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The creativity, accessibility and technological vision of Paralympics Australia’s main donor engagement campaign during the Paris Paralympic Games has been rewarded with a major prize at the Fundraising Institute Australia’s National Awards for Excellence in Fundraising.
Virtual Seats, produced by Paralympics Australia and digital design firm SLIK, was named Most Innovative Campaign at a gala dinner in Sydney on Thursday.
The program built on the extraordinary success of Paralympics Australia’s inaugural Virtual Seats program during Tokyo 2020 by adding a ‘virtual stadium’ where donors gained exclusive access to content and messages of support in a setting that met the highest accessibility standards.
“As a charity organisation that relies on a mixture of revenue sources, it was vitally important that our Virtual Seats was successful,” said Chantel Plum, Paralympics Australia’s General Manager of Fundraising.
“But, beyond raising money to support current and future Para-athletes, we wanted to break new ground in the way we engaged the Australian public and give those people kind enough to support us a worthwhile experience in return.”
After discussions with Para-athletes and accessibility consultants, the latest inclusive guidelines were followed and influenced design features such as colour contrasting, font sizes, use of language and navigation tools. Another notable highlight was the creation of the charismatic ‘Speedy McFast’ as the users’ avatar and unofficial mascot for the project.
“We faced a number of challenges in this campaign, including the cost-of-living pressures many Australians were experiencing at the time of the Games,” Plum said.
“To know that so many people still wanted to be involved in our Paralympic campaign and show their support for our athletes was very gratifying. But it also shows that Australians believe in the work that Paralympics Australia performs and it shows the power of an engaging and innovative fundraising campaign.”
Paralympics Australia chief executive Cameron Murray thanked SLIK and the fundraising team for their efforts.
“We’re thrilled by this deserved recognition,” Mr Murray said. “A great deal of thought and care went into creating the Virtual Seats campaign, which genuinely broke new ground in the world of fundraising, and I congratulate Chantel and her team, and SLIK, for this achievement.
“Paralympics Australia is grateful for the support we receive from governments and our corporate supporters. But, without effective fundraising and donor programs, we’re unable to provide the scope of operations we need to deliver Australian teams to the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and to grow participation and opportunities in sport for people with a disability.”
By David Sygall, Paralympics Australia.
Published 21 February, 2025.
