FAQ

Do I need to become a CORENA member in order to take part?

No, anyone can chip in. You may choose to become a member if you wish to have a vote at CORENA meetings and AGMs. The membership fees are our main source of income for covering unavoidable expenses, like insurance, web hosting, and financial audits, so you may choose to become a member simply to help us cover admin costs. The membership fee is $25 for an individual, $40 for a family (2 adults), and $10 concession or low-income (self-assessed).

Can I invest instead of donating?

The CORENA Fund only accepts donations, but investment in community-owned renewable energy (CORE) projects is also an excellent way of speeding up the transition to renewable energy.

Are donations tax deductible?

Yes. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.

Is all donated money spent on CORENA’s climate projects?

We allocate 95% of project donations to give interest-free loans to pay for actual project costs, and retain 5% to help CORENA expand our tangible climate project work. 100% of all project loan repayments go back into our revolving fund to help fund future projects.

How are administration costs covered?

We operate on a shoe-string budget. We don’t have an office, we avoid non-essential expenses, and currently we rely almost entirely on voluntary work for all tasks. Membership fees and admin donations cover unavoidable admin expenses, like insurance, web hosting, and financial audits. In 2020 we began charging a nominal project fee to loan recipients and allocating 5% of project donations to an expansion fund to enable a little paid help in order to achieve more than we can with voluntary work alone.

How do I know my contribution will be used effectively?

We base spending decisions on technology and business advice from the CORENA Fund management committee and other relevant experts so that we can be sure we are spending donated funds effectively.

To see details and costs of the work performed, click individual projects on the Completed Projects page. For current projects, click the project details button on the Home page. You can also see honour rolls recording each donation we have received and where it was spent.

What are the benefits of contributing to a Quick Win climate project?

The Quick Win climate projects are simple and relatively quick, so your contribution results in reductions in carbon emissions within weeks or at most a few months. The tangible climate benefit from any one project might be small, but there are potentially large benefits from its follow-on effects amongst the general public.

We only have one atmosphere, so every Quick Win climate project benefits us all equally regardless of whether it is next door or on the other side of the country.