$125,571,725 granted to date…

The astute investment and management of Helen’s original bequest has enabled HMSTrust to approve more than $5m on average in annual grants over the past 15 years.

By 30 June 2019, 4,797 grants totalling $125,571,725 had been approved by the Trustees. Adjusting for inflation, this has the equivalent buying power today of $192m.

Helen’s personal philanthropy has guided HMSTrust’s grantmaking strategy from its earliest beginnings. Helen M. Schutt (Helen’s married name) appears regularly in the listings of charitable donations made to various causes in The Age and The Argus newspapers from 1916 to 1944. Helen’s commitment to health, children, disadvantaged, regional Victoria and community renewal is reflected throughout HMSTrust’s grantmaking history.

Helen Macpherson Smith’s spirit of generosity has touched countless Victorians over the last six decades and will continue to do so in perpetuity.  Hers is a truly amazing legacy.

Grants approved from the income earned on the corpus have been:

FIVE YEARS ENDED $ 000s
1955 47
1960 52
1965 59
1970 93
1975 400
1980 1,324
1985 3,382
1990 6,917
1995 11,556
2000 9,870
2005 20,484
2010 30,388
2015 25,242
YEARS ENDED $ 000s
2016 3,579
2017 3,953
2018 3,744
2019 4,482
TOTAL GRANTS SINCE INCEPTION 125,572
Note: the above figures are grants approved less grants withdrawn/refunded.