Patrick Walker

Patrick is the CEO of the Australian Sports Foundation.  The Sports Foundation is a not for profit and charity whose purpose is to raise money for sport via philanthropic and community donations. It believes that sport plays a unique role in Australian and that all Australians should be able to enjoy the benefits of sport, irrespective of social, cultural or other circumstances.

The Sports Foundation has a unique status that enables it to provide tax deductibility for donations by private individuals, businesses, Trusts and Foundations for the benefit of any grassroots, community, elite or professional sporting organisation in Australia. It currently works with sports clubs all over Australia, as well as hundreds of aspiring athletes, to raise funds for over 2,500 sporting projects. These projects will increase participation, grow access to sport for disadvantaged groups and provide improved sporting facilities and equipment for our communities. In the last four years, the Sports Foundation has raised around $150m for Australian sport.

Despite these impressive numbers, sport still receives less than 1% of tax deductible donations in this country. Patrick and his team believe that philanthropic investment in sport can have a profound impact – not just on the physical and mental health of our people, but also on the overall wellbeing of Australian communities – and the Sports Foundation is committed to changing this.

Patrick joined the Sports Foundation following a successful business career as a partner with the world’s largest professional services firm, PwC. His roles with PwC included CEO, Board and global leadership positions in the UK, Europe and Australia. He is a member of the Fundraising Institute of Australia and is also Chair of Good Environmental Choice Australia – which runs Australia’s only independent, not for profit ecolabel.

Patrick is passionate about sport and the social and community benefits it brings, and has played competitively all his life. He was captain of his school cricket team, and combined club cricket with playing as a semi-professional footballer in the UK. Since moving to Australia, he still plays Over 35’s football despite being 20 years older than many of his teammates!  He is married with two adult children.