The original prize for the Children’s Book of the Year Awards was a camellia if the winner was female or a handshake if male. Government funding supported the Awards for some time (1966-1988). This was followed by commercial sponsorship (Angus & Robertson, Penguin Books Australia, Collins Dove and Franklin Watts in 1988; Myer-Grace Bros. 1989-1993; Angus & Robertson 1994; Reed Books Australia, Australia Post and Social Book Clubs 1995) which made it possible to offer substantial monetary prizes of up to $10,000 per category to the authors and illustrators of winning and honour books. The challenge to secure commercial sponsorship for the Awards prize money led to a decision, at the end of 1995, to set up the Awards Foundation with the aim of raising $1,000,000 to enable the CBCA to support the Awards prizes in perpetuity.