Helen Macpherson Smith Trust

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Departure of HMSTrust CEO Lin Bender

The Board of the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust advises that CEO, Lin Bender concluded her significant phase of leadership of the Trust on 23 August 2021.

During Lin’s 8 year period as CEO the HMSTrust corpus grew from $95m to more than $140m, and more than 500 grants exceeding $37m addressed needs in the education, community, arts and culture, environment and health sectors.

HMSTrust’s mission of working for a strong, just and sustainable Victoria was a passion for Lin, as was the needs of each of our grantees. Key features of Lin’s leadership were her deep relationships across the sector, her thought leadership and her care for all who connected with the Trust to explore philanthropic partnerships.

Lin was dedicated and indefatigable in her time with HMSTrust and left with the goodwill of the board and staff.

HMSTrust is one of Victoria’s major philanthropic trusts having distributed over 5,000 grants to Victorian charitable institutions since 1955 totalling more than $130 million: an extraordinary legacy grown from an initial bequest of £275,000 in 1951 made by Helen Macpherson Smith.

FURTHER INFORMATION:
Catherine Walter AM, HMSTrust Chair  |   Email: cwalter@afi.com.au