Shane Warne Foundation was an Australian not-for-profit organisation founded in 2004 by former cricketer

Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer whose career ran from 1992 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batter for Victoria, Hampshire ...

. The organisation closed in 2017 following a regulatory investigation and controversy over its finances.

History

Warne founded the charity in 2003, with the intention of assisting "seriously ill and underprivileged children and teenagers".

Dermott Brereton Dermott Hugh Brereton (born 19 August 1964) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club, Sydney Swans and Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Born to Irish immigrant parents, ...

appeared on the third season of ''

The Celebrity Apprentice ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' is an American television reality competition series. It is a variation of '' The Apprentice'' series hosted by real estate developer Donald Trump from 2008 to 2015, and actor and former California Governor Arnold Sc ...

'' in 2013 and raised $294,687 for the charity. During 2015,

Barry Hall Barry Andrew Hall (born 8 February 1977) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club, Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is considered to be one of ...

appeared on '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' and was runner-up, with his charity being the Shane Warne Foundation.

People

Past members of the Board * Lydia Schiavello *

Glenn Robbins Glenn Maxwell Robbins (born 30 December 1957) is an Australian comedian, writer, actor, television and radio presenter. He is best known for '' The Comedy Company'', portraying Kel Knight in ''Kath & Kim'' and adventurer Russell Coight in '' A ...

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John Ilhan John Ilhan (born Mustafa İlhan; 23 January 1965 – 23 October 2007) was an Australian businessman. He was the founder of Crazy John's mobile phone retail chain and, in 2003, was the richest Australian under 40 years of age. Early life and ca ...

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* Lloyd Williams * Garry Lyon * Ray Martin *

Eddie McGuire Edward Joseph McGuire (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television and radio presenter, journalist, Australian Football League commentator and former TV executive. He is also an occasional ''Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosted C ...

The charity also had a number of patrons and ambassadors, including

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, Michael Clarke,

Nick Riewoldt Nicholas Fredrick Riewoldt ( ; born 17 October 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL draft. He was the ...

, Liz Hurley,

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...

and

Karl Stefanovic Karl Stefanovic ( sr-Cyrl, Карл Стефановић; born 12 August 1974), also spelt Karl Stefanović, is an Australian television presenter and journalist for the Nine Network. Stefanovic is currently a co-host of the Nine Network's br ...

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. Newspapers alleged that the organisation was only donating 16 cents on the dollar of its income. 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.

References

{{reflist Shane Warne 2003 establishments in Australia 2017 disestablishments in Australia Children's charities based in Australia Foundations based in Australia Organizations established in 2003 Organizations disestablished in 2017