The ACT's National Trust has revealed it is close to insolvency and could be forced to sell historic collections and furnishings housed at Lanyon Homestead unless it receives an urgent cash injection.
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A closure of the trust would also put at risk work to promote the preservation of Canberra's heritage streetscapes and buildings, including partnerships with historic churches.
Without extra funds, the trust would not be able to continue the planned Centenary of Canberra Rally and other Heritage Festival events planned for the centenary year.
In a pre-budget submission to the ACT government, the National Trust (ACT) said it needed $85,000 to keep operating. "The trust is facing a financial crisis which, if it continues, will compel the board of the trust to cease operations and wind up in the year of Canberra's centenary, 2013,'' the submission said.
"On current, revised, financial information presented by both the trust's honorary treasurer and auditor, the trust will become insolvent without an additional source or sources of income.''
The trust held a special meeting of its council on February 25 to review the situation and take steps to prevent it closing. "This has included notification to Canberra Museums and Galleries that the historic collections and furnishings housed at Lanyon Homestead owned by the trust will have to be sold unless funding becomes available,'' the submission said.
The trust was seeking $85,000 to develop a new business model by the beginning of July. It hoped to have a "new sustainable outcome'' by mid-next year.
National Trust ACT president Eric Martin said the organisation had sufficient funds to keep operating for the rest of the financial year and was confident the government would look sympathetically at its request.
"We do provide a supportive role for a whole host of communitygroups and organisations. The other thing that we are doing is working with … church groups to assist them in the conservation of their properties,'' Mr Martin said.
"We're serving a wide community interest, although heritage doesn't necessarily get the support that I think it needs.''
The trust had expected to generate income by managing the Canberra 100 historic vehicle rally. But the rally had been moved to October 19-20, which had affected its income for this financial year.
The ACT government had provided a grant of $70,000 to help the trust organise and manage the rally but has been informed it would not receive an estimated $55,000 in Commonwealth funding. Mr Martin said a change of focus by the federal government in recent years to project-based funding had made it difficult for the trust to meet its administrative costs. The trust had three part-time salaried staff.
"That's what our difficulty's been - to find alternative revenue to keep our core administration … operating,'' Mr Martin said.
A spokesman for ACT Environment Minister Simon Corbell said funding requests would be considered in the budget process.
