Jaycees Foundation Ltd is the evolution of The Jaycees Community Foundation Inc – established in 1976 as the charity affiliate of the Western Australian branch of Jaycees International (now known as JCI) – the world’s largest young people’s organisation operating in more the 100 countries.
The Foundation’s team has been involved in a wide range of innovative projects and programs of benefit the wider community. These have ranged from providing landing lights for a country airstrip for the Royal Flying Doctor Service to pioneering computerised medical alert systems. The most notable project spanning more than 40 years was the restoration of Australia’s last derelict whaling station into Albany’s Historic Whaling Station at Discovery Bay – an award-winning iconic heritage tourist attraction. After more than 2 million visitors and a contribution of more than AU$40 million to the local economy, the Foundation vested management responsibility to an Albany community Board in December 2022.
In 2023, the Foundation established a separate division to fill what was seen as a niche in the indie (self) publishing market. While there is a multitude of offerings at all stages of book production, there does not appear to be a one-stop shop for budding authors to achieve their dreams without significant financial commitment. By developing BeInspiredBooks.com as the Foundation’s own not-for-profit authors’ platform and establishing partnerships with established providers (from editing to production and distribution) the Foundation hopes to address this situation. Sponsorship opportunities through private donors using “go-fund-me” principles are planned.