ASF Newsletter - December 2002
From the Minister
Sport plays a significant role within Australia. It helps to shape our national identity and develop community pride in the achievements of our champions. Sport is an important vehicle for developing social cohesion and it makes a major contribution to the health of the nation.
In recognition of the importance of sport to Australians, the Federal Government established the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) to support the development of sport in Australia. The ASF promotes increased participation in sport and the development of excellence in performance. The ASF forms project alliances with incorporated non-profit sporting, community, local government and educational organisations, to assist these groups to raise funds for their sports projects.
As part of a package of initiatives released under the Federal Government’s sports policy, Backing Australia’s Sporting Ability: A More Active Australia, the ASF has been reintegrated within the administration of the Australian Sports Commission. This has proven to be highly successful. The considerable increase in registered projects in the past year ensures that more in the Australian community are benefiting from the services provided by the ASF.
The Federal Government supports the operations of the ASF as it strives to create further community, business and sport partnerships, particularly in regional and rural Australia.
Rod Kemp
Minister for the Arts and Sport
From the Chairman
The Australian Sports Foundation (ASF)occupies an important place in Australian sports funding. It is the only mechanism through which individuals and businesses can make tax deductible donations to projects which enhance Australia’s sporting facilities and sports development generally.
It is not only athletes who benefit from the grants distributed by the ASF. Sport also plays a significant role in community participation and the health and welfare of the general population. Good sporting facilities encourage more participants in sport as a whole.
Club administrators, coaches and supporters all obtain benefit from the ASF's role in Australian sport. The ultimate result is a broader base from which our elite athletes will develop.
Since the relocation from Sydney to Canberra, the ASF has broadened and strengthened its donor base. Our team now handles in excess of 150 enquiries every month and has an active project base of over 280.
Like all organisations, we measure our success by our clients' satisfaction. It is particularly pleasing to note the increase in new projects registered and the successful completion of existing projects.
This is what the ASF is all about.
We are helping your club or community to make a difference. It takes an extraordinary effort to make that difference but the recent success of the ASF is testament to the support your community has shown to our team.
I look forward to the continued growth of the ASF in the coming year and your continued support.
Cory Bernardi
Chairman
Australian Sports Foundation
Schedule of grant rounds remaining 2002 - 03
| January 2003 | For donations deposited into ASF bank account by 31 December 2002 |
| March 2003 | For donations deposited into ASF bank account by 28 February 2003 |
| May 2003 | For donations deposited into ASF bank account by 30 April 2002 |
| July 2003 | For donations deposited into ASF bank account by 30 June 2002 |
A tip! June is a particularly busy month - try to coordinate banking and forwarding of donation forms to the ASF well before the end of the month to ensure donors are weligible for a tax receipt for this financial year.
Case study - Grammarians Rowing Club
The project
To purchase rowing equipment
The need
Grammarians Rowing Club is an incorporated club in its own right. It is affiliated with The Rockhampton Grammar School, a co-educational boarding school. Seventy-five percent of club members are school based and there is a strong representation of senior and veteran rowers, all of whom have the opportunity to train to elite level. Based in the City of Rockhampton, which has an urban population of 70,000 people and serves a community double that number, the club has access to a buoyed rowing course on the Fitzroy River. Its current resources are good coaches and equipment. To provide enhanced opportunities to young people in this regional community, especially those coming from country areas, the club wants to increase the quality of its equipment and its competitive advantage to enable young rowers to reach international standard.
The goal
To raise $40,000 on an annual basis to provide opportunities for young rowers to be appropriately equipped to enable them to develop and improve their rowing standard.
The approach
Grammarians Rowing Club is fortunate in having a committed Olympic rower and past president of Rowing Australia, Islay Lee, as Principal and an equally committed Head Rowing Coach, Alan Bromiley, both of whom have contributed to the high local profile of rowing and the reputation currently enjoyed by the club.
Robert Lang, Club President, says its reputation for excellence and its association with the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) are keys to the success of fund-raising, most of which has come from the wider rowing community. Parents have contributed generously and their willingness to support the club is because they can see the positive effects it has on their children. 'Not only do they improve their sporting ability, their fitness and their health, but rowing is a huge plus for the social development of young people’ says Robert. Many donations have come from local small business people, who have appreciated the significant tax saving available through the ASF and who want to encourage the ongoing success of the club. One recent success is that of 17-year-old-student Angus Sutherland who competed in the famous Diamond Sculls at Henley. The youngest person ever to compete at this famous rowing venue, he trained with the Grammarians in a boat funded with donations supported by the ASF. Currently, the school is the most successful school in rowing in Australia.
