Black Mountain Rowing Club
by Cathy Reid
Club goes for gold in fundraising efforts
The highlight of the Athens Olympics for the members of Black Mountain Rowing Club in Canberra was watching clubmate Donna Martin row in the women’s double.
The competition was hot and Donna and her partner, Jane Robinson , just missed out on a place in the final.
Donna , who started as a junior with the Black Mountain Rowing Club, is a proud ‘Club Ambassador’ of one of the oldest rowing clubs in the nation’s capital, and her fellow club members are equally proud of her efforts at the Olympics.
She is one of many past and present members who have represented Australia at the Olympics and World Rowing Championships. But it is a club that caters just as much for the social rower and one of its main focuses is on family participation.
However, like many other rowing clubs in Australia , it has to work hard to raise the necessary funds to keep going, according to Club Treasurer Margot Bell.
‘Rowing is a very capital-intensive sport. We continually need to turn over our boats so we can keep our membership base and attract new rowers,’ Margot said.
‘The boats are very expensive, sometimes costing more than your average car. Not only do we have to purchase them, we have to maintain them plus ensure we have the best safety equipment available.’
On average an eight costs up to $20,000, a quad $18,000, a four $15,000 and a single $10,000.
After soldiering on for years doing traditional fundraising to purchase boats, which required a lot of effort for not a great deal of return, the club turned to the Australian Sports Foundation for assistance.
The Australian Sports Foundation was established in 1986 to help generate funds from the corporate sector and the community at large for the development of sport.
Projects can be registered for facility development, non-recurrent equipment needs, sports development, team travel and hosting major events.
The Australian Sports Foundation is a public company that draws its heritage from the Australian Sports Commission Act 1989. It is listed in the IncomeTax Assessment Act 1997 (Division 30, Sections 30 to 90), which enables it to offer tax deductibility to donors for unconditional donations of $2 or more.
Since its inception, the Australian Sports Foundation has helped raise over $90 million for the benefit of sport in Australia.
‘With their assistance, we registered a project to enable the Black Mountain Rowing Club to be eligible to receive Australian Sports Foundation grants now and in the future. At first it was a really daunting task to embark on, but the Australian Sports Foundation has been enormously helpful.
‘Not only have they provided fundraising ideas, they have given us access to other Australian Sports Foundation project organisations who we have been able to go to for advice — and a problem shared is a problem halved.’
The Black Mountain Rowing Club has set a fundraising target of $20,000 each financial year.
‘So far we are over a third of the way there. It is something we hope to do progressively over the year. We are planning a range of activities that will still have a social element but will serve as better fundraisers because we now understand how Australian Sports Foundation donations can be tax deductible.
‘We are not necessarily having greatly different functions, but we now approach potential donors with the knowledge that they can get something in return for making a contribution.
‘As well as providing tax deductibility, the Australian Sports Foundation assisted with the preparation of the all-important publicity material. They gave us advice on how we could integrate this with our fundraising strategy.’
A new committee is in place and the club has restructured its administration.
‘So we will have people dedicated to fundraising activities and events. It is going to be a multi-pronged approach, which will give us the best opportunity to go ahead.’
Out on the water the club has been highly successful in local regattas, and is particularly strong in the schoolgirl, women’s and men’s premierships. Much of this can be attributed to a strong program of coaching and a determination to provide quality facilities within a modest budget.
With a more focused approach to finances the club will only grow stronger.
‘We won the ACT women’s premiership last year and improved in other categories.
By building our boat fleet, and through the provision of quality management, we hope to improve on these results and become an attractive focus for both social and competing members.’
The Australian Sports Foundation can be contacted on:
Tel: (02) 6214 7868
Fax: (02) 6214 7865
Email: info@asf.org.au
Web site: www.asf.org.au
