Never heard of them either

Thanks for the pointers.

I would create a charity raffle. 30 tickets costing BTC0.05 each. BTC1 to the charity, BTC0.25 to the winner and BTC0.25 to transfer fees and grow the pot for next raffle. This can be tweaked as the pot grows or prices change dramatically.
The charity (chosen by the winner) would need to be one recognised by a state or federal authority.

To guard theft or scamming, a second person would hold the key for second authentication of the raffle wallet enabling transactions.

Due to the pot growing, we could also offer a booby prize to people that have played 10 times and not won.
Details of raffle would be transparent to ensure accountability.

An example, $130 can support a child's education for a year http://www.balischoolkids.org/about

+1

I may be a newb to this board, but not forums.
Try the search yourself to see how effective it is.
"mining investment" = zero results
"mining invest" = 40 pages of results that can't be sorted by relevance or date.  Posts from 2011 aren't really helpful for current situation.

You did take the time to post some advice though, so thanks.

Hi
Are there any reputable people / sites that take investments to mine? Is it worthwhile? What are the normal investments and timeframes?

Thanks for the advice. I had not thought of it that way.
And thanks for the link

Thanks a lot foxpup for your advice.  I have an account with Bitinnovate, just a little wary to use them as they are linked to MtGox and I see a lot of negative posts about Gox.
I have funds to buy, just don't want to waste some on bad excahnge rates. So I'm hoping there is some other info for an Aussie to buy

Spilt milk...... Aisle 3
Thanks for the LOL moment

Hi
I'm in Australia and our options to buy Bitcoins seems quite difficult. Either pay high prices and fees or go through partners of MtGox.  Anyone in Aus that trades / sells / loans?

I'm willing to provide identity etc, phone or Skype (meet if in Brisbane) if required.
I know newbs are generally frowned upon for loans, but how to change that?  I don't post much because I'm generally a reader, soaking up info and am definitely no expert to answer posts.

Any genuine suggestions welcome

I've used this name since I first started playing Second Life many years ago. I chose the name Vex and it gave me the last name Diesel.
I really didn't get into that game though.

Erm..... What are you asking?

Yes NGO = Non-Government Organisation
We are funded to care for children that have been relinquished by there parents due to extreme needs.

Thanks for the welcome

Hello from Australia!
My name is Craig and I work for an NGO in child safety services.
I've been watching the forum for about three weeks and finally decided to join it.
I'm very interested to see the development of Bitcoins and related communities.