The DIK store is now closed to comply with the current Government directives.
The store closed on 27th March after completing a container of goods for Timor Leste and another one for Somalia.
Sadly there are at least 6 containers still outstanding for despatch. These are all essentially organised and Club funded but simply could not get packed and despatched before the close. We will look forward to shipping these as soon as we can get back into operation.
The Board of DIK Inc has been busy over these past few months . As some of you will be aware, we are now registered for GST which is certainly a help financially. More importantly we have now been officially registered with the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission ( ACNC) – confirmed on March 10th and this has enabled us to be an Approved Deductible Gift Recipient with the ATO. So we will be very happy to provide the appropriate tax receipt for your donations. A lot of administrative activity but certainly worth it.
We have the very obvious challenges that COVID -19 poses for everybody. We operated with the separation distances , hand washing and surface cleaning etc before we closed – a bit of a challenge when loading a container.
We have also had a number of pre arranged deliveries into the store over the past few weeks.
Financially we have ope
rated “in the black” (just) to the end of March and should finish the financial year in the same position.
Our biggest cost is the rental that we pay for the store and we are pleased to advise that we have negotiated a very acceptable arrangement with our landlord for three months minimal ( almost peppercorn) rental for June, July and August.
This will save us cash but our plea is always for funds to cover the rental in particular.
It’s interesting that so many Rotarians do not understand the store funding.
It all comes from donations from Rotary Clubs and some other supporters.
It is not funded by the District!
Clubs express reluctance in contributing funds for rental but the reality is that without a store and the goods it provides, many International projects would simply not happen. We have a number of Clubs who have elected to be members of DIK Inc who pledge and annual amount specifically to cover our rental obligations (almost) with the balance coming from other Club donations.
So DIK is alive and in forced hibernation at Shed 39, 400 Somerville Road West Footscray under the stewardship of Laurie Fisher.
We will look forward to your continued participation when we come out of hibernation.