Our Grantmaking Charter

Grantmaking Charter

To distribute grants in accordance with the terms of the Will of the late Helen M Schutt (nee Smith) which directs that the income from her estate should be paid at the discretion of Trust to charitable institutions situated in Victoria for the benefit of all Victorians.

To act in all of its dealings as an independent, non-politically aligned entity.

To process grant approvals through the Grants Committee of the Trust.

Grantmaking Goals

The Trust’s grantmaking goals are to support:

The immediate and long-term needs:

Both immediate needs and to build capacity across Victorian communities to affect long-term change towards a better quality of life to improve social impact

The wider community:

The selection of a range of at least five preferred community sectors within which grants are to be sought. The selection of sectors will be reviewed from time to time.

The extent and range of grants:

Grantmaking of at least 4% of the Trust’s capital value annually amongst a range of Victorian projects/programs, of differing size, scope and complexity, including:

• strategic and innovative projects/pilot programs

• projects that involve partnerships or collaborative-based models of grantmaking with peer foundations, community groups, corporations and/or Government

• charitable organisations in rural and regional Victoria to recognise the pioneer pastoral wealth generated by Helen’s forebears

The effectiveness of outcomes:

Sound evaluation and monitoring procedures to assess the effectiveness and outcomes from the Trust’s larger grants