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EMPOWER SPORTS FOUNDATION
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Our Vision
We exist to inspire and empower Aboriginal girls and women through sport.
Our Mission
To create opportunities and pathways for Athletic Development. We research, we advocate, we create partnerships and we act. We will cut through the bureaucracies and red tape and the interest of Aboriginal girls and women will always be our priority in the projects we deliver.
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Our Principles
ACKNOWLEDGE AND RESPECT — We acknowledge the diversity of all Aboriginal nations and respect traditional custodians of the land, constantly reminded by the Elders and cultural knowledge of communities to inform our actions
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PROFESSIONALISM AND INTEGRITY — We act with the highest of professionalism for our communities, ensuring our integrity will not be compromised in striving for quality, culturally responsive and accessible programs.
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SELF-DETERMINATION — Our focus is underpinned by the rights of Aboriginal people to make decisions that impact their lives, recognising the interests of Aboriginal children, young people, families and communities are at the heart of our decision making.
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INDEPENDENCE AND OUTCOMES FOCUSED — We commit our resources to programs and projects that have real outcomes attached for Aboriginal women across Australia.
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TRANSPARENCY AND COMMITMENT — As a not for profit Aboriginal controlled organisation we are committed to transparency in our decisions and actions. We will remain a registered Aboriginal Organisation under ORIC and a registered charity with the Australian Governments Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission.
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WHO ARE WE
We are a national not for profit Incorporated Aboriginal controlled organisation and charity registered with Australian Governments Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) and a registered charity with the Australian Governments Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission (ACNC). We are a registered charity with the Australian Taxation Office, a Registered member of Reconciliation Australia and a registered supporter of the ULURU Statement.
Our foundation has two founding members, a Chief Executive Officer, a Project/Administration Officer and five elected members from Aboriginal communities and community-controlled organisations throughout Australia that make up our advisory board.
OUR FOUNDERS
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The founders of our organisation are two 15 and 16-year-old Aboriginal woman (and Aboriginal artist). Our artworks are highly sought after and have been commissioned by commonwealth and state government departments, multinational private sector corporations, international travel agencies, councils and art collectors with corporate clients as far away as Denmark.
We talked with our mum about our dream to one day have a foundation that would help Aboriginal girls through sport. with our mum we developed a strategic and financial plan of what we would need to make our dream a reality. That dream started to take shape about a year ago when our art pieces started selling across Australia and Internationally. As we aren't old enough to run an organisation our mum has been appointed as the CEO, a project officer has been appointed to the organisation and a community Advisory Board has been put in place to support the growth of the organisation and provide advice on managing the sporting code landscape. Until we are old enough to manage and run the foundation ourselves all financial, management and operational decisions have been appointed to our CEO and advisory board and we will continue to run and manage our art business where 100% of our profits go directly to the foundation.
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Through our participation in sports from grass roots to high level competition we have experienced and seen, unfortunately, the many barriers that young Aboriginal girls face in chasing their sporting dreams. We are are committed to true economic independence and do not rely on any Government funding and don’t raise funds through charitable events. Our funds are provided directly from our Art business and an Aboriginal owned and operated building and construction developer (who purchased one of our art pieces and shared our dream of a foundation) to help Aboriginal women and girls.
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OUR TEAM
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Staff
Our organisation is managed by our mum and CEO Kylie Stevens. Kylie has over twenty eight years experience working in the Financial Services Sector in operational and management positions. She was also the Managing Director of two Gloria Jeans Coffees Franchises for a period of eight years that were located in major shopping centres. She has extensive demonstrated financial, HR, marketing and strategic management experience and being the mum to three Aboriginal children and athletes has provided her with extensive knowledge and experience of the many issues impacting Aboriginal girls and sport. Kylie is responsible for day to day financial and management decisions for the organisation.
Advisory Board
We have an advisory board consisting of five members that provides strategic advice appointed by the organisation for their specialised knowledge and direct experience in sport or Indigenous Affairs. Our board members have extensive experience in the private, public and NGO sectors including: in sporting organisations that were created as a result of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, national and state funded health programs for the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands funded directly as a result of the Governments Closing the Gap report and federal and state government programs on addressing social justice and economic capacity building issues for Indigenous people. As our organisation is 100% Aboriginal owned and controlled, our advisory board members and are made up of representatives from Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal Community controlled organisations. We seek diversity in our advisory board and appoint people to our board with specific expertise that can assist our foundation achieve its strategic goals.
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WHAT WE DO
Aboriginal girls and women deserve equitable access to opportunities in sports. We know our resources are not enough so we will use our voice to advocate to change government policies, behaviors and attitudes for every Aboriginal girl and woman in urban, rural and remote communities across Australia. We believe in working in partnership with sporting codes to help close the gap, build reconciliation and address the real issues impacting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls and women in their sports and community engagement is at the heart of everything we do.
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We work with national and state sporting bodies to assist in Closing the Gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
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We speak out for safe, equal playing fields, bring light to inequalities and take steps to address them.
We partner with organisations who are committed to action and outcomes for improved services for Aboriginal women in sport. To enable Aboriginal girls and women to reach their potential in life, we will, through sports:
Provide our own funds and deliver our own projects based on the needs of our people at the community level and where we see the gaps in the sporting codes.
We will work with government and peak bodies to achieve real outcomes for Aboriginal girls and women, however, all our projects will be managed, funded and controlled by Aboriginal people.
We research, we educate, we advocate, we create pathways and we act. We know we have a lot of work to do and we will strive to create greater, real and sustained opportunities for Aboriginal girls and women across Australia.
We improve engagement and participation of Aboriginal young women into sport. We create, cultivate and foster real opportunities for development pathways for young Aboriginal female athletes.
We educate organisations on the barriers preventing access to participation and development by Aboriginal girls and women. Through our community engagement, assist and support ministers, organisations, government agencies and peak sporting bodies who are charged with delivering real outcomes for Aboriginal girls and women to improve those outcomes
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