The challenge
Robert Lang said that the continual challenge is having the best possible equipment and that the club ‘keeps having champions because we have access to excellent equipment’. Because that equipment needs continually upgrading, funds need to be raised on an annual basis and it is with these donations that the club regards its association with the ASF as its ‘biggest single advantage’.
The successful strategies
• develop a good relationship with the local media and keep them informed of successes;
• take the time to become familiar with how a relationship with the Australian Sports Foundation works so it can be explained to prospective donors;
• once you have runs on the board, people want to be part of that success.
Case study - The Premiership Initiative
The project
To provide advanced technological equipment and research combined with training and rehabilitation resources to assist Port Adelaide Football Club coach and players to achieve maximum on-field performance.
The need
With six years’ involvement in the AFL and the Minor Premiers in 2002, Port Adelaide Football Club (PAFC) continually seeks to improve opportunities for its elite athletes to perform to the peak of their abilities. With The Premiership Initiative (Part II), the club plans to provide tested technological resources in player conditioning, coaching methodology and in the medical and physiological areas.
The goal
To raise $500,000 to provide PAFC players with access to cutting edge specialist technologies in sports development giving them a clear competitive advantage. The club plans to help other sporting programs to benefit from their technological advances. The Australian Cricket Academy, junior football teams and local NBL basketball teams currently use the club's facilities from time to time and will have access to the new technologies on an occasional basis.
The approach
The Premiership Initiative (Part II) builds on Part I, which raised almost $3 million to build the Allan Scott Power Headquarters and which was financed through donations from supporters. Part I was a project which also met Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) guidelines, enabling donors to receive tax deductibility for their donations. The Headquarters are now in use and Sean Kirchner, Manager of the PAFC Foundation set up as a separate company, says that it is ‘one of the finest training rehabilitation and administration facilities in the southern hemisphere’. In the fund-raising campaign for Part I, the club focussed on key donors using the ‘80-20 principle, where 80% of the funds are donated by 20% of supporters’ said Sean Kirchner. This approach led to a number of innovative strategies including fraternity group dinners, where supporters in professions such as law or medicine would invite colleagues to take part in a fundraising dinner where the campaign was explained and attendees asked to contribute. These dinners created friendly rivalry between fraternity groups, with the challenge being just who could raise the most funds. This approach also worked well in regional South Australia where the club has a strong following.
While raising large amounts obviously helps achieve the club’s goal, Sean Kirchner said that it was equally satisfying for the Club to have the successful ‘paver’ campaign where supporters donated $100 and were recognised by a paver used in the surrounds of the Allan Scott Power Headquarters, inscribed with their choice of words. This program was also tax deductible and raised significant funds to support the new building.
The strategy being used for Part II is to target key donors to donate $5,000 and above. Acknowledging that raising funds for technology advances is not as appealing as raising funds for bricks and mortar, this second campaign is confined to key donors. The Foundation is also using a number of events to assist in this new campaign including a ‘Power Lock-in’ which raised more than $120,000 in 2002.
The challenge
Because ASF guidelines ensure the purity of the donation and prohibit direct benefits going to donors, the PAFC Foundation works hard to ensure donors feel appreciated. To be known as ‘Power Innovators’ donors to Part II will receive recognition through unveiling ceremonies, recognition on honour boards, newsletters and public acknowledgment at special club functions. Sean Kirchner says that with The Premiership Initiative (Part II) the PAFC Foundation gets two questions from prospective donors. These are ‘What’s the campaign for?’ and the next ‘Is it tax deductible?’ ‘We can tell them what the campaign is, its benefits to the club and also answer yes to the second question because of our association with the ASF. They’re a great body to be involved with.’
The successful strategies
• focus on excellence and attract donors who appreciate being associated with excellence
• target the most passionate supporters of your Club who are the people most likely to pledge financial support
• build on previous successes
• give opportunities for donations at all levels
• find innovative ways to thank donors and make them feel a part of the successes their contributions help create
Join the SMART list
This is a list of SMART organisations and communities who shared in the $7.1 million the Australian Sports Foundation issued in grants over the last financial year. Join the SMART list and register your project and we’ll throw in some excellent ideas to kick start your fund-raising for those vital sports projects.
