It is with great pleasure I report on the activities of the Lord’s Taverners Australia this year.
We have had a busy year and taken some very significant steps as The Taverners grow and refresh to enhance their position as Australia’s Cricket Charity.
We took a significant step forward at our Canberra conference in February 2019 where we refreshed our logo and strap line. Our registered branch names remain unchanged, but our public facing brand will be Taverners and our strap line “Giving a sporting chance”. Branches will make the changes at their own pace. We believe the new refreshed and more contemporary style will enhance our ability to market to the wider cricket audience of players and supporters. I thank Sunny Drewry in Tasmania for his tenacity and drive to bring these changes to fruition. It was 12 months of concentrated work and all Taverner branches join me in saying thank you.
We completed the necessary work to now have The Tavs Foundation as a tier 1 charity. It has raised over $58,000 in its first months of trading. The Tavs Foundation can issue tax deductable receipts for donations of $2 or more. Minter Ellison in Adelaide provided the legal support to finalise this project at considerably discounted fees.
Our agreement with Cricket Australia (CA), naming The Lord’s Taverners Australia as cricket’s official community partner has continued. The partnership is actioned through “The Sporting Chance Fund” with the aim of raising significant funding to grow programs and initiatives focused on the engagement of girls and women; multicultural communities; indigenous Australians and people with a disability. We thank CA for their continued support and assistance as we grow the awareness of the fund and continue to raise funds.
The Lords Taverners was again granted permission to raise funds at The Adelaide Test in late 2018. This allowed for The Sporting Chance Fund Logo to be stencilled on the ground and provided fantastic marketing exposure. Significant funds were raised during the Test.
Cricket Australia has continued to support our work and this year allowed The Taverners to collect the gold coin entrance fees to the Sheffield Shield final.
The annual conference was held in Canberra in February and hosted by Ric Smith and his Canberra Committee. The conference was very successful and I thank all participants for their contributions and support. We were delighted to be the guests of Sir Peter and Lady Crosgrove at Government House and also thank them sincerely for hosting us.
Sir Peter Cosgrove stepped down as Governor General on 30th June 2019 and as a consequence relinquishes the position as Patron of The Taverners on that date as well. Sir Peter has been a very active Patron and supporter of The Taverners for the last 3 years and we thank him for that support and note he is now a paid up member of the ACT Taverner branch.
Adam Gilchrist as our Ambassador has also worked tirelessly supporting many events and giving generously of his time throughout the year. We thank Adam for this support which has been well above that which he promised.
The NCIC Carnival in Geelong was supported with a donation of $100,000 (lifting our total support to $240,000) and The Lord’s Taverners Shield received $30,000 (total support now $670,000) for the championships held in Cranbourne Victoria.
Australia wide we supported over 60 groups during the year and donated over $400,000. Our support to grass roots blind, deaf, intellectually impaired, indigenous and young women provides opportunities and support that is greatly appreciated by them.
The Lord’s Taverners Indigenous Cricketer of the year was awarded to Scott Boland of Victoria.
We received substantial support from Basil Sellers, The Barr Foundation, Yoga Foundation, The Parncutt Family Foundation, Kookaburra, Perks accountants, Minter Ellison, Morgan Foundation and many individuals through generous donations.
I would like to thank Paul Sheahan, our President, Michael Martin our Secretary / Treasurer, and Sunny Drewry, Marketing Manager for the substantial support and time they have afforded me this year as we build to a very significant position of strength and grow our brand around Australia. We do not pay staff and the considerable hours donated by these gentlemen is substantial. James Lewis and James Peters have supported me with website and social media work throughout the year and I thank them very much for this support.
To all members of The Lord’s Taverners around the country and in particular, the Chairmen, Presidents and Committee members of all branches, I thank you for the sustained support and commitment you show as volunteers, to this great organisation and to me as National Chairman.
I invite everyone interested in cricket to get on board, and join us on this exciting journey as we continue giving a sporting chance. The Taverners is committed to this vision and determined to do more to assist in future years.
John Jeffreys
National Chairman
Tags: