Gandel Philanthropy is an independent family fund headed by Melbourne billionaires John and Pauline Gandel.
Thanks to expensive custom fittings, the new commuter bus will be able to shuttle people of all mobility types around the region.
Vivid operates in Echuca, Kyabram, Swan Hill and Kerang.
Vivid chief executive Scott Alexander said he was grateful to Gandel for approving their application for funds.
“A bus isn’t the most appealing grant, it doesn’t necessary grab a lot of philanthropist’s interest,” Mr Alexander said.
“We are truly humbled that Gandel Philanthropy decided to include Vivid in their 2019/2020 funded projects and have seen the value of investing in transport for people with a disability.
“We operate bus runs in the late morning and early afternoon to bus people into townships, and pre-COVID we’d also take a lot of clients to activities, for example, to Stanhope Men’s Shed or Shepparton’s hydrotherapy pool.”
The new bus will grow the Vivid fleet to 29 vehicles, a fleet the organisation has promised to retain.
The promise of retention is in contrast to many other disability groups which often disband their fleets due to the large costs involved in vehicle upkeep and the unpredictability of NDIS funding.
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