Charitable Fund Accounts

Establishing a Charitable Fund Account with Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, is a simple and tax effective way to support the issues that are most important to you.

Our Charitable Fund Accounts are administered by a not-for-profit trustee and provide a flexible, costeffective giving vehicle that allows you to support charities over the long term. Charitable Fund Accounts are less costly and easier to administer than other forms of giving such as private foundations and are growing in popularity as a flexible, efficient and thoughtful way for donors to structure their charitable giving.

There are many reasons why donors may choose to establish a Charitable Fund Account. They range from having an emotional connection to a charitable cause, a desire to engage family members in philanthropy, a way to contribute to the community after experiencing success in business or perhaps to honour the memory of a friend or family member. Some donors set up Charitable Fund Accounts during their lifetime to enable them to ‘give where they live,’ and then decide to make a bequest to their Charitable Fund Account leaving a legacy for generations to come.

By partnering with Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, you can benefit from the Foundation’s finance and compliance services, expertise in grantmaking and deep knowledge of current community issues, to help you realise your philanthropic goals and make a lasting difference.

We are excited about continuing to grow a network of passionate donors who share our vision of inspiring philanthropy and sustained social impact.  

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1. A Charitable Fund Account provides an efficient and strategic way to support the issues you care about.


2. We encourage you to maximise your impact by aligning your giving with the Foundation’s grantmaking in any of our priority Impact Areas: Education & Employment, Environment & Sustainability, Healthy & Resilient Communities, Homelessness & Affordable Housing.


3. You will gain access to Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation’s deep knowledge of the emerging needs and issues affecting Melbourne and the charitable organisations that are working to address those issues.


4. Our Greater Melbourne Vital Signs research gathers and publishes data which helps ensure that you are equipped with knowledge to enable you to direct your grantmaking to the most critical areas.


5. You can claim a tax deduction for donations made to a Charitable Fund Account which can be spread over a period of up to five years.


6. A Charitable Fund Account can be established within three business days once you have completed the establishment form, and upon receipt of your establishment donation.


7. Once established, the funds that you have donated are pooled and invested with income and capital attributed accordingly.


8. Your family and friends can make donations to your Charitable Fund Account.


9. Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation is committed to accessible and cost-effective philanthropy, which means minimal administration fees are charged on Charitable Fund Accounts, leaving you to focus on your philanthropy.


10. Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation will manage the investment, governance, compliance and administration of your Charitable Fund Account.


11. You will have opportunities to meet and partner with the Foundation and other like-minded donors through co-funding strategic grantmaking initiatives and joining collective giving groups.

A Charitable Fund Account is administered as a management account of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund (ABN 63 635 798 473), a public ancillary fund endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR). A Charitable Fund Account is not operated as a separate entity.

Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation (ABN 48 042 414 556) is the not-for-profit trustee and administers the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund.

A Charitable Fund Account can be set up within three business days, once you have completed the Charitable Fund Account Establishment Form. The minimum establishment donation is $2,000. Donors start recommending Eligible Charities for a grant once the Charitable Fund Account holds $10,000 or more. Funds range in size from a few thousand to millions of dollars.

You can name your Charitable Fund Account (within the ATO guidelines). Grants made to Eligible Charities from your Charitable Fund Account will refer to this name. Please advise us if you would prefer to remain anonymous.

Each financial year, we determine a total amount to be distributed from the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund. During each financial year, the Foundation is required to distribute a minimum of 4% (minimum annual distribution rate) of the market value of the Fund’s net assets. We will advise you of the net amount available for granting.

In making grants, we will consider the Foundation’s Impact Area/s and any recommended Eligible Charities you have indicated you would like to support from your Charitable Fund Account’s annual Granting Allocation.

Eligible Charities must be endorsed by the ATO as Tax Concession Charities and have DGR Item 1 status. Under the provisions of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation Act 2017 (Vic), Eligible Charities must also be established or operating within Victoria. The Foundation undertakes due diligence on all grant recipients.

Our expert Program Managers can provide guidance on the charitable organisations working to address issues within each of our priority Impact Areas.

You will have opportunities to co-fund with the Foundation and maximise the impact of your philanthropy through strategic grantmaking and collective giving initiatives.

The Foundation’s current annual administration fees are based on the capital balance of a Charitable Fund Account at 30 June the previous year.*
 

This fee covers grant due diligence, donor education, research, investment management, reporting and compliance by the Foundation. There is no fee to establish your Charitable Fund Account. The trustee is not-for-profit and all proceeds are re-invested back into the Fund.
 

You can claim a tax deduction for your initial donation and any subsequent donations made to a Charitable Fund Account. You can elect to spread each deduction for a period of up to five years.

The Foundation, as the trustee of perpetual charitable funds, adopts a long-term investment view. A balanced approach is taken to continue to grow the consolidated investment corpus and achieve a consistent level of distributable income available to provide grants to charities. The investment objective is to achieve a return target of at least CPI +2.5% per annum measured over a rolling 10- year period. The Foundation maintains a capital Investment Policy which includes an Investment Strategy, a Social Impact Investment Policy and an Ethical Investment Policy.