On January 10, 2020, UFC and Endeavor made an initial donation of $250,000 (USD) to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund, to assist with all relief efforts associated with the Australia Bushfires, which burned more than 18 million hectares of land, destroyed more than 2,800 homes, and claimed the lives of numerous people.
After the first donation, UFC established an informational webpage in partnership with the Australian Red Cross, to provide real time statistics and information and to accept individual donations to help with all crisis relief efforts. UFC also launched a charitable “UFC Supports Australia” campaign by selling a bespoke t-shirt online at UFCStore.com and select retail outlets in Australia, with 100% of profits from sales going directly to the fund.
The six-month campaign launched during fight week of UFC 246, as UFC President Dana White and former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor each produced PSA’s in conjunction with White wearing the UFC “Supports Australia” t-shirt during the UFC 246 press conference. Australia and New Zealand-based UFC athletes such as UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, flyweight Kai Kara-France, light heavyweight Tyson Pedro, heavyweights Tai Tuivasa and Justin Tafa, led the campaigns by promoting sales across UFC platforms.
During this campaign, UFC sold more than 2,700 t-shirts, which resulted in an additional $53,572.56 (USD) for a total of $303,572.56 (USD) raised for the Australian Red Cross.
Said Belinda Dimovski, Director of Engagement and Support of the Australian Red Cross: “With support from UFC and other global brands, well over 4,100 Australians have received financial assistance to purchase food, repair their homes, help with funeral or medical costs, or to re-establish a safe place to live. We’d like to thank UFC for showing such generosity to our emergency teams and the people we help.”
During the bushfire containment and recovery period, Red Cross teams provided relief efforts five states and territories. The team also provided support to 27,500 people at 100 relief and recovery centers across the country. Funds received were routed to the Red Cross Grant Program that assisted 3,500 people.
Nine months after launching their grants and recovery program, the Red Cross has distributed 2,864 emergency grants for homes that were destroyed, 1,982 primary residence repair grants, 518 injury grants and 36 bereavement payments.
The additional funds collected from UFC’s campaign will be equally distributed across all five grant categories to further help those in need.
For more information, please visit the Australian Red Cross.
