Community
young people supported into employment through grantmaking1
participants in sports clinics2
scholarships awarded2
Macquarie Sports was established in 1999 to provide sporting opportunities to children in communities around Australia in the belief that they can be inspired and motivated by interacting with sporting role models. Since then, over 200,000 children have had the chance to learn and play alongside their sporting heroes at Macquarie Sports’ clinics.
Macquarie Sports also provides grants to sporting organisations that run programs supporting young people who face barriers to opportunity, and corporate scholarships to elite young sports people, helping them pursue both their sporting and corporate career goals.
In October 2024 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Macquarie Sports, we launched the Athletes in Schools program with the aim of inspiring primary school students around Australia.
Macquarie Sports took some of the country's best sportspeople to primary schools in every state and territory, where over 3,500 children had the opportunity to meet an athlete, ask a question and hold an Olympic or Paralympic medal.
Sport can be a powerful vehicle to create opportunity and initiate change. As part of its community sports offering, Macquarie Sports now provides grants to Australian sporting organisations.
Recognising that many people around the world face barriers to employment, Macquarie’s global grantmaking focuses on breaking down these barriers and building effective pathways to economic security.
For Macquarie Sports, grants are aimed at sports focused organisations delivering programs that provide education, training or employment opportunities for young people aged between 12 and 20 in Australia.
These programs might include school engagement and attainment, mentoring and tutoring, literacy and numeracy, industry engagement, work readiness and work placement.
Building upon Macquarie Sports’ prior support of the Coach-Ready program, our funding will support Surfing Australia’s progress to a para-streamed accreditation program. The program provides targeted training for surf coaches in inclusive sport delivery to build workforce capacity and support for people living with a disability, helping them to secure ongoing employment.
NRL Cowboys House is the Cowboys Community Foundation's flagship program, providing a culturally-safe boarding facility for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people attending partner schools in Townsville. Our funding will support students and graduates through the House Career Transitions and Graduate Programs, which includes supporting their dedicated Graduate Campus. We will also support the funding of a Career Transitions Officer, pivotal in ensuring graduates thrive beyond the House, connecting them with opportunities in employment or further education.
Macquarie Sports is proud to support Wheelchair Sports NSW/ACT and other community organisations providing sporting clinics around Australia.
Macquarie Sports runs sporting clinics to engage children from communities around Australia. Delivering clinics across nine sports and working with peak sporting bodies, these free clinics aim to break down any barriers to participation, with a focus on regional and remote communities around Australia. The clinics allow access to some of the country’s best sporting role models and provide brand new sporting equipment to participants.
A lack of time and workplace opportunities makes it difficult for elite young athletes to prepare themselves for the transition from the sporting arena to a corporate environment. The Macquarie Sports Scholarship program provides recipients with a paid summer internship and helps connect them to networks that can support them in making this transition.
Scholarship recipients are also involved with the delivery of Macquarie Sports events in the community. To date, over 80 athletes have received scholarships, with several now employed full-time with Macquarie. Former scholarship recipients include:
