Shane Warne Foundation
 | |
| Formation | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Shane Warne[1] James Packer Lloyd Williams Lee Amaitis David Coe John Ilhan |
| Headquarters | South Yarra, Victoria |
Chairman | Shane Warne |
| Shane Warne Anne Peacock Glen Robbins Andrew Bassat | |
Revenue | $465,000[2] |
| Website | http://www.tswf.com.au/ |
Shane Warne Foundation was an Australian not-for-profit organisation founded in 2004[3] by former cricketer Shane Warne. The organisation closed in 2017 following a regulatory investigation and controversy over its finances.[4]
History
Warne founded the charity in 2003, with the intention of assisting "seriously ill and underprivileged children and teenagers". Dermott Brereton appeared on The Celebrity Apprentice Australia (season 3) in 2013[5] and raised $294,687 for the charity. During 2015, Barry Hall appeared on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (Australia season 1) and was runner-up, with his charity being the Shane Warne Foundation
People
Past and present members of the Board
- Lydia Schivello
- Glenn Robbins
- Andrew Bassat
- John Ilhan
- James Packer
- Lloyd Williams
- Garry Lyon
- Ray Martin
- Eddie McGuire
The charity also had a number of patrons and ambassadors including Fifi Box, Dermott Brereton, Michael Clarke, Nick Riewoldt, Liz Hurley, Russell Crowe and Karl Stefanovic
Difficulties and closure
Consumer Affairs Victoria commenced an investigation in 2015 into the Foundation after it failed to submit financial returns. Financial returns in 2014 had revealed the charity spent $281,434 on fundraising during the year, but its efforts only raised $279,198. Fairfax Media alleged that the organisation was only donating 16 cents in the dollar of its income.[6][7] During one year, the Chief Executive of the Foundation, Shane Warne's brother Jason, was paid a salary of $80,000 whilst only $54,600 was distributed to beneficiaries. The organisation spent more than $300,000 on catering, alcohol and prizes for events while posting significant annual losses.
In January 2016, in response to what it termed "unwarranted speculation", the Foundation announced its intention to distribute its final funds on 18 March 2016 and close down.[8][9]
References
- ^ http://www.tswf.com.au/our-team/founders/
- ^ http://tedsherwood.com/the-shane-warne-foundation-charity-review/
- ^ http://www.tswf.com.au/our-history/
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/national/shane-warne-shuts-charity-to-avoid-potential-deregistration-20170111-gtpn7z.html
- ^ "Celebrity Apprentice stars face off". The Australian.
- ^ Michael Safi. "Shane Warne Foundation announces closure after speculation over funds". the Guardian.
- ^ Sandra van der Laan (23 November 2015). "Shane Warne Foundation a wake-up call for charities regulator". The Conversation.
- ^ "The Shane Warne Foundation Shuts Down Following Audit Announcement From Consumer Watchdog". The Huffington Post. 29 January 2016.
- ^ James Riach. "Shane Warne attacks critics as his charity closes amid investigation into finances". the Guardian.