ACT Basketball Inc
Advance Camperdown Inc
AIS Gymnastics Program
Albert Bell Club Inc
ASC Indigenous Sport
Athletics Australia
Aust Commonwealth Games
Australian Canoeing Inc
Australian Cycling Federation
Australian Olympic Committee
Australian Parachute Federation
Australian Royal Tennis Association
Australian Underwater Federation
Bemm River Progress & Improvement
Black Rock Yacht Club Inc
Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron
Boolarra Football & Netball Club Inc
Box Hill Athletics Club Inc
Brisbane Lions Football Club
Bunbury Rowing Club
Canberra Grammar School Rowing
Capital Lakes Rowing Club Inc
City of Bunbury
Confederation of Aust Motor Sport
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia
Davey's Bay Yacht Club Inc
De La Salle Old Collegians Football Club
Deaf Sports Australia
Drummoyne Water Polo
East Gippsland Regional Sports
Fremantle Football Club Ltd
Glenelg Football Club
Glenelg Golf Club
Glenhuntly Athletic Club Inc
Goodlife Community Baptist Church
Gordon District Cricket Club Inc
Grace Park Lawn Tennis Club Inc
Grammarians Rowing Club
Guildford Grammar School
Hampton Rovers Amateur Football Club
Harrow & District Recreation Reserve
Hawthorn Football Club Ltd
Heidelberg United Soccer Club
Hockey Tasmania Inc.
Huntingdale Golf Club
Illawarra District Table Tennis
Illawarra Rowing Inc
Knoxbrooke Incorporated
Kooyonga Golf Club Inc
Lane Cove Valley Canoe Club Inc
Leeuwin Ocean Adventure Foundation
Lesmurdie Baptist Church
Little Athletics Centre
Lloyd Mc Dermott Rugby Union
Loreto Kirribilli Rowing Club
Loreto Mandeville Hall
Loreto Normanhurst Association
Maccabi Australia
Mallee Sunset Archers
Melville Water Polo Club
Mercantile Rowing Club
Methodist Ladies College
Mosman Rowing Club
North Shore Rowing Club
Northern District Hockey Assoc
NSW Ski Association
Ocean Adventure Found
Orienteering Federation of Australia
PAFC Foundation Ltd
Parramatta District Rugby Union Club
Pembroke School Inc
Perth Torpedoes Inc
Port Adelaide District Hockey
Port Adelaide Rowing Club
Port Melbourne Yacht Club
Power House Football Club
Pulteney Grammar School
Ravensthorpe Shire Council
Redlands United Soccer
Richmond Football Club
Richmond Rowing Club Inc
Royal Brighton Yacht Club Inc
Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club
Royal Yacht Club of Victoria
Rural City of Wangaratta
Sail Training Association Inc
Sail Training Association Inc
Sandringham Yacht Club
SCEGGS Redlands Ltd
SCEGGS Rowing Association
Scotch College Foundation Inc.
Seymour College
SHARC Inc
Shentons Club Pty Ltd
Shire of York
South Gippsland Shire Council
Sports Foundation Geelong Ltd
Squadron Yacht Racing Foundation
St Josephs College
St Kilda Saints Ltd
St Margaret's Anglican Girls' School
Swan River Rowing Club
Sydney 2002 Gay Games Limited
Sydney Australian Football Club
Sydney Boys High School
The Friends School Inc
The Goland Club - Scotch College
The Hockey Centre Inc
The Korowa Foundation Ltd
The Melbourne Amateur Regatta
The Royal Melbourne Tennis Club
The Sport Australia Hall of Fame
Torrens Rowing Club
Town of Narrogin
Trentham Community Group Inc
Universities Rugby Club
Unley High School
Victorian Golf Foundation
Victorian Lacrosse Association
Victorian Maccabi Inc
Victorian Motorless Flight Group
Warringah Bowls Foundation Inc
Warrnambool Council
Waverley Hockey Club Inc
West Pymble Bowling Club Ltd
Westfields Sports High School
White Hills Recreation Complex
Woollahra Colleagues Rugby Union Club
Yachting Association of NSW
Sport Performance and Development
The Australian Sports Commission’s (ASC) Sport Performance and Development area supports the ASC’s dual objective of building an effective national sports system and achieving excellence in sports performance at the grass-roots and elite level.
The Australian Sports Foundation is part of the Sport Performance and Development group.
By working towards the Federal Government’s vision of a robust, self-sustaining sports system, Sport Performance and Development programs and initiatives offer improved participation in quality sport for all Australians while also ensuring that our elite teams are resourced to excel in competition on the world stage.
The group produces national programs to redress inequities and create opportunities for population groups that have become marginalised from mainstream sport. Programs delivered by the group address issues affecting participation in junior sport, indigenous sport, disability sport, and women’s sport.
Developing the key competencies of sport coaches, officials and administrators is also critical in the development of the Australian sports system. Sport Performance and Development helps maintain national coach and official accreditation standards and ensure its development programs, courses and resources are available throughout Australia to assist those participating in grass-roots and community sport as well as elite.
