The William
Buckland
Foundation
Since its
establishment
in 1965, the
Foundation
has
distributed
in excess of
$0m for
Victorians.
The William Buckland Foundation aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged Victorians through grants that support better housing, health, education and employment outcomes. We also fund initiatives that build resilience in rural and regional communities.
Contents
The
Founder
total grants paid
$0
$0
“to benefit a wonderful country and a wonderful people, Australia and Australians.”
The William Buckland Foundation responded to this crisis by immediately contacting our grant recipients to see how we could best assist them: time extensions, greater flexibility around grant conditions, emergency support, shifting program support to core organisational support. All were considered in an ongoing process of review and consultation.
As a testamentary trust, we are not able to draw on capital to provide additional funds in a time such as this. We are constrained by the amount of income we earn from our investments. Regrettably this year has seen a drop in income earned, as we transitioned to new investment managers and there has been a reduction overall in investment returns. As we look forward to 2021, we forecast further reduction in income which, given that many of our grants are made on a multi-year basis, will affect our capacity to respond to many worthwhile causes at a time of increasing need.
The amount of money is, however, only part of the story. What is really important is the work that is being done by the organisations we are privileged to support. I think of organisations like the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, that provides vitally needed assistance to refugees, like Orygen working to assist people with mental health issues and others working at the grassroots level in regional Victoria; such as the Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship and its program to build thriving rural communities by inspiring young people towards entrepreneurship.
All of these organisations are led and staffed by people who are dedicated to improving the lives of Victorians. They want to bring about change, to increase social justice and equity, to strengthen communities and provide opportunities for young people. It is their aspirations and their work that we are proud to support.
We continue to play an active role more broadly in the philanthropic sector, working collaboratively with our peers, and supporting the outstanding work of Philanthropy Australia and the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network. Building stronger, better informed and more connected philanthropy is critical to the successful achievement of a more equitable and just society.
Working collaboratively with other funders is one of a number of themes that have informed our work and will be presented in more detail in this report.
In closing, I would like to honour William Barrett (Barry) Capp AO, who passed away on 5 August this year. Barry was a Trustee of the William Buckland Foundation from 1986 and Chairman from 2000 to 2006. It was during his period as Chairman that the first Annual Report was produced in 2001. The principles that guided him— to make the Foundation’s processes and decisions transparent and accountable—continue to inform our actions. We also wish to note, with sadness, the passing in June 2020 of Mrs Patricia Lyons, who was the wife of William Buckland.
It has been a pleasure to work with my fellow Trustees, Ross Barker, Jenny McGregor, David Williamson and Jodi Kennedy (representing Equity Trustees) and with the staff, Ferdi Hepworth, Jeff Sitters, Elyse Cook and Nicole Engelman. All have brought a wealth of experience, insight and integrity to the work of the Foundation.
From the
Chair
This has been a challenging year for Victorians. Over summer we faced some of the State’s most devastating bushfires and were then confronted by the global pandemic Covid-19, which effectively shut down the State from March. For many, the impact on their lives and livelihoods has been devastating. The demands on philanthropy have increased significantly.
Dr Jane Gilmour OAM, Chair
The wishes of William Buckland as expressed in his will underpin our strategy as we continue to adapt our practices, thinking and approach. The Foundation is now four years into a five-year strategy, which targets our funding across four areas:
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- Strengthening resilience in agricultural communities,
- Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children,
- Supporting vulnerable Victorians into appropriate employment and safe and secure housing,
- Improving health outcomes for young people, particularly in rural and regional communities.
The William
Buckland Foundation
is focused on improving the lives of vulnerable Victorians through grants that support better housing, health, education and employment outcomes and initiatives that build resilience and strengthen rural and regional communities.
Advancing
Agriculture
Focus: Strengthening
the resilience & capacity
of regional & rural
communities
Improved
Health
Focus: Children
& young people,
rural and regional
communities
Enabling
Education
Focus: Improved
education outcomes
for disadvantaged &
vulnerable children
Vulnerable
Victorians
Focus: Housing &
employment
Collaborations
The Trustees select & invite organisations to develop & design collaborations in partnership with the Foundation. It does not accept open requests under this strategy.
