Make a Donation

Donate and make a difference

Gippsland Community Foundation operates on funds generated from public donations, projects partnerships, government programs and philanthropic giving.

Individual and corporate donations are critical to the Gippsland Community Foundation to hep to make our local communities more just and sustainable places to live. Regardless the size of your contribution, you can take comfort in the knowledge that you are helping to break the cycles of disadvantage, right here in Gippsland and surrounding areas.

Donations up to $500 are usually considered general donations, for use in community projects across our footprint. Larger donations can be general or applied to a region, need, or specific project, as the donor wishes.

Gippsland Community Foundation also offers a funding administration and distribution service for community organisations, agencies and government that require an impartial, experienced, legally-sound funds distribution vehicle. A modest service fee allows the Foundation to cover operational costs and helps to keep the Foundation in place and ready to support Gippsland communities.

Gippsland Community Foundation is actively seeking Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status from the Australian Tax Office. We hope to be able to offer tax deductibility to individual donors very shortly. In the meantime, corporate donations can be accepted as sponsorships or fee for service arrangements.

Donations are retained in a Trust which generates grants funds back into Gippsland communities each year.

Your money stays in your community and helps many people into the future.

You Can Make a Donation:

Online - A one-off donation or regular donation on our secure online platform.
Via the mail or in person - Download a Donation Form here and return it, together with your donation, to the address on the form.
In person - At any Bendigo Bank branch.
Leave a bequest
Create a scholarship
Start your own sub-fund
Start a workplace giving program
Fundraise for us

How to donate:

Leave a bequest

A bequest is simply a gift that is written into your will. Talk to us about how you can make one; it can be a gift of cash, property, shares or any other investments.
If you decide to make a bequest, please don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss what form you want this to take and whom you might like it to benefit. We also suggest you contact your local solicitor, accountant or financial planner so they can help you understand the process and wording you should use in your will.
Your bequest is a gift of support for our future community. This gift can be of any size, and it will make a significant difference. Bequests have the power to shape a better future for our region and can also strengthen our community.
When you make your will, of course it is important to consider your family and other loved ones. You also have an opportunity to make a positive impact on the entire region and its future by including a bequest to the Gippsland Community Foundation. You can help shape life-changing programs that assist those with the greatest need.
Gifts to the Gippsland Community Foundation are held in trust by the Foundation, under the terms set out and/or agreed by you. There are several options when giving: your gift can be made during your lifetime, as a one-off donation; over a period of time; left in your will as a bequest; or a combination of these options.

Gifts made during a donor’s lifetime are tax deductible.

Funds are usually named after people or families to honour individuals or to create memorials to persons of special significance to the donor.

Donate and make a difference

Workplace giving

Our Workplace Giving Program allows employees from any region, and not just Gippsland, to make regular contributions to the Gippsland Community Foundation through their payroll. These contributions support programs and positive community outcomes in our region.

Benefits of the workplace giving program:

Our workplace giving program allows businesses to reach their corporate social responsibility goals by giving back to the community.

By joining the workplace giving program, employees receive many benefits, including:

The opportunity to make a positive and meaningful contribution to the communities of Gippsland
The convenience of regular giving via a simple payroll deduction
The assurance that all contributions are invested in the Gippsland community to assist those most in need and to support projects that make a lasting difference
The team-building experience of sharing in a positive, inclusive workplace program.

How does our workplace giving program operate?

You choose how much to donate. It can be from as little as $5 – the cost of a cup of coffee – per day. Every little bit helps.
Workplace Giving donations come out of an employee’s pre-tax salary. They receive the tax benefit straight away rather than waiting until the end of financial year. Detail about the donations will appear automatically in their annual payment summary.

Other ways you can help include:

Workplace fundraising activities – fun runs, events, and morning teas etc.
Sponsorship of the proposed Annual Charity Dinner – We’ll be looking for major sponsors, table purchases and the donation of auction items
Providing in-kind services or products for our fundraisers
Coin donation boxes – small change can make a big difference!

Contact us if you, your business or its employees are considering a workplace giving program, or if you would like to learn more about become a sponsor or raising funds for the Foundation.

Sponsorship and fundraising:

Consider becoming a corporate sponsor of the Gippsland Community Foundation. By selecting our Foundation as your charity of choice you can:

Give to local projects, which matter to you, your employees, and your customers
Reduce the charitable requests to your business by having a selected charity that delivers a broad range of benefits across the Gippsland region
Make a significant impact as a collective irrespective of the size of your contribution.

What else can I do?

Create a sub-fund

You can establish a sub-fund named for a cause, a specific charity, in memoriam or named after a particular donor or person.
These sub-funds operate as management accounts for tracking donations and grants attributed to a donor and/or a cause. As such, sub-funds are not separate from the other money in the trust fund, and all funds are pooled for investment purposes. Contact us to discuss establishing a sub-fund.

Create a scholarship

Businesses can establish a scholarship, bursary or prize, to promote education in pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary courses. Contact us to discuss this further.