AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM AFHA

It is with mixed emotions of sadness and pride that we share that Athletes for Hope Australia has begun a planned wind-down of operations, with our doors to close at the end of February 2026.

Since co-founders Iain Roy and Laura Johnston brought Athletes for Hope from the United States to Australia as their first international chapter in 2020, we have supported athletes at every stage of their pathway to discover their sense of purpose and connection through community contribution. 

Since 2020, we’ve worked with over 800 emerging, elite and retired athletes in regional and metropolitan areas to provide support, inspiration and opportunities to engage with the causes that matter most to them. We’ve facilitated 84 individual athlete connections to Australian charities in support of youth mental health, cancer research, gender equality, veteran wellbeing, sustainability and a number of other important causes. The AFHA Athlete Community have supported 21 charities through our activities including volunteering, fundraising, ambassador appointments and involvement at charity events and programs.

Despite this momentum and impact, the AFHA Board has made the difficult decision to begin this planned wind-down of AFHA due to the ongoing challenges we’ve faced in securing long term, sustainable funding. We have commenced the detailed process to close our charity, meeting all financial, regulatory and governance commitments and ensuring that AFHA’s legacy continues.

So, we’re not done just yet. Our priority now is to honour the work, relationships and learning built over the past five years by sharing the knowledge and insights we have gathered through our programs, partnerships and research.

Across January and February 2026, we’ll share:

• Our research findings with Victoria University, the first study of its kind exploring the wellbeing benefits of community contribution for elite and retired athletes; and

• Our Playbook on Athlete Community Engagement, informed by our research findings, our Theory of Change evaluation and athlete feedback. This practical, user-friendly resource is designed for athletes, those who support them and charities to offer guidance and case studies to strengthen athlete/charity collaboration for impact.

We are deeply grateful to every athlete, charity, partner, organisation, volunteer and friend who has supported AFHA. Together, we’ve worked tirelessly to inspire and connect athletes, charities and communities to create impact together. We’ll work hard to ensure this impact continues well into the future.

Please get in touch at hello@athletesforhope.org.au with any queries. We wish our AFHA Community a happy and safe holiday season and we look forward to sharing our legacy project with you in the new year.

From the Athletes for Hope Australia Board.