Signature Grants
$250k-$750k → Moving towards catalytic leadership type grants
Open Large Grants
$50k-$150k per annum x 1-4 years
Small Grants Partnership
FRRR & Igniting Change
Trustee Grants
Small grants allocated at Trustees’ discretion
Partnering for
greater impact
Social Ventures Australia (SVA) launched
Evidence for Learning in 2015.
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It partnered with The Education Endowment Foundation in the UK and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to undertake research and share the outcomes with educators to assist them to make choices about what works best in education, through cost analysis and the assessment of learning programs. The Foundation has committed $600,000 over two years to support an evidence-based approach in Victorian schools through the newly established network of school principals who are sharing their learnings by applying guidance reports aligned with the Victorian curriculum.
In October 2019, Dr Gilmour and Ms Hepworth joined representatives from SVA, the Commonwealth Bank and other philanthropic funders to present the case to the Federal Minister for Education for implementation of the previous policy commitment to establish an independent Evidence for Learning Institute in Australia. In June 2020 the National Education Council committed $50m over four years to the Institute and announced the appointment of Dr Jenny Donovan as the inaugural Director. Supported by philanthropic and corporate funders and key government agencies, Social Ventures Australia has successfully advocated for the value of the evidence-led approach to improving educational outcomes for all young Australians.
As a member of the Family Violence Funder Group the Foundation works with Domestic Violence Victoria providing funding for the manager of communications and engagement as well as supporting projects identified as priorities for the family violence sector.
Another example of working with other funders is our support for a project manager at the Council for Homeless Persons to coordinate the Everybody’s Home Campaign.
The COVID-19
pandemic meant this
program has been delivered
predominantly
online – through Zoom
workshops, webinars, and online
publications, but we know from
the data on our website use
and surveys and measures from
our participating schools and
partners that the work has been
well used, highly valued and
increasingly impactful.
Matthew Deeble
Director,
Evidence for Learning
Long-term
partnerships
In 2013 we began funding the Colman Education Foundation’s initial Our Place implementation at Doveton College in outer metropolitan Melbourne
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In 2018, we committed $3m over ten years to support the delivery of their unique educational model in Seymour and Morwell. This longterm partnership has evolved as the model continues to demonstrate its effectiveness in breaking the cycle of disadvantage. Progress in both Seymour and Morwell has been hampered significantly by Covid-19, however the effective governance structure has allowed partnership managers and the team at the Colman Education Foundation to use this pause in delivery to strengthen clarity of the model, develop implementation strategies for each location and increase collaboration across the organisation and its partner communities.
The Our Place Philanthropic Alliance structure that was established between the Colman Education Foundation, Dusseldorp Forum and The William Buckland Foundation has recently welcomed new collaborators, including the Ansett Foundation (managed by Equity Trustees), and the Ray and Margaret Wilson Foundation.
for children and families
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We have confirmed through this and other programs that there are no short-cuts or silver bullet solutions to ending entrenched disadvantage.
We have been supporting the Tomorrow Today Foundation Educating Benalla program for seven years and have seen after ten years of operation, better educational outcomes now emerging for its young people. This is another fine example of a long-term partnership providing certainty for the funded organisation to deliver significant community benefits.
The value of long-term partnerships can also be seen in the work of the Sacred Heart Mission in St Kilda. In 2009, we funded their Journey to Social Inclusion program, which provides a wrap-around approach to supporting vulnerable Victorians out of homelessness. In 2018, based on evidence of success, we committed $250,000 as a guarantee against the program achieving targets agreed with the Department of Social Services in Victoria. This grant guarantee has not been called upon as, to date, the program has successfully achieved the targets triggering government payments.
In 2019, we committed $200,000 over 5 years to Jesuit Social Services for the Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning (SAIL) Program, delivered to students and communities through Victorian universities. SAIL provides free tutoring and educational support to the Sudanese Australian community.
We have made significant
progress in establishing
the Our Place approach in
the Morwell and Seymour
communities, supporting
these communities in spite
of the significant challenges
arising from Covid-19. We
value the Foundation’s
important contribution to our
Philanthropic Alliance, where
partners collaborate to achieve
the broader systemic change
objectives of Our Place.
Sean Cory
CEO, Our Place
Supporting
capacity
building
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We are increasingly recognising the benefit of investing in organisational capacity-building through grants that strengthen organisations, thereby generating better outcomes for the beneficiaries they serve. We recognise that this sort of support is harder to monitor and measure, but it is often the very assistance organisations need to deliver on their mission. This might take the shape of funding the appointment of a new staff person, the contracting of experts to deliver on organisational strategy or investing in an IT infrastructure upgrade.
