LKF News
We are excited to bring you the latest news for the Lachlan Kean Foundation (‘LKF’) here. This is our way of keeping our generous community informed about the progress we've made, the initiatives we've launched, and the exciting events we have planned.
Foundation structure
When we started this journey, we were fortunate to have a large network to offer us guidance on the best way to set up a charity to support Lachie's legacy.
Following detailed investigations, legal and accounting advice, Lachlan Kean Foundation (LKF) was established as a Public Ancillary Fund (PuAF), which is a trust set up and maintained solely for the purpose of providing money, property or benefits to deductible gift recipients (DGRs). A PuAF, whilst having DGR status, does not perform charitable work itself. Instead, it acts as a bridge between donors and charitable DGRs, promoting philanthropy through fundraising and collecting public donations, which provide donors with an immediate tax deduction.
This structure is most suitable for LKF as the foundation does not currently employ full time employees. This way, we are able to focus on maximising the success of fundraising initiatives, which can then be deployed to further the foundation’s stated objectives, and causes identified by Lachie as being important throughout his battle.
As such, the Foundation is endeavoring to form a panel of partner charities that are suitably aligned to the LKF Mission. We look forward to announcing these partner charities in the coming months.
LKF is committed to undertaking thorough diligence of the mandate, constitutions and governance of any organisation that receives funds from LKF. Furthermore, as a PuAF, the Foundation is obligated to conduct audited financial reporting and other records that detail and explain all transactions that are relevant to its fundraising activity, allocation of funds raised, and status as a DGR
Our progress so far...
Since Lachie passed, in addition to formalising the Lachlan Kean Foundation, with the right governance and structure, our core focus has been building initial awareness of the Foundation and our mission, whilst bringing our tight-knit community along on our journey. Websites and Socials were up and running early, to spread our story and we were thrilled to run some early merchandise collaborations with incredible brands (Thank you, Budgy Smuggler and Tucker Cafe, Randwick). In addition to this, our fundraising activity commenced with two key initiatives:
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GoFundMe | LKF raised $57,000
The initial GoFundMe initiative was undertaken in December 2023 with the view to welcoming the generous eagerness from the LKF community to support. Funds allowed us to finance larger fund-raising activities (see below) and assist in the various establishment costs associated with the Foundation and obtaining the PuAF and DGR status.
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Golf Day | LKF raised $42,000
LKF Golf Day
On the 5th of April 2023, LKF held its very first event, the LKF Golf Day at St Michaels Golf Course, Little Bay. Some 124 golfers braved torrential rain on the day to compete for an array of prizes with the team from JWC taking out the 1st place handicapped ambrose event. The biggest prize of the day, sponsored by Corpsure, was $50,000 cash for a hole in one on the 5th hole. This prize was apparently never remotely threatened. We are proud to say that the rain didn't dampen the spirits and the day was a great success!. A special thanks goes to the major sponsors for the day, Forma Projects, Jim Wilson Constructions, R & G Constructions as well as hole sponsors Nearmap, EC Pohl & Co and Corpsure. The LKF team would like to call out the organising and support committee on the day for all their hard work in pulling off such an amazing event, as well of course the sponsors and the numerous people who generously donated prizes towards the day.
LKF Ball: Disco Nights
We are thrilled to announce a number of sponsors have signed on in partnership for the event including platinum sponsor Salesforce and gold sponsors Wilson Asset Management and Hale Capital Partners. Silver sponsors include Novus, Palmerbet, Certe Finance, Lamborghini Wines and Seedtag. These corporate partnerships are fundamental to the success of the Foundation, and the generosity of these organisations provides a lasting impact for LKF to deliver its mission.
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We have received numerous inquiries from our network about how they can assist with the 2024 LKF Ball. Here are the key areas where help is needed:
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There are limited sponsorship opportunities still available, including $5,000 Silver and $10,000 Gold sponsorship packages. Both come with an allocation of seats at the otherwise sold out event. If you or your organisation is interested in partnering with LKF either at this event, or in future fundraising activity, please email simon@lachlankeanfoundation.org or sam@lachlankeanfoundation.org.
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To make a donation, pledge or to contribute a prize for the raffle or live auction please email info@lachlankeanfoundation.org.
Sydney Marathon
The Sydney Marathon event is taking place on Sunday 15th September 2024 and LKF is excited to have been selected as a Headline Charity for the event. This included the generous inclusion of 20 x free entry tickets to the Sold Out Marathon, but also provides us great access to a broader community to drive awareness and drive fundraising. We have a number of runners taking part in the event and raising funds on behalf of LKF, including a cohort from Salesforce (see below) as part of a wider sponsorship arrangement between Salesforce and LKF. Thankfully for our runners, this event is taking place the week PRIOR to the Ball…
Our team will be running in LKF singlets, sponsored by Salesforce, and these will also be available for purchase for anyone wishing to look the part & support our team.
Visit our Sydney Marathon fundraising page, and please pass onto anyone who would like to support the LKF Runners!
Salesforce Partnership
We would like to take the opportunity to place a special call out to our platinum partner at the inaugural LKF Ball event in Salesforce. Lachie worked for Datarama, a Salesforce company, once he returned from Singapore.
Lachie immediately found his place at Salesforce where he appreciated the company's culture and energy. The value of his time with the organisation was evident in the many colleagues who soon became friends and later stood by his side through his diagnosis and ongoing battles.
Salesforce as an organisation was also extremely generous when Lachie had to take leave to focus on his health and since his passing have continued to show support in honour of his legacy.
The Salesforce and LKF partnership will initially include sponsorship of the LKF Ball and the LKF team participating in the 2024 Sydney Marathon. LKF also intends to present on the Foundation's story and mission at Salesforce Sydney offices in the coming months.
A very big shout out to those involved in establishing this partnership, in particular Hugh Allerton and Camilla Franklin from the Salesforce team.