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Tax-deductible donations an untapped revenue source for sport

Vee

First Grade
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5,084
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/rug...revenue-source-for-sport-20170807-gxqudn.html

AUGUST 7 2017



Roy Masters

Suppose you are a wealthy Blues supporter, frustrated at Queensland's domination of the State of Origin series and seeking to use your money to rectify the situation.

You recognise that part of the problem is Queensland's abundance of top halfbacks, with the NSW assembly line having spluttered to a halt with the retirement of Andrew Johns.

So you dedicate $1 million to identifying talented young No.7s in NSW, together with coaching camps and the hire of former top halves.

Should the money be squandered, you at least get a legitimate tax deduction for your donation if the money is processed though the Australian Sports Foundation.

"That's right," said ASF chief executive Patrick Walker last week, hinting his allegiance to the Blues would make him doubly delighted to accept the money.

Walker pointed to a $3 million payment from an anonymous donor for a specific AFL purpose.

When the Australian swimming team flew to the Rio Olympics in a chartered jet, via the generosity of a Brisbane businessman, it wasn't made clear the donation was channelled through the ASF and therefore was tax deductible.
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The ASF has raised over $100 million for sport in the past three years. If accessed more widely, it could raise more funds annually that the projected $50 million a possible national sports lottery would generate.

The lottery has a number of hurdles to clear, including the agreement of the states, objections from commercial operators and the lobby opposed to gambling.

The online lottery submission to a national sports plan is being championed by the Australian Sports Commission chair John Wylie, a leading Melbourne investment banker.

The chair of the ASF is former Olympic swimmer Mark Stockwell, a Brisbane businessman who resigned as deputy chair of the ASC earlier this year.

Wylie and Stockwell are not close. However, it would be a mistake, according to Walker, to assume this is an ego battle between Wylie's lottery and Stockwell's ASF.

"We're on the same side on this one," Walker said. "The ASF is not an 'instead-of' to the lottery. It's an 'and'."

In the ASF's own submission to the national sports plan, it claims it is realistic to assume community and philanthropic donations to sport have the potential to reach $200 million to $300 million a year.

This is broadly equivalent to the ASC's budget of $280 million.

Sport currently raises less than 1.5 per cent of the annual philanthropic market, while arts and culture organisations generate 8 per cent, or around $240 million in tax-deductible donations.

Of the sports, the AFL is clear leader in this market. Brian Cook, chief executive of the Geelong Cats, said: "I have just finished raising $16.2 milion of donations through the ASF. The biggest opportunity for sport is in the philanthropic space." Geelong sees these funds as an alternative to poker machines.

Rugby league raised only $429,312 from 247,883 participants in the last financial year, or $1.73 per participant, compared to Australian rules' $31.42 per participant.

If rugby league can grow fundraising to Australian rules levels, it would equate to $7.79 million for the code.

One of the fundraising needs quickly escalating is facilities for female sports players.

Dressing room facilities, particularly at council-owned parks and ovals were built decades ago and principally for males.

These facilities usually consist of a urinal and a couple of cubicles, some without doors, and are totally impractical for females.

They are now home to women's district AFL, rugby league and union, soccer, cricket and netball teams, hence the need for funds to renovate or build changing rooms.

The Lyndhurst Football Netball club in Melbourne has raised funds from the local community and channelled them via the ASF to cover babysitting costs while the women train and play.

Despite the ASF's claims to be working in harmony with the ASC, its submission to the national sports plan will raise some eyebrows with Wylie's board.

It recommends a proportion of future government funds to sport via the ASC's annual distribution be "matched giving", that is, conditional on a fundraising commitment from the sport.

Further, it recommends that any distribution of funds arising for the proposed National Lottery be also conditional on the fundraising commitments of the recipients.

As Walker says, such measures will reduce the "culture of dependency" where many Olympic sports budget on the basis of ASC handouts, rather than their own revenue-raising projections.

"If you make funding from the government and the lottery conditional on what sports can raise themselves, it will overcome this," Walker said.

"There is no way sports should lag behind the arts in philanthropic donations in this country."

Another article I posted on this was deleted but Roy, as usual, does the job more thoroughly. I tried to get me local Touch association to sign up but it was all too hard for them. I even said I would do it for them if the President stood beside me to give me the info the application required, still too hard. Typical NRL slackness.

Still, a great opportunity for RL supporters to tip in for the betterment of our game.
 
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