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Access your Perpetual accounts here.

Questions about Philanthropic Services? Let us help

Find answers here about our Philanthropic services – including setting up private funds or donating to established ones. We have been managing charitable investments for over 120 years and understand the special requirements of charitable funds. We also cater to organisations with funding needs here, as well as students or individuals looking for awards or scholarships.


Commonly asked questions about Philanthropic Services

Q. How do I apply for funding from the charitable funds managed by Perpetual?
A. Refer to our guidelines which will assist you in making an application for funding. You need to read these guidelines carefully before making an application to ensure your group or organisation is eligible and that your application receives full consideration. Perpetual receives significantly more applications than it can fund.

Once you have understood the guidelines you need to complete the online application form with all relevant information.
Q. When are application deadlines to apply for funding from charitable funds?
A.

Perpetual manages over 400 charitable funds. Of these, 145 are discretionary in nature, 75 of which accept applications from the general funding round held annually. Please refer to the Philanthropic Services pages for the deadline and application form. Eligibility details are provided in our guidelines.

Q. What are prescribed private funds?
A. A prescribed private fund allows individuals, families or companies to establish a tax effective charitable trust – a lasting gift that reflects your philanthropic intent and benefits and supports your chosen purpose or organisations in perpetuity. A prescribed private fund:

  • Offers you the ability to determine the manner in which your donation is utilised.  By preserving capital you can ensure your donation keeps giving in perpetuity;
  • Offers full tax deductibility for all donations to the fund; and
  • Allows you to establish a giving tradition within your family or organisation that will continue in perpetuity.

A prescribed private fund requires a significant commitment to charitable giving either immediately, or by way of a capital accumulation plan, or by naming the prescribed private fund as a beneficiary in your Will. In order to achieve the greatest value for your chosen purpose or organisation Perpetual considers an initial donation in the order of $500,000 with the aim to achieve a minimum capital value of $3 million. However every individual’s circumstances are different.

We can guide you through options and advise you on tax and legal issues. We can then assist in establishing the fund. Through our broad knowledge of charitable organisations we can also help you find a worthy recipient of your generosity and an appropriate way to bring your wishes to reality. For over 120 years we have assisted people in establishing charitable foundations that support a broad range of important community purposes. For more information or assistance, contact us.

Q. How much do I need to set up a charitable fund with Perpetual?
A. You are able to establish a Charitable Gift Fund with as little as $20,000.00. You may download an Information Brochure with an Application Form here.

The Perpetual Foundation Gift Fund sits within the Perpetual Foundation and has been designed to enable you to establish your own giving programme but with flexibility and ease of administration. However you have limited ongoing involvement with the fund and you are unable to direct Perpetual as to who is to benefit from the fund.

A prescribed private fund, on the other hand, allows individuals, families or companies to establish a tax effective charitable trust – a lasting gift that reflects your philanthropic intent and benefits and supports your chosen purpose or organisations in perpetuity.

Perpetual can help you decide on which type of fund is the correct structure to support your chosen charitable purpose. We can guide you through the available options and advise you on tax and legal issues. Please read our section on Charitable Trusts.

Q. Can I donate shares or other property to a charitable trust instead of cash? Are there advantages to this?
A. You can donate anything as long as the fund is a deductible gift recipient such as a prescribed private fund. You will receive a tax deduction to the value of the donations as determined by approved Australian Taxation Office processes. The tax deduction for donations of property valued in excess of $5,000 may be spread over a period of up to 5 years to suit the donor’s circumstances – enabling the full value of the gift to be claimed as a deduction. This also applies to any donations of any amount of cash.

To look further into arranging such a donation, please contact us.

Q. What charitable funds do Perpetual manage and who benefits from those funds?
A. Perpetual manages non-discretionary charitable funds where the beneficiaries are specified and discretionary funds where Perpetual has discretion as to who benefits by way of a general funding round.

Charitable projects currently funded by Perpetual cover every state and territory in Australia and are generally across five main areas: Arts & Culture, Environment, Education, Medical Research, and Social Welfare.  To see a summary of their purposes go to our Funding Round page.

Perpetual also manages several exciting awards and scholarships.

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