THE South West Community Foundation is becoming a significant philanthropic force in the region after only seven years of operation.
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In the past year it distributed a total of $131,879 in 48 community grants and $23,500 in $50 Back To School vouchers to families needing help with the cost of starting a new school year.
Foundation chairman Barrie Baker said the increase in grants during the past year, which was announced at the foundation’s annual general meeting this month, reflected the continuing strong growth in the perpetual trust funds and partnerships with the Isobel and David Jones Family Foundation, the FJ Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR).
The partnerships for the other three foundations contributed $56,044 in the 2013-14 financial year, on top of the $75,853 from the South West Community Foundation’s trust funds.
Growth in the trust funds now exceeds $2 million — up from $1.3 million in 2013, due to continuing donations from the community and funds from the wind-up of Koroit and District Health Service.
Funds from the Koroit health service have been allocated to the foundation’s Koroit and district sub-fund and will continue to provide benefits to the local community into the future.
“For many of the social agencies and services in our community these are difficult economic times,” said Mr Baker.
“Much of the communities’ well-being depends on community self-help,” he said.
“And this is very much the mission of the community foundation — those in our community who can, contribute to help those who can’t.
“We use the community’s donations to fill gaps, support needs and add enrichment,” Mr Baker said.
A minimum of $84,000 will be available for the next South West Community Foundation granting round, due to open in early 2015.
The foundation also announced that Felicity Melican of Warrnambool and Brad Henderson of Hamilton joined its honorary board of directors, filling vacancies left by the departure of Wayne Weaire and Gilbert Wilson