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TOTTS Inc

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Organisational Summary

N.Q Community Transport Summary

 TOTTS Inc (Townsville and Thuringowa Transport Solutions) trades under the business names of N.Q Community Transport and N.Q Community Connect.  The organisation was incorporated as of June 17 2005 after a transport need for the elderly and socially isolated was identified. 

Our charter is to provide transport to socially isolated seniors as well as the disabled and disadvantaged.  June 20, 2007 TOTTS Inc registered the business name N.Q Community Transport to reduce confusion as many believed our organisation was focussed toward children.

Our service fills the gap between Sunbus routes and local Taxis, which are either too expensive for our members or of no use due to mobility issues.  Currently we are without any competition and both the local Sunbus and Taxi providers appreciate and respect our service.  Many of our drivers are former bus or taxi drivers themselves, and all our drivers hold blue cards.

During 2010 TOTTS Inc registered the business name N.Q Community Connect.  Our organisation is not just about transport, we offer other social services for our members to enhance their wellbeing, for example a drop-in centre, BBQ's and tours.  The goal of this division is to get socially isolated persons out behind four walls and bring them back into the community.

 What Is N.Q Community Transport?

 N.Q Community Transport (TOTTS Inc)

•         Is a membership based registered charity organisation managed by a board comprised of eight community members.

•         Our charter is to provide transport in the Townsville City district to seniors, people with a disability, the disadvantaged, including people from culturally and linguistically diverse and indigenous backgrounds.

•         Our organisation services the gap between local taxis and Townsville Sunbus services.

•         Majority of trips cost members $17 (includes return fare)

(One of N.Q Community Transport’s busses doing the rounds 2010)

What Is N.Q Community Connect?

 N.Q Community Connect (TOTTS Inc)

•         Offers social outings for seniors.

•         Provides drop in program complete with afternoon tea and entertainment.

•         Monthly BBQs and raffles.

•         Local daytrips and tours to surrounding areas

•         3 Day tours which have included Hughenden & Atherton Tablelands.

•         Wellbeing Assistance program (as 2 days centre based day care program)

•         Has a fundraising committee

(A photo taken of our members on the Harvey’s Range Heritage Tea Room Tour 2010)
 

N.Q Community Transport Statistics

•         Membership 1, 229 as of 22nd July 2010.

•         Member growth January 2010 - December 2010, 421 new members.

•         Members from Townsville & surrounding areas including, Central Queensland, & Western Queensland.

•         Average number of trips per day 90. (130+ Thursdays)

•         Average total trips per year 23,690 and growing.

•         Expected membership to be 2, 250 within 2 years.

•         Members from numerous ethnic groups as well as other community organisations.

•         4 to 1 ratio of female members to male members.

•         40 Total staff part-time/volunteer drivers & administration.

•         Vehicle fleet travel about 460,000 kilometres per year.  (More than 8 times the distance around the Earth)

Our Organisational Achievements

 As TOTTS Inc grows so too does our reputation.  We began with a single vehicle operation and evolved into a much larger organisation with its own diverse fleet.  And while many of our day to day activities involve transporting our members from point A to point B, N.Q Community Connect shows we're always evolving and taking on bigger challenges.

Our greatest achievement in 2010 has been securing a transportation depot and despatch office.  This has supplied our fleet with a secure lock up, and provided our staff with a purpose built facility.  Another advantage we have discovered is the location of our transport depot has increased our area of operations.  Allowing us to service a greater area and aid the community further.

Our transport depot which is located in Everett Street Townsville was graciously donated and built for us by local businessman and philanthropist B.M Webb.  After he met only briefly with our CEO and General Manager, Mr. Webb knew he was onto a good thing.  Our excellent service record, devoted staff and admirable charter won him over and Mr. Webb pledged he would provide TOTTS Inc with a block of land and fully finance the construction of a transport depot.

Of course there are others within the community who value TOTTS Inc and the services we provide, and although they may lack the funds to assist us financially we are always proud and thankful when we receive certificates of appreciation and awards for our work.

Below is a list of some of TOTTS Inc's accolades and achievements.

