FOTZ signs a new Heads of Agreement with Zoos Victoria

I am pleased to announce that from July 1, 2009 Friends of the Zoos (FOTZ) will be embarking on a new direction, with the establishment of a Charitable Fund and the transitioning of FOTZ annual membership administration and operations to Zoos Victoria (ZV).

The new FOTZ Charitable Fund will work alongside ZV Foundation to grow the funds raised for Zoos Victoria capital, conservation and education programs. FOTZ will be working over the coming 6 months to gain the necessary approvals to establish the fund, and will be endowing the fund with a circa $1.5m investment.

The transition of membership operations to Zoos Victoria will be a progressive process, which is scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2009. We expect this process will have little or no impact on FOTZ members. Throughout this process FOTZ and ZV will be endeavouring to maintain the valued experience and services of all FOTZ employees.

Our new relationship with ZV will see FOTZ maintain its existing roles as a supplier of volunteer services and magazine publishing for annual membership holders.

The terms of this new relationship between FOTZ and ZV were confirmed in a Heads of Agreement document signed today June 26, 2009. This Heads of Agreement will be formalised in a Memorandum of Understanding to be drafted shortly.

Over the next few months FOTZ will be working hard to establish the Charitable Fund, and reviewing our legal structures to ensure that they best suit our new organisation going forward. With ZV, we will also be working to plan and implement the membership transition. However in day-to-day terms there will be little change in the immediate future.

A series of Question and Answer sessions for FOTZ members, volunteers and ZV employees will be held during the coming month at all three Zoos Victoria properties. However, if you have any questions please feel free to contact the FOTZ office.

Friends of the Zoos (FOTZ) is a non profit, independent organization, supporting Zoos Victoria and wildlife conservation for almost 30 years. With our 72,000+ members and nearly 700 volunteers we are committed in our support of Zoos Victoria.