Magpies & Killer Whales Water Polo Endowment Fund
Some of you may be aware that the club has established an endowment fund in a bid to set up a sustainable future for the Club not only to maintain our position as a premier club in the Australian Water Polo landscape but to extend it into perpetuity.
Background
Currently the cost of running the Club is borne by membership fees and sponsorships we receive each year from a few key sponsors. Each year a lot of work is done from the committee to manage the funds and work the budget to balance each season. We note that we do not budget for surplus as we aim to keep the members costs as low as practicable.
Outside the Club’s budget sit a few generous benefactors that provide funds for additional items that have enabled the Club to achieve continuous success at the highest level over the past 15 years. These additional items have included contracts for marque international players, aid for current Australian team members, relocation of athletes, scholarships for athletes, professional coaching, additional travel and accommodation for teams.
Further to this, there are more initiatives that the Club would like to introduce to extend its position as one of the premier clubs , however the limited funds, lack of resources and existing high cost for members prevents us from actioning any of these initiatives at this time.
We are attempting to build a more sustainable future for the Club, where success doesn’t rely on any one major sponsor or any one benefactor. For this reason your committee, with the approval of the members, has established the endowment fund.
The Fund
The Endowment fund is invested with two main goals;
- Generate an income stream for the club into perpetuity
- Grow the principal over time
The fund will be generated by the following ways;
- Lump sum donations from members and supporters of the club.
- Subscription contribution members - $5/week over 5 years
- Club fundraising activities
We have commitment from the Club’s current benefactors to continue to support the club for the next Olympic cycle (2024) and our goal is to then have built the Fund to reach the required milestones to commence paying distributions back to the club while still growing the principle (2025) to fill the void.
The fund has reached approximately $90k (196 donations) and that is currently being put to work with strict governance by the Endowment Fund Committee operating in accordance with the Charter. These structures are in place to protect the aims and objectives of the Fund into the future and to guarantee that the money invested today will be used to sustain the Club’s long term success. The distributions from the fund are to be spent in the following areas only;
- Marquee players / imports / scholarships
- Professional coaching
- Grassroots junior development
- Junior team international travel for club training camps
- Long term pool access
I would like to encourage you as members past and present to get involved in your Club and be part of establishing this exciting chapter of the Clubs history which will see UNSW Wests Water Polo Club grow and prosper for the next 20 years and beyond.
Click here to make a tax deductible donation to the fund
Current Endowment Fund Committee members are:
- Heath Behncke – Managing Director Holon Investments / UNSW Wests old boy
- Craig Miller – UNSW Wests coach
- Hugh Dive – Atlas Funds Management
- Phil de Gail – UNSW Wests Water Polo Club President
- Peppi Kearney – UNSW Wests Water Polo Club Treasurer
- Daniel Swinnerton – UNSW Wests Water Polo Committee member
Magpies and Killer Whales Water Polo Endowment Fund Charter and Governance - FINAL (MAR 2022).pdf
Please do not hesitate to contact me or any of the Fund’s committee members to discuss any aspect of this initiative or ways in which you can support it.
Yours sincerely,
Phil de Gail
President
0418249914
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