·        Winner of Townsville City Council's Communities Award 2009

·        Winner of Townsville City Council's Communities Award 2010

·        Certificate of Appreciation from St. Teresa's Ready Set Go Playgroup

·        Certificate of Appreciation from Homeless Health Outreach Team (HHOT)

·        Winner of Regional Achievement and Community Awards Community of the Year award 2010

·        Winner of Regional Achievement and Community Awards Ministers Special Commendation Award 2010

·        Letter of Support from Deputy Mayor of Townsville David Crisafulli

·        Letter of Support from MP Mandy Johnstone

N.Q Community Transport Wish list

 
Arranged in order of priority.

Any of the above or any other donated equipment will be branded with the details of the organisation who donated it as well as a promotional spot in our quarterly newsletter and corporate membership.

TOTTS Inc Grant Funding

 Department of Communities funding.

Currently TOTTS Inc is receiving $450, 000 in funding from the Queensland Government’s Department of Communities.  The funding package began on December 2009 and will run until 30th November 2012 with the $450, 000 of funding being distributed evenly across every financial quarter over this period.

This funding was allocated to TOTTS Inc so that part time staff could receive payment for their work and services rendered.  Had TOTTS Inc not received such funding, our organisation would have had to reduce operations over the following month such time as we’d have been forced into closing.

There is however one setback with the funding, and that is we forgot to include superannuation and GST when we drew up the proposal.  As such this funding is not quite enough to cover our paid staff’s wages.

It should be noted however that all of our staff work more hours than they are paid.  If a staff member is paid 25 hours a week, they will often volunteer a further 10-20 hours per week or more, without even being asked.  This high level of commitment from TOTTS Inc staff and volunteers is truly, our greatest strength.

It is estimated our inkind pay per year as an organisation is in the ballpark of 1.25 million dollars.

Current TOTTS Inc Projects

 N.Q Community Transport Projects

N.Q Community Transport is the main stay and essential division of TOTTS Inc.  The day to day scheduling and running of our transport business is always and has always been our main priority.  There are currently no unique projects under development within this division, however our vehicles and support systems are in need of either being replaced or upgraded.

Most of our fleet consists of donated second hand vehicles which have now begun to impact our profit margin as we continue to pay for repairs.  It is only a matter of time until these vehicles are unroadworthy.  Replacement vehicles are needed to ensure a high quality of service is delivered to our members.

One of our biggest issues which we overlooked during our creation was the purchase of a wheelchair accessible vehicle.  Acquiring such a vehicle, even a smaller Sprinter model capable of holding 2 wheelchairs would greatly improve our service and open up more business opportunities for N.Q Community Transport.

Our current support systems, i.e. data server, software and office computers are also in need of replacement.  Our current scheduling software is now unable to cope with the increasing demand of our clients, our ever expanding membership base, as well as working between 2 locations (Main Office & Transport Depot)

N.Q Community Connect Projects

N.Q Community Connect currently runs a community drop in program, previously run by the Townsville City Council.  This drop in program engages seniors with social games such as cards, board games as well as providing a light afternoon tea.

N.Q Community Connect wishes to expand upon this project via the purchase of a Nintendo Wii, so we can introduce our senior members to technology and get them to interact with this system which requires physical motion to play.  The problem seniors face is they are unwilling to exercise or physically exert themselves, however they still need to do so to maintain an adequate level of health.  It is hoped the Nintendo Wii will provide enough of a novelty thrill to engaged our seniors in physical activity, enough to keep them adequately healthy.

TOTTS Inc Sponsorship

 TOTTS Inc is currently looking for sponsorship from local community organisations and businesses.  As we are without competition in our particular field of transport we have both a strength and weakness.  Our problem is that because we are pioneering this community transport paradigm we have found funding to be either difficult to acquire or non-existent.  Simply because an organisation such as TOTTS Inc has never existed before, despite the clear need within the community.

But this weakness is also our strength however.  We are therefore without competition and can provide a high level of exposure to our specific demographic of the elderly and disadvantaged whereas most other organisations could not.

We regularly receive praise not only from our members, local community groups and organisations but from politicians from every party and every branch.  Local councillors, local MP's and state MP's alike are all singing our praises and continue to provide us with moral support, some financial.

What level of exposure can you expect from TOTTS Inc?

• TOTTS Inc currently has 1,250 members and is constantly growing.  Our membership grows on average by 25-30 members per month.  By 2012 we expect our membership to be well over 2,250 persons.

