Australian Sports Foundation Offers Grants For Bushfire Devastation

Even though the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) global pandemic has brought the sporting world to its knees, it is important to not forget about the countless Australians affected by a devastating summer of natural disasters.

Before the Coronavirus forced almost every single sport and competition in the world to be either cancelled or suspended, Australia endured one of its worst bushfire seasons in history, with 34 lives lost, an estimated one billion animal lives lost, and 18.6 million hectares of land burnt.

The Australian Sports Foundation has announced the opening of sport recovery grants for community sports clubs and others affected during the recent natural disasters, in partnership with the Australian Olympic Committee, Commonwealth Games Australia and Paralympics Australia.

Australian Sports Foundation chief executive officer, Patrick Walker, said due to the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on the sport community, it is easy to forget about those still recovering from what has been colloquially referred to as the ‘Black Summer’.

“With the understandable focus on challenges to community sport presented by COVID-19, it’s easy to forget that there are clubs in communities all over Australia that suffered sever loss during our summer of natural disasters,” Walker said in an announcement on LinkedIn.

“We want to make sure that affected clubs are not disadvantaged when we are able to resume community sport once again.

“If your club, or members, were affected, you can apply for a grant to replace lost or damaged uniforms, kit and equipment, or to help affected members through free or subsidised registrations,” he said.

Australian Sports Foundation has also announced the Sports Recovery Grants values are up to $20,000, and priority will be given to applications from volunteer run organisations, with the grants covering those affected not only by the bushfires, but also from floods and other disasters.

If your club or your members were affected by the summer of natural disasters, you can find out more about the full criteria and apply for a grant by visiting https://grants.sportsfoundation.org.au/.