Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation chief executive officer Catherine Brown said, “The new Act reflects contemporary governance practices in philanthropy and enables the Foundation to be an impact driven foundation, and enhance its reputation as a leading and contemporary organisation.”
Established in 1923 by Lord Mayor Sir John Swanson, the Foundation is Australia’s oldest and largest independent community foundation granting more than $9.5 million to over 800 charitable and not for profit organisations. It is also one of very few charitable organisations governed by an Act of Parliament (Victoria). First passed in 1930, the Act was then updated in 1996 and now in 2017 which will come into effect July 1 2017.
Some of the updates in the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation Act 2017 include:
- The name of the Board of Management of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund changes to Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation which was adopted as a trading name in 2006.
- The Act includes objects which are appropriate for a contemporary community foundations.
- The Lord Mayor will now become the Patron of the Foundation and Chair of the Foundation’s Nominations Committee.
- Board members will reduce from 21 members to a nine member skills based Board to reflect contemporary governance practice.
- The Act makes it clear that the Foundation can include regional Victoria in its grantmaking from the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund and act as trustee of various charitable trusts and funds.
- The Act confirms the ability to fund not for profit entities that are charitable but for their connection with government such as public hospitals.