Australian Sports Foundation boss Patrick Walker has urged the AIS, professional sporting teams and Canberra's bid for a new Civic Stadium to tap into the corporate market to benefit from high net worth donations.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
As the ASF celebrates its 30th anniversary and the $270 million it has raised since 1986, Walker believes the organisation remains an untapped resource for helping sports generate non-government funding.
The ASF hopes to raise another $30 million over the next four months by encouraging high net-worth Australians and philanthropists to donate.
The AIS has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for its shift away from its traditional role as an athlete hub following the implementation of the Winning Edge program at the end of 2012.
"Sport is under-funded in this country and the government doesn't have enough money to go around, so we want to be the ones helping raise money for every sports club in Australia through tax-deductable donations," Walker said.
"We do have a role to play with the AIS. We're independent of the AIS and [Australian Sports Commission] so we've been interested observers. Every level of sports doesn't have enough funds.
"We currently work with 1000 sports clubs nationally and that's grown in the past 18 months. But the big task is to reach the 100,000 or 200,000 other sports clubs.
"We want the Canberra community to be stronger, if that's with helping for funds with new stadiums or the AIS, then it will benefit Canberra and help it punch above its weight."
The ACT government has delayed building a new rectangular stadium in Civic as it searches for the best financial model, with hopes construction will start after 2020.
The government is also weighing up the future of the ACT Sport Hall of Fame to recognise the capital's best athletes and the Sport Star of the year awards.
The ASF has enlisted the help of 12 sports 'champions' to boost their fundraising efforts, including former Canberra Raider Laurie Daley, ACT Brumby great Stirling Mortlock, Paul Roos, Robbie Slater and Ian Healy.
The ASF operates two key programs to support sport in Australia. Fundraising4Sport is a funding program for projects to pay for playing equipment, capital works programs or competition travel, while Giving4GrassrootsTM (G4G) issues grants of up to $10,000 for small not-for-profit sports clubs and organisations.
The foundation's goal is to increase funding to $100 million per year. The ASF retains 5 per cent of donations made.
"We work with the Olympic team to raise funds, the top AFL clubs, half a dozen NRL clubs so we work with elite and professional of sport," Walker said.
"Every one of the AFL clubs are using us to raise money for their youth academies or indigenous programs or pathways. But how we see we can help sport – the government budget for sport is $300 million a year and we are aiming to raise $100 million ... we can make a real difference."
