New support lines for the community created with the launch of the Canterbury Community Rugby Foundation

The new Canterbury Community Rugby Foundation has been warmly welcomed at its recent launch, with the Foundation set to deliver increased opportunities to access funding for our rugby communities.

Chairman Brent Goldsmid, who has been working on the development of the foundation for over a year, says the response has been overwhelmingly positive. “It’s been great to have the support of the clubs and the community. This is about getting alongside the people in our community and working to support them in delivering a quality rugby experience.”  

“Unfortunately, many of the funding models out there today have specific outcomes related to the investment, such as equipment or are performance related. While they’re extremely important, there’s often gaps that don’t receive any funding. Such as subs, travel, help insuring a clubrooms or general club administration.”  

“Perhaps it’s a family who would love their kids to play rugby, but aren’t able to for one reason or another, so our aim is to be open to all requests that relate to strengthening grassroots rugby through participation and inclusion.” 

The foundation is also designed to offer donors the opportunity to help foster the game they love without it being specifically targeted to any particular club or initiative.  

“Many of us have wonderful memories of rugby and how it made us who we are today, but perhaps they’re not connected to a club, or they’d like to help out right across Canterbury. This Foundation will be a way that we can help facilitate that and we look forward to helping make that happen.”  

The Canterbury Community Rugby Foundation will work alongside Canterbury Rugby and others such as the Mainland Foundation but is completely independent and auditable. The Foundation’s Board, made up of Brent Goldsmid, Julie Patterson, Natasha Wong, Peter Jensen, and Giuliana Petronelli, are voluntary positions and are unpaid. 

For any donations and inquiries, please contact info@canterburycommunity.foundation 

Further information can be found at the foundation’s website.