Equity Trustees | Charitable Trusts

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Structured philanthropy is a rewarding and powerful way to contribute to cause areas you’re passionate about in a way that creates real and tangible community outcomes. As experts in philanthropy, we can show you how to build an impactful legacy that can be started in your lifetime or within your Estate Planning. Your legacy will exist in perpetuity - providing the opportunity for it to meaningfully connect the future generations of your family.

structured giving: a better way to give

The best way to achieve a long-lasting community impact is through. Structured giving provides your nominated charities or cause areas with an ongoing income stream, year after year, rather than simply donating a lump sum of money. Because of its ongoing nature, structured giving is also a great way to involve family members in charitable giving, bringing them together to discuss and demonstrate family values and develop a sense of community.

You can look at the long list of more than 650 charitable trusts we manage here.

Your partner in Philanthropy

The philanthropy journey is a deeply rewarding one, but not necessarily straightforward. We can help you get started and get the most out of your giving. As your philanthropy partner, we provide you with the following services:

We work with you to define your philanthropic goals
Advise which structures would be most suitable.
We establish and administer your charitable trust or foundation.
We develop investment strategies and manage investment portfolios to grow your trust’s capital base and income over the long term.
We distribute income (through fixed payments, scholarships or project grants) to your nominated charities or causes.
We provide tax-effective strategies to maximise your charitable giving.

Why give through us?

It’s easy to give away money, but it’s hard to do it well. Managing a charitable trust requires specialist knowledge in numerous areas, including trustee duties, investment, taxation, governance and grant-making. At Equity Trustees, we act as the trustee or co-trustee for more than 1000 charitable trusts, distributed $122.8 million FY23 via more than 5000 grants.

We can assist you in establishing your structured giving vehicle, ongoing investment, governance and compliance responsibilities and connect you to relevant people, networks and information to inform you’re the future of your giving.

We act as Trustee to a range of some of the largest Foundations in Australia, including:
William Buckland Foundation, Virertel Foundation and JO & JR Wicking Trust.

Structured Giving Vehicles

Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation

Start your structured philanthropy during your life
Initial donation: $20,000

Setting up a sub-fund under the Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation (ECF) is a simple way to start your structured giving during your life as well as creating an impactful legacy without the administrative burden of maintaining a trust yourself.

A uniquely named sub-fund can be started from as little as $20,000 and can be established immediately as well as added to in following years or within your Estate Planning. As your sub-fund’s Trustee, we take care of all the investment, governance and administration. All you have to do is let us know which charitable organisations or projects you wish to support each year.

Case Study - The L T Seow Legacy

It was her work as an anaesthetist for 40 years, during which she was heavily involved in public and private hospitals through her clinical work, teaching and research, that drove Dr Lea Thin Seow’s commitment to providing healthcare to communities. Dr Seow was one of the founders of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) – established in 2016 and continues to support it through her philanthropy.

Dr Seow’s sub-fund of the Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation, established in her name, now supports several international projects in healthcare, including the Fred Hollows Foundation, which performs and teaches optical procedures to save people’s eyesight, the Royal Flying Doctors Service, which provides medical services to remote communities in the Australian Outback and Médecins Sans Frontierès Australia.

Private Ancillary Fund

Establish your own charitable foundation
Recommended start-up capital: $500,000

A Private Ancillary Fund (PAF) is an excellent vehicle if you are interested in establishing a standalone charitable foundation and responsibility and oversight of its operations, including the investment strategy. A PAF allows you to support charities or causes that are important to you and your family or business.
We can establish and administer the PAF for you, ensuring it complies with all statutory, reporting and distribution requirements. Our in-house investment management team have the expertise to ensure funds are invested prudently and responsibly at all times. Alternatively, we’re happy to work in consultation with your external investment adviser if your prefer.
Case study
The Judith Jane Maseon & Harold Stannet Williams Memorial Foundation
When Judith Jane Mason came to us in 2003 to establish a philanthropic trust she was motivated by two things. One was her own life experience of living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). The other was to honour ‘a most intelligent, wonderful and charitable man’ – her adored father.

When Judith died in 2013 she left behind The Judith Jane Mason & Harold Stannett Williams Memorial Foundation, along with instructions to direct its income to funding medical research into ME/CFS and Alzheimer’s disease. It is now valued in excess of $30 million and distributes more than $1.5 million annually.

Perpetual Charitable Trust

Leave a lasting legacy beyond your lifetime
Recommended start-up capital: $400,000+

A Perpetual Charitable Trust (PCT) is a wonderful way to support charities, charitable causes, scholarships and awards in perpetuity. It is a very personal form of structured giving, and can be named after yourself, your family or even in the memory of someone you loved or admired within your will.

Using the benefit of a perpetual investment horizon (see Harry Moss case study below), a PCT invested over time will bring significant ongoing community contributions to causes you care deeply about.

A PCT offers flexibility in terms of the types of assistance it can provide. Grants can b made to charities, individuals in need or as part of a scholarship fund.

Case Study

The Robert Hicks Foundation

The Robert Hicks Foundation was established when Robert Hicks died in 2009 and is now valued at $22.4 million. Robert was a successful famer who had substantial land holdings in Caramut in Western Victoria. In his Will, Robert’s preference was to fund the “preservation of the natural environment, including current issues and concerns relating to climate change, agriculture, erosion and salinity levels.”

The Foundation has distributed a total of $2.4 million since it was established, in annual granting cycles managed by Equity Trustees. Mindful of Robert’s forward-thinking intentions about climate change and preserving the environment, the Hicks Foundation is the sole supporter of Climate Action Network Australia’s Small Grants Scheme, whose over-arching objective is to support grassroots organisations working in communities to accelerate the energy transformation as we reduce Australia’s emissions to zero and beyond.