The Australian cycling safety advocacy body behind the successful A Meter Matters campaign is being liquidated after the federal government cut its funding.
The Amy Gillett Foundation was established in 2006 after the death of Gillett, a former Olympic rower who switched to athletics and road cycling. The 29-year-old player was training with the Australian national team in Germany when he and his teammates were hit by a car.
The Foundation has been responsible for several bicycle safety advocacy campaigns, including efforts to include in law a requirement that drivers maintain a distance of at least one meter when passing a cyclist. The campaign began in 2009 and ends in 2021, when Victoria became the last state to update its road laws.
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The foundation also managed a scholarship program for young female road cyclists. Recent recipients include former national champion Sarah Gigante and two-time world time trial silver medalist Grace Brown. It gives its name to the annual Amy’s Gran Fondo participation drive along the Great Ocean Road.
“Unfortunately, the board has concluded that the ongoing operation of the foundation is no longer sustainable in the absence of new federal government funding,” foundation chair Lisa Jacobs wrote in a letter to stakeholders seen by Guardian Australia.
The news was first reported by cycling website Escape Collective.
The trust received $6 million from the 2022 budget, in a work program officially launched by deputy minister for infrastructure and transport Carol Brown in March last year.
Liquidators Shaun Matthews and Rachel Burdett of Cor Cordis were appointed to liquidate the trust. “As is the experience of many nonprofits, the last few years have been lean and securing philanthropic funding has become more complex,” they said in a statement. They added that they would review the foundation’s financial situation before “starting to complete the foundation’s affairs in an orderly manner.”
The foundation was approached for comment but did not respond before publication. The Australian Sports Commission declined to comment.
Deputy Minister Senator Brown told the Guardian that $4.5 million of the $6 million allocated to the trust to deliver the Safe Roads for Safe Cycling program has been paid to date.
“Grants need to be spent in accordance with the conditions agreed as part of the funding process. The Ministry has been in negotiations with the foundation since December to provide the necessary information within the scope of the grant conditions. These discussions were continuing.
“The Government of Albania is committed to creating safer environments for all road users across the country.”
The charity’s bright pink branding has become commonplace at cycling events, while building strong relationships with federal, state and territory governments (with the support of influential board members such as former president and Liberal party heavyweight Mark Textor).
However, in recent years questions have begun to be raised about the foundation’s continued influence, particularly following the completion of the A Meter Matters campaign. Many other organizations operate in the advocacy ecosystem, including Cycling Network and Cycling NSW. In a blog post at Bike Melbourne 2020, he asked the question: “Has the Amy Gillett Foundation outlived its usefulness?”
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AusCycling, cycling’s peak body, told the Guardian it would consider the implications of the foundation’s closure for its own advocacy programs and initiatives. AusCycling and the foundation were partners on some projects but had no financial relationship; AusCycling said on Friday it had not been contacted by the foundation about its finances.
AusCycling chief executive Marne Fechner said she was “disappointed” by the news and added that the Meter Matters campaign would be “a constant reminder of the Foundation’s twenty-year legacy”.
Amy Gillett Foundation data shows more than 20 cyclists are seriously injured and hospitalized every day across the country, while one cyclist is killed every 10 days on Australian roads.
In his letter, Jacobs pleaded for continued efforts to address these statistics.
“While our foundation’s work will end, the urgent need to improve cyclist safety remains,” he wrote. “Despite progress in road safety, design, infrastructure and driver and cyclist behaviour, the target of zero cycling deaths has not yet been achieved.”