About Lions NSW-ACT Sight & Health

Lions NSW-ACT Sight & Health was established with the objective to promote, advance and assist research into the causes, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of anomalies and diseases, particularly of the eye.

Lions NSW-ACT Sight & Health comprises the Lions NSW-ACT Sight & Health Foundation and the Lions NSW-ACT Sight & Health Fund.

Lions NSW-ACT Sight & Health Foundation

LIONS NSW-ACT SIGHT & HEALTH FOUNDATION LIMITED ABN 68 672 540 215 (“Foundation”) was incorporated as a public company limited by guarantee on 30 October 2023.

The Foundation is registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission for the purpose of advancing health and social and public welfare by relieving poverty, distress or disadvantage, including by:

  1. Caring for and supporting individuals with disabilities and serious illnesses and their families including by provision of equipment, mobility aids and modified transportation;

  2. Funding and promoting research in respect of, and funding the treatment and the acquisition of equipment used in the treatment of, eye diseases and related conditions;

  3. Funding the purchase of equipment at hospitals and the provision of life saving medical equipment such as defibrillators at public facilities;

  4. Receiving and distributing funds raised by its members for public charitable purposes including providing money, property or benefits to any other Registered Charity; and

  5. Acting as the trustee of any special purpose charitable trust including the Lions NSW-ACT Sight &Health Fund.

The Foundation is owned by the Lions Clubs of the five Districts ('N' Districts) in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (NSW & ACT).  Each 'N' District is represented by three Directors and the District Governor of the day.

The Directors are elected by delegates at each ‘N’ District Convention to serve for three years on a rotational basis.  The District Governor serves during the term of his/her time in office. Directors are eligible for re-election at the end of their term.

Lions NSW-ACT Sight & Health Fund

LIONS NSW-ACT SIGHT & HEALTH FUND ABN 63 492 192 547 (“Fund”) was established on 12 February 2024 as a Public Ancillary Fund.

The Fund is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (“DGR”) by the Australian Tax Office and is entitled to receive income tax deductible gifts. The Fund may issue a receipt to an individual or organisation that makes a gift to the Fund (“Donor”) and the Donor may then claim a tax deduction for the gift.

Unlike the Foundation, the Fund does not itself undertake charitable work. It acts as an intermediary between Donors and DGRs that undertake charitable work and is established solely for the purpose of providing money, property or benefits to funds, authorities or institutions that are endorsed as DGRs under Item 1 of the table in section 30-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth).

The Fund is also registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission for the purpose of relieving poverty, distress or disadvantage: including by:

  1. Caring for and supporting individuals with disabilities and serious illnesses and their families including by provision of equipment, mobility aids and modified transportation;

  2. Funding and promoting research in respect of, and funding the treatment and the acquisition of equipment used in the treatment of, eye diseases and related conditions; and

  3. Funding the purchase of equipment at hospitals and the provision of life saving medical equipment such as defibrillators at public facilities.

The Foundation, in its capacity as trustee of the Fund, is in the process of transferring the funds comprised in the Lions NSW-ACT Save Sight Foundation Charitable Trust (originally established in 1974) and the Lions Clubs NSW-ACT Public Health Care Foundation (originally established in 1981) to the Fund.

History

Lions NSW-ACT Save Sight Foundation

The Lions NSW-ACT Save Sight Foundation was adopted by the four District Governors of 201 B, D, G & E at the 22nd Multiple District Convention in Canberra in 1974.

The Save Sight Foundation provided the University of Sydney’s Save Sight and Eye Health Institute with seeding funds over a six year period to assist with its establishment. The Lions NSW Eye Bank was established in partnership with the NSW Government Sydney Area Health Service. Lions NSW-ACT Save Sight Foundation contributed $110,000.00 annually towards the running costs of the Lions NSW Eye Bank. The Foundation is represented on the Eye Bank Management Committee by the Foundation’s Chairman and three Directors and on the Board of the Save Sight Institute by the Foundation’s Chairman and two Directors. The Lions NSW-ACT Save Sight Foundation also provided $55,000 p.a. to the Sydney Eye Hospital Foundation to fund the Lions NSW-ACT Save Sight Glaucoma Fellowship, and contributed $110,000 toward the cost of the $500,000 3D microscope now used in the Sydney Eye Hospital.

Since its inception Lions NSW-ACT Save Sight Foundation provided funding of more than $4,500,000 in grants to tax deductible gift authorised entities. Grants included Argon Lasers for treating eye disease, and other equipment appertaining to sight conditions, funding for sight related research projects with the Save Sight Institute, and financial assistance to the Lions NSW Eye Bank. It provided the University of Sydney's Save Sight and Eye Health Institute with seeding funds over a six year period to assist with its establishment. The Lions NSW Eye Bank was established in partnership with the NSW Government Sydney Area Health Service. The Eye Bank receives a substantial amount annually from the Save Sight Foundation to assist with its ongoing function of trying to keep the community in sight. 

The Save Sight and Eye Health Institute and the Lions NSW Eye Bank are both housed at the Sydney Hospital in Macquarie St, Sydney.  Directors of the Save Sight Foundation serve on the Council of the University of Sydney Save Sight and Eye Health Institute as well as on the Management committee of the Lions NSW Eye Bank.

Lions NSW-ACT Public Health Care Foundation

Sight-related projects are only part of the work being carried out by Lions Clubs throughout the world, and it was soon realised that the general health of the community was also in need of assistance. This led in 1981 to the founding of the Lions NSW-ACT Public Health Care Foundation in order to support a wider range of health projects, providing funds of more than $4,000,000 in grants. This funding comes from the interest earned on the capital of the Lions NSW-ACT Public Health Care Foundation. Grants approved by the Lions NSW-ACT Public Health Care Foundation assisted Lions Clubs in purchasing equipment for hospitals and individuals including foetal heart monitors, electric wheelchairs, hospital beds, dialysis machines and other much-needed health related equipment. It also supported ambulance services, university research, training of medical personnel, printing of medical publications, and more.

Lions NSW-ACT Sight & Health Foundation

Building upon the successes of the Lions NSW-ACT Save Sight Foundation and the Lions NSW-ACT Public Health Care Foundation, the present day Lions NSW-ACT Sight & Health Foundation was formed in 2023. The Foundation is owned by the Lions Clubs of the five Districts ('N' Districts) in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (NSW & ACT). Each 'N' District is represented by three Directors and the District Governor of the day. The Directors are elected by delegates at each ‘N’ District Convention to serve for three years on a rotational basis.  The District Governor serves during the term of his/her time in office. Directors are eligible for re-election at the end of their term.