Wellington Free Ambulance / How You Can Help / Donation Options

Making a Donation to Wellington Free Ambulance

There is no other city in the world like Wellington - it is truly unique. It’s also the only capital city in the Southern Hemisphere to provide a free emergency ambulance service.

Wellington Free Ambulance is a 24/7 life-saving service free to everyone who lives, works or simply visits our great Wellington region. But we need your help to keep it that way.

Every day we respond to over 150 calls for help. Whether it’s a heart attack victim, a woman in labour, a car accident, or a sick child - if it’s an emergency we’re ready to help at no cost to the patient. As you can imagine, this doesn’t come cheap.

Every dollar counts and your gift can make a difference. Here's how you can make a donation to Wellington Free Ambulance:

Donate online - click here to go to our secure online credit card payment system to make an online donation;

Post Your Donation - you can post your donation to: Freepost Alpha WFA, PO Box 601, Wellington. Please ensure that you include your full name and address so that we can issue you with a tax receipt;

Contact Us - you can either phone us on (04) 499 9909 or email donate@wfa.org.nz to discuss with us how you would like to make a donation;

Donate via your local PSIS branch - PSIS are now accepting donations to Wellington Free Ambulance via their five branches in greater Wellington, located in Paraparaumu, Porirua, Wellington city, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt. For more information go to www.psis.co.nz

Donations and pledges ensure that the people of greater Wellington continue to have the best possible emergency healthcare, at no charge. These gifts are used to ensure our staff have the training you deserve, and that our lifesaving equipment and vehicles are up to date and effective.

All donations over $5 will also be send a tax receipt, which are tax deductible in New Zealand.

Bequests - Making a difference beyond your lifetime

Bequests can ensure that the people of greater Wellington continue to have the best possible emergency healthcare, at no charge. These gifts are used to ensure our staff have the training you deserve and that our lifesaving equipment is up to date and effective.

How do I make a bequest? It is very easy - by simply including a paragraph in your will you can make a contribution to Wellington Free Ambulance. But first you need to decide what is best for you.

There are several ways to nominate your gift:

It can be an amount of money, property, shares or other gifts that you wish to contribute;

Another option is to nominate a percentage of your estate;

Or, after all bequests for family, friends and others have been specified in your will, you can leave all or part of what is left of your estate (residue);

Should you wish, you can nominate your gift to go towards a specific purpose, such as an ambulance or other piece of life-saving equipment. We can advise you if this is your preferred option. It's all up to you.

To leave a gift in your will or to make a gift during your lifetime, we recommend you contact your solicitor, Public Trust or Trustee Company Representative - they will be able to help you make the necessary arrangements.

Please note that our full legal name is: Wellington Free Ambulance Service Incorporated.

Our Charities Commission Registration number is: CC31374

To discuss this with us in confidence, please contact the WFA Fundraising Manager on (04) 498 0997.

Regular Giving - the easy way to donate

Supporters of Wellington Free Ambulance may wish to make regular automatic payments to the Service - this is a convenient and easy alternative to sending a donation to us by post or via credit card.

You choose the amount, frequency and term of the automatic payments, and at financial year end we send you a receipt listing your automatic donations made to WFA for the year, which you can then use to claim GST back on.

By making a regular donation to Wellington Free Ambulance, you can help us to remain the only free metropolitan ambulance service in New Zealand.

To become a Regular Donor to WFA:

Click here to download a Dedicated Donor form in PDF format (requires Adobe Reader);

Please contact us if you have any questions about becoming a Regular Donor;

Payroll Giving - Voluntary Payroll Scheme

From 7 Jan 2010 businesses and organisations will be able to offer a new voluntary scheme called payroll giving to their employees.

Payroll giving allows employees to 'give as they earn' by making donations directly from their pay to donee organisations. For every dollar an employee donates they receive a third back as a tax credit in the same pay period.

Because payroll giving is voluntary, employers have the choice of whether to offer the scheme to their employees. Donations are made through the employer's payroll system. The employer deducts any donation from their employee's pay, reduces their PAYE by the appropriate tax credit, and then forwards the donation to the chosen donee organisation.

Depending on how the scheme is set up, the frequency, amount & donee organisations chosen by employees can change at their discretion.

Payroll giving for employers:

Payroll giving is a scheme available to employers who file their EMS(IR348) and EDF(IR345) electronically using ir-File. Where offered the scheme gives employees the opportunity to donate to approved donee organisations of their choice direct from their pay and receive an immediate tax credit for payroll donations.

If you're an employer filing your EMS and EDF using ir-File, you can choose to offer payroll giving to your employees. You'll need to:

Deduct the requested donation amount from the individual employee's salary or wage;

Calculate the correct tax credits for payroll donations for each donation made;

Record the tax credits for payroll donations for individual employees on the EMS;

Keep records of all tax credits for payroll donations, donation amounts, donee organisations and payment dates;

Pass the donations to the chosen donee organisations within the specified timeframe of the deduction being made from the employee's salary or wage;

Advise the donee organisation the donation is a result of payroll giving;

A FAQ for Employers is available on the IRD website - please click here to view

Payroll giving for employees:

Payroll giving, where offered by your employer, gives you the opportunity to donate to approved donee organisations direct from your pay and receive immediate tax credits that reduce your PAYE payable. You don't need to wait until the end of the year to claim your tax credit.

Only employers who electronically file their employer monthly schedule and deduction form can choose to offer payroll giving to their employees.

What you will need to do: If your employer offers a payroll giving scheme and you want to join in support of Wellington Free Ambulance, you need to give your employer the following information:

Donee Organisation Legal Name: Wellington Free Ambulance Service Incorporated

Donee Organisation Short Name: Wellington Free Ambulance

Charity registration number: CC31374

Bank/Branch: Westpac, 318 Lambton Quay, Wellington

Bank Account Number: 03 0502 0170069 00

Postal Address: PO Box 601, Thorndon, Wellington 6011

Telephone: (04) 499 9909 - Fax: (04) 499 3777

Email: donate@wfa.org.nz - Website: www.wfa.org.nz

A FAQ for Employees is available on the IRD website - please click here to view

How tax credits for payroll donations work

Tax credits for payroll donations are calculated at 33.33 cents for each dollar donated which is deducted from you PAYE. Employers are responsible for calculating the correct tax credits for each payroll donation made by their employees. The tax credit for payroll donations is 33.3333 cents for each dollar donated. Once the tax credit has been calculated, the employee’s PAYE is reduced by the amount of the tax credit.