollar to a matched giving fund. A matched giving fund can be one donor or a group of donors whose donations are pooled together, who have offered to match any donations given in a specified time period, to the total value of a specified amount.
Funding to match donations has been provided by a group of generous anonymous donors who have agreed for their donations to The Fred Hollows Foundation to be used to match new monthly donations for the first 12 months. Donations will be matched to the value of $350,000. Once this target is reached the campaign will end. All donations above $2 are tax deductible and will be directed to where the need is greatest.
Only new monthly donations will be matched for the first 12 months. Donations will be matched to the value of $350,000.
No, only monthly donations will be matched for this campaign. Donations will be matched for 12 months.
Once the target has been reached, promotion of the campaign will end and donations will no longer be matched.
Restoring sight changes lives and it can only happen thanks to the generosity of supporters like you.
When you become a monthly donor we will send you:
- A welcome pack in the mail within a few weeks. The welcome pack will contain all the necessary information about your monthly gift.
- Your nominated account or credit card will be debited each month on the 15th or 28th (whichever is closest to your sign up date).
- You will receive regular email updates, sharing stories from the field about patients whose sight you’ve helped restore; medical professionals and programs you have supported; events and activities The Foundation has taken part in; petitions and research relating to eye health.
- At the end of each financial year, we will send a tax receipt with all your donations (donations over $2 are tax-deductible), for you to use for your income tax claim.
Yes, you will receive an email receipt immediately after donating and if you make a monthly gift you will receive a yearly tax receipt in the post every year.
Yes, donations of $2 and over are tax deductible in Australia.
You can update your details on our Donor Update Form. Or, you can get in touch and someone on our Sydney-based Supporter Services team will be able to help you.
Your donation will be used to restore sight to those who are needlessly blind, and help end avoidable blindness in the countries where we work, which includes eye operations and treatments, training surgeons and eye health workers, and other sustainable eye health.
For every $1 donated, 75% goes directly towards eye health programs, 6% is necessary for admin costs, and 19% goes towards investment in fundraising efforts which allows us to help even more people in future years.
While the cost of cataract surgery varies depending on the specific operating environments in the countries where we work, in some countries it is possible to restore sight for as little as $25.
Our $25 cost includes the three key things needed to restore sight – the surgeon’s time, the consumable equipment and the intraocular lens (IOL) which replaces the cataract.
The most important element in modern cataract surgery is the IOL – Fred Hollows used to refer to them as "the most expensive pieces of plastic in the world". Reducing the cost of the IOL was the fundamental factor in making cataract surgery affordable.
Today, IOL prices vary significantly – including in low and middle-income countries.
In October 2021 The Foundation evaluated our program costs for small incision cataract surgery in countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia to ensure the $25 cost remained accurate.
Our assessment showed IOLs start from $4 in Pakistan, about $6 in Cambodia, and about $14 in Bangladesh.
The other key costs are the surgeon’s time (which is less than $1.50 per patient in those three countries) and consumable equipment (as little as $5.46).
So with the cost of the IOL, the surgeon and the consumables it is possible that The Foundation can restore sight for as little as $25 in some countries.
We acknowledge that not all surgeries in all countries are as little as $25. The cost of surgery depends on factors including the country of treatment, the age and circumstances of the patient, how and where the treatment is delivered, the type of procedure, the IOL used, the hospital type (government or private), the facilities of the hospital, inpatient or day procedure delivery mechanisms, and the economic status of people in the country or region.
We accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. We also accept one-off donations by Paypal and monthly donations by direct debit.
You can change how we contact you at any time. Get in touch, email donations@hollows.org, call 1800 352 352 or write to us at Supporter Services, The Fred Hollows Foundation, Locked Bag 5021, Alexandria NSW 2015.
Please view our Regular Giving Service Agreement here.