Recognising the importance of organisations having the core staff they need led us to fund the appointment of a general manager at Kids Thrive, a chief operating officer at the Women’s Property Initiatives and a first executive officer at Syndromes Without a Name.
Vincent Shin at school to deliver the Youth Law Program
WEstjustice is a community organisation that provides free legal advice to people in the Western suburbs of Melbourne
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Meeting with incoming CEO Melissa Harding, we recognised the important work WEstjustice is doing for the community of vulnerable Victorians within Melbourne’s west. Ongoing consultation identified the need for updating their IT infrastructure.
The Foundation was part way through funding a $375,000 grant to the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre (ASRC) for their Digital Ecosystem Optimisation Project and saw synergies between the work at the ASRC and the needs of WEstjustice.
By drawing on the ASRC’s experience, WEstjustice was able to fast track the mapping of their own IT overhaul, which is now being supported by the Foundation with a grant of $405,000 over four years.
Key to the Foundation’s decision to fund this grant was WEstJustice’s commitment to engage with the Community Legal Centre (CLC) network in metropolitan Melbourne and to share their new system. This is delivering broader adoption of digital management systems at lower entry cost for other CLCs.
Another example of working with other funders is our support for a project manager at the Council for Homeless Persons to coordinate the Everybody’s Home Campaign.
As a member of the Family Violence Funder Group the Foundation works with Domestic Violence Victoria providing funding for the manager of communications and engagement as well as supporting projects identified as priorities for the family violence sector.
The multi-year grant to
review and upgrade our
Digital Management System
will be transformative for our
organisation. Historically,
Community Legal Centres (and
NFPs generally) have struggled
to comprehensively fund core
functions and information
systems, yet both are critical to
the way we perform our work and
support our communities. We
are now positioned to work much
more effectively and efficiently
which will deepen our impact and
create better outcomes for the
people we represent.
Melissa Hardham
Chief Executive Officer,
WEstjustice
Scaling up proven
models
0%
of the senior Stars program
participants completed Year 12
The Stars Foundation has an outstanding track record mentoring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls and young women throughout Australia. Its full-time intensive programs, based on those offered for Indigenous boys by the Clontarf Foundation, helps young women reach for the stars through improved health and education outcomes.
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In 2019, 91% of senior Stars program participants completed Year 12, compared with a national completion rate for Indigenous students of 65% in 2016. The William Buckland Foundation is proud to be supporting the extension of this proven model into Victoria where the Stars Foundation is now working in Chaffey Secondary College and Mildura Senior College. This grant is co-funded with The Ross Trust. The Trustees and staff of both Foundations continue to work closely to support co-funding and collaboration where possible.
September 2020
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Another example of scaling up a proven model is our support for Thrive Refugee Enterprises. We are two years into our fouryear partnership supporting the expansion of their Victorian program to assist refugees to develop their own businesses. Thrive is rightfully proud of the success rate for the small enterprises it has supported. In referencing the work of this organisation, we note with great sadness the passing earlier this year of Sue Beecher who, as a Board member of Thrive Refugee Enterprises and an active philanthropist in many areas, first introduced the organisation to The William Buckland Foundation.
The Foundation’s support for AbilityMade provides further evidence of the value of scaling successful models to double the production of orthoses for children. The development of a portable 3D scanner which dispenses with the manual and laborious use of plaster casts, thus reducing time and cost, has increased access for rural and regional children to orthoses. Moreover the process is much less intimidating for children. AbilityMade was the winner of a Good Design Award and now 50 children a month receive a 3D printed orthosis.
The grant is very significant
for Stars Foundation. It
underpins the intensive and
holistic support we provide
to Victorian Stars students.
We are looking forward to
supporting even more young
women to complete Year 12
and move into a positive and
independent future.
Andrea Goddard
Executive Director,
Stars Foundation
Resilience in
regional Victoria
William Buckland was born in Mansfield and retained
his interest in regional Victoria specifying that Trustees
“give preference to agricultural
and related pursuits”
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In recent years the Foundation has supported projects that seek to strengthen regional Victorian communities, looking at the challenges of sustainable food production and building resilience through regenerative activities.
