While SASCOC “negotiate with partners to try to secure funding from sponsors”, South Africans are rallying together to raise funds for our Olympic medalists… and have already raised almost R350,000 in just 24 hours.
Johannesburg, South Africa (11 August 2021) – South Africans have collectively raised almost R350,000 for our Olympic medalists in just 24 hours!
The crowdfund was inspired after news broke that SASCOC (South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee) would not be able to pay bonuses to any of our Olympic athletes for their medal wins.
Carel Nolte, CMO of Easy Equities, replied to a tweet by Mike Sharman, founder of Matchkit, regarding the payment of the South African Olympic Medalists and immediately pledged R10,000 per medalist while suggesting that other corporates jump on board to assist.
Sharman tweeted that in “2016 Wayde van Niekerk earned R500,000 for winning gold and an extra R150,000 for breaking a World Record and Chad Le Clos earned R200,000 for a silver. By this standard, Tatjana Schoenmaker should be rewarded with at least R850,000 and Bianca Buitendag R200,000.”
Both tweets gained massive traction, leading corporates like Mike Able, the CEO of M&C Saatchi Abel & Group, Mike Stopforth, Director at Beyond Binary and Rob Fenner, MD of Megatrend to also donate, inspiring Sharman to set up a Crowdfunding campaign on Matchkit with the help of Bryan Habana to raise the much-needed funds.
The team also agreed to waive all fees on the transaction to make sure the entire donation would go directly to the athletes.
The Matchkit campaign raised almost R300,000 in just 24 hours, and the kind donations do not seem to be slowing down!
“Donations just keep flowing in; it’s really rad to see South Africans rallying together for both Tatjana and Bianca. The fund was just a simple idea to thank them for making our country so proud during the Olympics, but it’s actually proving that we are stronger together,” Mike Sharman said to Good Things Guy.
Meanwhile, Afriform has also started its own fund and pledged R50,000, which means that South Africans have collectively donated R350,000 in just 24 hours to the Olympic medalists.
The Matchkit crowdfund will be running until the end of August. If you would to support this incredibly kind cause, then click here.
SASCOC President Barry Hendriks stating on Tuesday morning that the reports expressing that “the governing body would not be rewarding Tatjana Schoenmaker and Bianca Buitendag were wide off the mark” but could still not tell media what the talented athletes will receive.
“The organisation is in negotiations with partners over the issue of financial rewards to medallists but the amounts had not been finalised because these negotiations were ongoing.”
Hendriks explained that the “partners” in question include the various government departments and sponsors. The SASCOC President could not define the amounts that the athletes would be receiving as the committee was waiting to see what was going to happen at the Paralympics.
“Our very first task was to deliver Team South Africa to the Olympics and the Paralympics; to secure funding from our Sponsors. Now we have to look at the Olympics and the Paralympics. And I need to stress that. What we do with the Olympic athletes, we have to apply to the Palampic athletes as well,” Hendriks explained to Mandy Weiner on the Midday Report yesterday.
Hendriks was reluctant to mention what the bonuses might be as he “did not want the athletes to lose focus, as their focus should be on team delivery”. He did, however, mention many times that SASCOC is trying to negotiate with partners while also trying to secure funding from sponsors. You can listen to that full interview by clicking here.
Meanwhile, South Africans are doing it by themselves and securing donations as individuals, corporates, and various organisations rally together to thank our athletes for making us so proud!
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