Paralympics - A Fundraising Marathon
25 September 2000 at 12:09 pm
When the Paralympic Games begin in Sydney on October 18th, spare a thought for the team of four fundraisers who have been on a marathon journey for four years to meet their budget.
The Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee or SPOC, the lesser-known relative of SOCOG, started from scratch and raised almost five million dollars in private donations.
Mary Clarke, the team member in charge of special projects says SPOC had two imperatives; to raise money and to get people to the Paralympic events which includes participating teams from 123 countries.
Clarke says the aim was to reach its $160 million budget with $60 million in State and Federal Government funds, $50 million in corporate sponsorship and the remainder in private donations, and that has largely been achieved.
She says as well 85 percent of budgeted ticket sales has been achieved already and some 64,000 of the 87,000 tickets have been sold for the Opening Ceremony.
Clarke says the marathon effort by the SPOC fundraising team has left a lasting legacy for the Not for Profit sector, firstly by raising the bench mark in terms of sponsorship and cause related marketing, as well as providing a vast network of new volunteers.
She says the enormous number of Australians who have found joy in volunteering provides a vast network for clever Not for Profits to tap into and re-motivate for future projects.
Mary Clarke’s team members include Bobby Dart who handled major gifts, Jayson Hanrahan, who handled one-off events and is vision impaired and the Administration Assistant, Sandy Ward.
The Paralympic Games runs from the 18th to the 29th of October with ten days of sport. Access to all venues is with a day pass for $15 and a concession pass of $8.
To find out more or book tickets go to www.sydney.paralympic.org or go to www.olympics.com and follow the directions to ‘Paralympics’.
While we are on the topic, People with Disabilities NSW will be operating an Olympic and Paralympic Disability Advocacy Service to provide advice and advocacy for people with disabilities who may be adversely affected by the games. The phone number is Freecall 1800 422 015.