The delivery of funding support to sports is monitored by Sport Performance and Development. Tailored services encourage sports to broaden their membership horizons, establish sound governance structures and processes, manage financial matters effectively and other critical management functions.
Sport Performance and Development also assists sports to keep their high performance programs at the cutting edge of world sport and to ensure the long-term success of Australia’s national sporting teams.
Sport Performance and Development drives a national approach to community sporting activity under the Ausport banner. Ausport initiatives have been aligned closely with the challenges and needs of national sporting organisations, their affiliated organisations and clubs as they expand membership and grass-roots sport participation.
For more information on Sport Performance and Development programs, please contact the Australian Sports Commission, Tel: (02) 6214 1111, Fax: (02) 6214 2680 or E-mail: asc@ausport.gov.au
Tips to assist fund-raising for sports development
The initial energy needs to spent on clarifying the task:
- Define the need – why does the need exist?
- Establish the objective and budgets
- What are the strategies to be used?
- Develop the action plan, including accountabilities
- Monitor and evaluate
If fundraising is to be one of the strategies to be used, then the following tips may help you along the way.
- Build a vision statement – clarify what is to be done
- Test the water – establish the community attitude
- Plan the campaign
- Recruit team leaders and team members
- Develop plans for publicity
- Ensure consistency across the campaign and your team
- Understand the process particularly if registered with the ASF
- Find your donors – remember most donations are cause related
- Develop confidence to enable the ‘ask' for donations
- Plan to say thank you
Frequently asked questions
Once registered, what if our organisation does not reach the amount suggested as the ASF donations target, as written into the project Agreement?
The donations target is a guide only and is intended to provide the ASF with scoping information on your project size and fundraising intentions. If you are not able to achieve the target or the scope of the project changes, please contact the us. Depending on the time remaining via the project agreement, it may be possible to amend the scope of the project, as outlined in
Schedule A or finalize the project, subject to your organisation’s needs.
What if our organisation decides not to go ahead with the project, after receiving approval?
We would encourage you to contact us to discuss your individual circumstances. While our strategy would be to try to provide you with options for dealing with the situation, your organisational needs are paramount. There is no problem in not going ahead with the project. We would place your project on hold for 6 months in case your organisation decided to resume. However, should it not proceed, the application fee remains non-refundable.
I am not sure if the project that our organisation wishes to conduct will comply with the ASF guidelines?
Contact us. We will be pleased to discuss your intention and the ASF criteria. We can also enable you to network with like organisations or organisations with similar registered projects to assist you in determining your strategy for proceeding.
I don’t know what promotional material our organisation will be using to promote tax deductibility?
We have a number of examples and templates. As outlined in the project Agreement we will assist you with your promotional material and make suggestions on documentation relevant to your fundraising strategy. The ASF must approve all promotional material prior to printing and distribution. We can also facilitate networking with other similar projects and refer you to case studies and strategies used by other projects.
Assistance with sports development projects
Sporting clubs seeking to enhance their funding through philanthropy, in cooperation with the Australian Sports Foundation, often wonder just where and how to start.
A Melbourne based management consultancy, Washington Services, has successfully provided this sort of assistance to a range of sporting clubs in recent years. Clients have included:
| Golf | Huntingdale Golf Club, Melbourne |
| Peninsular Golf Club, Melbourne | |
| Royal Adelaide Golf Club | |
| Kooyonga Golf Club, Melbourne | |
| Tennis | Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, Melbourne |
| Yachting | Royal Brighton Yacht Club, Melbourne |
| Sandringham Yacht Club, Melbourne | |
| Rowing | Firbank Grammar School |
The financing support facility offered by the Australian Sports Foundation for tax deductible giving by sporting club members has led to some innovative approaches from clubs around the country.
Projects have included clubhouse renewal and refurbishment, golf course improvement and beautification, provision of sporting and emergency medical equipment and junior development programmes. The listing of projects makes interesting reading and it is clear that it is limited only by the imagination of club administrations.
Clubs are quick to concede that the availability of tax deductibility is a significant selling feature when seeking to obtain donations and/or pledges from members.
Washington Services assists clubs through the project identification phase, helps them achieve registration with the Australian Sports Foundation and, importantly, helps them introduce the notion of philanthropy to the club setting. At the end of this process clubs are ready to start their fundraising.
For further information contact:
Frank Opray
Washington Services
Phone: 03 9510 8873
Email: frank@opray.net
Projects in brief
Kardinia Park Foundation
The Kardinia Park Foundation is an exciting initiative of the Geelong Football Club. The Foundation has been established to promote and support the development of a number of sports in the Kardinia Park precinct.