• 90% of our members are seniors over the age of 60 with a 4-1 ratio of women to men.

• Our fleet averaged 40 trips a day during January 2010.  As of August 2010 we average 90 trips a day.  Our vehicles are always on the roads of Townsville.

• Every month we host a BBQ at Riverside Gardens Community Centre, with an average turnout of 60 members, 90 during Christmas BBQ’s.

• Once a month we run tours both around the Townsville area and in Greater North Queensland.  Our vehicles provide excellent exposure for any organisation operating over the whole of North Queensland.

• Our in house publication (TOTTS Tattler) is distributed to all our 1, 200+ members who receive an edition every quarter.  In addition our newsletter is also sent to Townsville City Councillors and a wide variety of local organisations and charities such as Upper Ross Community Centre, PROBUS, RSL, etc.  All of whom are members of TOTTS Inc.

TOTTS Inc Sponsorship Packages

 COMMUNITY  Negotiable Per Year

Our community package is aimed at organisations who may wish to sponsor TOTTS Inc by donating items, raffle prizes, etc instead of a financial payment.  The details of this package will differ for each organisation.  Some core benefits for this package are as follows

·                    Your business name or logo included in all press releases

·                    Invitation to all monthly BBQ’s admission for up to 1 employee

GOLD  $5,000  Per Year

Our gold package is aimed at organisations who want maximum exposure through TOTTS Inc.  This package includes advertising your business logo on the rear window of select TOTTS Inc vehicles.  Advertising on our newest 2 vehicles is included with this package, with extra vehicle advertising costing $500 per vehicle.  Sponsors will be able to cherry pick which vehicles they would like their logo to appear on.  However all our vehicles are on the roads from 7am until 6pm seven days a week, all with equal exposure.  All the benefits of silver and bronze sponsorship and included in this package to ensure your organisation receives the best possible exposure.

·                    Your business name or logo prominently displayed on TOTTS Inc web site         announcements and emails

·                    Your business name or logo included in all press releases

·                    Your business name or logo displayed front page in TOTTS Tattler (in house     publication with a subscription of 1,200 -released quarterly)

·                    Quarter Page promotion in TOTTS Tattler  (use of space up to your business)

·                    Your company logo on all tour promotions printed materials

·                    Invitation to all monthly BBQ’s admission for up to 4 employees

·                    Five minutes speaking time at all TOTTS Inc monthly BBQ’s                                                                                                                                                      

·                    Your business name or logo displayed on TOTTS Inc banner used for

·                     festivals and  other promotional events

·                    Your business thanked during TOTTS Inc festivals, BBQ’s or any event held

·                    Vehicle advertising on our 2 newest and most used vehicles ($500 for every       additional vehicle)

·                    Annual TOTTS Inc service membership for your business

SILVER  $2,500  Per Year

Our silver package offers the best possible exposure for your organisation without the use of TOTTS Inc vehicles for advertising.  This package focuses mainly on community events and other member related services such as our in house publication the TOTTS Tattler and promotional materials such as flyers.

·                    Your business name or logo displayed on TOTTS Inc web site announcements   and emails

·                    Your business name or logo included in all press releases

·                    Your business name or logo displayed front page in TOTTS Tattler (in house     publication with a subscription of 1,200 -released quarterly)

·                    Quarter Page space in TOTTS Tattler (use of space up to your business)

·                    Your company logo on all tour promotions printed materials

·                    Invitation to all monthly BBQ’s admission for up to 2 employees

·                    Your business name or logo displayed on TOTTS Inc banner used for festivals   and      other promotional events

·                    Your business thanked during TOTTS Inc festivals, BBQ’s or any event held

·                    Annual TOTTS Inc service membership for your business

BRONZE  $1,000  Per Year

Our bronze sponsorship is designed as a gateway package for organisations that wish to enter sponsorship deals, marketing themselves to the wider community.  This package ensures your organisation will receive excellent exposure at a cost effective price.

·                    Your business name or logo included in all press releases

·                    Invitation to all monthly BBQ’s admission for up to 1 employee

·                    Your business thanked during TOTTS Inc festivals, BBQ’s or any event held

·                    Annual TOTTS Inc service membership for your business

·                    Your business name or logo displayed in TOTTS Tattler (in house publication    with a subscription of 1,200 -released quarterly)