Two examples of this work are our support for Farmers for Climate Action which is providing leadership training for farmers wanting to identify new ways for them and rural communities to mitigate the risks of climate change through on-ground work and local networks. Similarly, the Australian National University’s Sustainable Farms project has established monitoring programs and is holding field workshops to support farmers in North-Eastern Victoria to manage their on-farm dams and other farming practices to maximise environmental and production benefits.
From declining to thriving is the motto of the Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship (ACRE) which exists to drive the renewal of Australia’s rural communities so that future generations may thrive
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The Foundation has been a supporter of ACRE’s work since 2016 in a relationship that continues to develop and strengthen as the Centre expands its impact. The Foundation funded Job Seeker to Job Creator, a social enterprise in schools program for $440,000 over three years. This has now seen 3,400 students participate in the program. The Foundation’s second grant of $217,700 to the centre focusses on enabling infrastructure to grow enterprising communities across Victoria.
Another example of working with other funders is our support for a project manager at the Council for Homeless Persons to coordinate the Everybody’s Home Campaign.
As a member of the Family Violence Funder Group the Foundation works with Domestic Violence Victoria providing funding for the manager of communications and engagement as well as supporting projects identified as priorities for the family violence sector.
Rural communities are
experiencing decline and
are losing their young
people to the cities. Despite
global connectivity, rural
communities lack the
know-how to develop an
entrepreneurial culture
of self-employment and
community rejuvenation. This
need inspired us to create
the Australian Centre for
Rural Entrepreneurship seven
years ago to support regional
Victorian communities to
thrive.
Matt Pfahlert
CEO,
ACRE
Addressing the
challenge of
mental health
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SANE Australia was funded by the Foundation in 2019 for Sane Assist, a project to provide support for rural and regional Victorians.
While this work remains critical, in the light of the global pandemic, SANE requested the Foundation’s approval to direct funds towards general operations to ensure sustainability as they deliver on immediate priorities. This request was approved by the Foundation as part of our commitment to support the sustainability of grantees within our cohort impacted by Covid-19. We are optimistic that the organisation will be able to redirect its efforts towards rural and regional Victorians in the foreseeable future.
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Poor mental health affects many in our community and the Foundation has continued to direct efforts towards organisations working to see better outcomes for young people experiencing complex mental health issues in regional Victoria. We have continued our partnership with Orygen, where the work we support is focussed on youth suicide prevention. We are also funding the Australians for Mental Health alliance, which is delivering a campaign throughout regional Victoria to raise awareness of and reduce stigma around youth suicide.
SANE has been focused on
building the foundations of
an integrated and holistic
digital mental health support
service for people affected
by complex mental health
issues, particularly in light of
COVID-19 and the anticipated
long-term health, social
and economic impacts. This
capacity support solidifies our
long-term sustainability and
expands our support services
to even more people affected
by complex mental health
issues.
Sophie Potter
Director,
SANE Support
Supporting local
communities
For a number of years, we have worked with two highly regarded organisations, The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) and Igniting Change, to enable us to provide funding to local communities.
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These partnerships provide an opportunity to work with organisations with particular expertise in identifying practical grass roots projects in The William Buckland Foundation’s program areas. The partnerships facilitate connection to communities and local initiatives the Foundation may not otherwise have reached.
Vic Railway
Another example of working with other funders is our support for a project manager at the Council for Homeless Persons to coordinate the Everybody’s Home Campaign.
As a member of the Family Violence Funder Group the Foundation works with Domestic Violence Victoria providing funding for the manager of communications and engagement as well as supporting projects identified as priorities for the family violence sector.
COVID has exposed just how
fragile the notion that “we are
all in this together” really is and
just how precious connection
is. Many of the projects you
support with Igniting Change
are involved with people who
are not connected, who have
no family and are leading
chaotic lives but thankfully are in
touch with agencies who have
not shut their doors and who
treat their clients as human
beings rather than numbers.
Jane Tewson
CEO,
Igniting Change
$0Improved Health
$0Advancing Agriculture
$0Trustees Discretion
$0Partnership Program
$0Vulnerable Victorians
Total
$0
$0Enabling Education
The Founder
From the Chair
Granting Strategy
Partnering for greater impact
Long-term partnerships
Supporting capacity building
Scaling up proven models
Resilience in regional Victoria
The challenge of mental health
Supporting local communities
Concise Financial Report 2020
Grants Paid
The Team
Download Report