Shentons Club
Shentons Club represents a great example of pooling resources to achieve a common objective. The Westside Wolves, Suburban Nedlands, Riverside Lions and YMCA Coastal hockey clubs in Perth have formed a united incorporated body to develop a synthetic training and playing field. The key is the capacity to draw on membership and business associates of all clubs involved in this project to develop the facility.
Brisbane Lions
In addition to being premiers for the last two seasons, Brisbane Lions are also effectively utilising the services of the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF). With a facility development project and an equipment project, the Lions have a third proposal in the wings, almost ready to go. In fact the AFL has been a major contributor to the ASF in the past year, with 10 of the current AFL teams having current fundraising projects.
Aquatic centres
Local government continues to be a major participant in the ASF program with numerous Shires and Councils working on facility development. South Gippsland and Mornington Peninsula are just two of many that have registered their aquatic centre developments in the past twelve months.
SMART Bodies
These sports and sporting bodies are SMART because they work each year with the Australian Sports Foundation to get funds to improve facilities for their participation and their communities. Work with us to become a SMART body.
Sporting clubs and associations
AFL
Archery
Athletics
Baseball
Basketball
Biathlon
Canoeing
Climbing
Cricket
Cycling
Equestrian
Flight
Gaelic Football
Golf
Gymnastics
Hockey
Ice hockey
Karate
Lacrosse
Lawn Bowls
Motor sports
Netball
Orienteering
Parachute
Rowing
Rugby League
Rugby Union
Shooting
Skiing
Soccer
Surf Life Saving
Table tennis
Tennis
Touch football
Underwater hockey
Water polo
Yachting/Sailing
Other
Shires and Councils
Schools
Community Groups
National bodies
Athletics Australia
Australian Biathlon Association
Australian Canoeing
Australian Commonwealth Games
Australian Cycling Federation
Australian Karate Federation
Australian Olympic Committee
Australian Parachute Federation
Australian Paralympic Committee
Australian Professional Snow Sport
Australian Royal Tennis Association
Australian Sports Commission
Australian Touch Association
Australian Underwater Federation
Australian Yachting Association
Bicycle Federation of Australia
Confederation of Australian Motor Sport
Maccabi Australia
National Rifle Association
Netball Australia
Orienteering Federation of Australia
Rollersports Australia
Sport Australia Hall of Fame
From the Manager
The last 18 months have seen quite a change for the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF), with a move to the grounds of the Australian Sports Commission in Canberra, a new team to work with you, and a renewed commitment to focus on providing a service to Australian sport. My intent has been to make this as seamless as possible for existing clients and a positive experience for new projects.
We have been able to get to all states in the past year and have enjoyed catching up with many of you. One of the many impressions that the ASF team has gained from our meetings with projects is the enthusiasm and commitment that exists within sporting and community organisations to follow the dream and achieve the objective. We are committed to being part of the challenge with you.
Please contact us if there are matters relating to your project (or additional project) that you would like to discuss. We will make every reasonable effort to assist you. We also value your feedback and plan to survey clients in the coming year to determine how we can do things better and where we can improve the service we provide.
On behalf of Lance, Leanne, Jane, Kim and Robyn, thank you for efforts in developing Australian sport through your project initiatives. We wish you a Merry Christmas and safe and Happy New Year ahead.
Rod Philpot
Manager
A few more tips
The ASF is trying to cut back on the red tape and make the project management process as simple as possible for all parties while ensuring that all governance requirements can be met.
The following tips may be of assistance:
Grant expenditure reports
We will ask projects who have received grants to complete grant expenditure reports twice a year. This acquittal process is necessary for us to ensure funds are being spent in line with agreed project objectives and to satisfy audit and taxation requirements. The process is straightforward and impact is significant. We are unable to issue additional grants to projects until outstanding reports are received (this is in keeping with the intent of the project Agreement).
Audited financial statements/annual reports
We would like you to send us a copy of your audited financial statements at the conclusion of your financial year. They may be forwarded with a coinciding grant expenditure report.
Donations and donation forms
We are unable to process a tax receipt for a donor until we have received a donation form signed by the donor, and the funds have been deposited into the ASF bank account or credit card transaction processed by us. This process is particularly tight for obvious reasons around 30 June. Look after your supporters and donors by processing forms in time for the end of the financial year.
Organisational history and newsletters
We are very interested in the nature and heritage of the organisations that we are allied with through the Community Benefits Program. It you have a book outlining your organisations history or material celebrating milestones, or have a regular newsletter, we would be grateful for inclusion on your mailing list. It helps us understand your organisation and your objectives.
- ASF Newsletter - December 2002 (
PDF - 688.5 kb)
