For the Year ended 30 June 2011

It is with great pleasure that I present the Chairman's Report of The Invergowrie Foundation for the year ended 30 June, 2011.

At the Council meeting in February, the Mission of the Foundation was affirmed, and with the completion of the strategic planning undertaken during 2010, the Strategic Directions for 2011 – 2016 were endorsed.  The priorities for action in 2011 have seen Council focus on the impact of grants provided for the education of girls and women and, in particular, on an initial evaluation of the grants made to AHIGSV schools. Consequently, there has been an updating of the nature of these grants to ensure that the most effective areas for advancing education for girls are addressed.  The new guidelines have been released for schools applying for grants for 2013.  The Council also undertook a review of the aims and effectiveness of the networking functions organised by the Foundation.

As you will see from the Treasurer’s Report, the stock market volatility continues to impact on our investments; however, we achieved a modest growth in the value of our portfolio. Despite a decline in the total value of grants for the year, we have managed to continue with the grant commitments made in previous years.  I would like to thank the Finance Committee for their careful management of the funds under the guidance of Ms Wendy Lewis as Treasurer, and also Mrs Sandi Tuddenham of Patersons Securities Ltd for her continuing and valued advice with respect to our investment portfolio.

The critical work of the Foundation is its grant-making which the Grants Committee oversees with great sensitivity under the continuing dedicated guidance of Dr Ros Otzen as Chairman of the Committee. It gives me pleasure to report that $533,425 was disbursed in grants and distributions in the 2010/2011 year, taking the Foundation’s total disbursements since its formation to $6.32 million. The purpose of the Foundation’s grants to schools, universities and community organisations is to advance the education of girls and women in Victoria with the vision of these grants making a significant impact on their education, enabling access, promoting excellence, advancing leadership and supporting research.

Grants made to primary and secondary educational facilities in the financial year 2010/2011 include:

*NB. This is the second year of a three year cycle of a larger grant of $12,000 being made available to our former AHIGSV schools on rotation.  Each year of the cycle, ten of the schools are able to apply for these grants. Schools can plan for a significant project at some point within the three year cycle.

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Grants made to tertiary educational facilities for female students include:

• Deakin University: Two continuing scholarships, each of $5,000 p.a, awarded in 2009 for the duration of a three or four-year undergraduate degree.

• Deakin University Institute of Koorie Education: award for the 2011 academic year of bursaries of $20,000 in total to 10 indigenous female students of the Institute.

• Longerenong College: Two continuing scholarships, each of $2,500 p.a., awarded in 2010 for the two year duration of agricultural studies. One scholarship of $5,000 p.a was awarded in 2011 for the two-year course.

• Marcus Oldham College: Three Invergowrie Rural Leadership Awards, each of $2,500, for women working in rural Victoria to participate in the College’s Rural Leadership Program.

• Monash University: Three Invergowrie Foundation/ McPherson Family Education Scholarships of $5,000 each were awarded to students undertaking post-graduate studies in Science/ Education. An Encouragement Award of $500 was made to one student.

• RMIT University: Continuing scholarships of $2,000 and $3,000 p.a. awarded in 2008 and 2009 respectively for three or four years’ duration of undergraduate studies in an area of science, engineering and technology.

• University of Melbourne - Residential Colleges (10):
  A scholarship pool of $5,000 for each college
  (Medley College excluded as closed for renovations)

• University of Melbourne - Faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts & Music:
  Two tertiary scholarships, each of $5,000, for the first year of an undergraduate degree
  (The amount of $10,000 represents payment of the second half of the two scholarships awarded in 2010 and payment of the first half of the two scholarships awarded in 2011).

• Victoria University: One continuing Higher Education Scholarship of $3,000 p.a., awarded in 2007 for the duration of a three-year undergraduate degree, concluded at the end of 2010.
  (The $1,500 grant represents payment of the final semester of this scholarship)

• Victoria University: One Higher Education Scholarship of up to 4 years’ duration and one Vocational Education Scholarship of up to 2 years’ duration awarded in 2011 under the University’s Achievement Scholarships Program. Support of the 2010 recipients continued. Grant value: $20,000.

In addition to the above tertiary awards, the Foundation provided a one-year $25,000 Post-doctoral Research Fellowship to a female researcher at the Centre for Adolescent Health, Royal Children’s Hospital, in 2011.

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I am pleased to report the following developments:

• An Agreement with La Trobe University for the Foundation to provide scholarships for financially disadvantaged women from rural Victoria at the University’s Shepparton and Mildura campuses. Award of these scholarships of $3,000 each for the duration of a three or four year undergraduate degree to students commencing their tertiary studies in 2011 will take place after 30 June 2011.

• Renewal of the Foundation’s Agreement with Marcus Oldham College to provide the Invergowrie Rural Leadership Awards for Women for a further three years, 2011-2013. These awards support the further education of Victorian women working in rural and regional Victoria.

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In the field of Community Grants, we have continued with a number of very successful programs:

• Anglicare Victoria – Find a Way Forward:
  Funding Assistance for Girls’ Education in fire, drought and frost devastated areas of North-East Victoria - $20,000
  
  Anglicare Victoria has received a total of $105,000 in grants from the Foundation since 2004/2005

• Brotherhood of St Laurence – Given the Chance:
  Employment and Training Pathways - $15,000
  
  The Brotherhood of St Laurence has received a total of $232,500 in grants from  the Foundation since 1999/2000

• Burnet Institute – Outreach Worker Traineeship:
  Public Health Policy Research with young people in a marginalised community - $15,000                       

• Centre for Adolescent Health (CAH) – Advancing Adolescent Health:
  A professional linkage program for rural and remote female practitioners in the advancement of adolescent health - $20,000
  
  The CAH has received a total of $222,155 in grants from the Foundation since 2005/2006 for delivery of this program and for post-doctoral research fellowships                                               

• Melbourne Citymission – Tutoring Program in Footscray - $20,000
  Melbourne Citymission has received a total of $222,500 in grants from the Foundation since 1996/1997

• Power House/ Lady Somers Camp:
  A grant for four girls to attend the January leadership camp - $1,400

• St Luke’s Anglicare Bendigo – Smart Art:
  Young Women’s Art/ Craft program for severely disadvantaged young women - $25,000
  
  St Luke’s has received a total of $197,320 in grants from the Foundation since 2002/2003                  

• Travellers Aid Australia – Pathways to Education:
  School Travel Ticket Program in Victoria - $15,000

• Western Chances – Scholarships Program:
  Funding assistance for talented, disadvantaged female students at government secondary schools in the western suburbs of Melbourne - $15,000

A new development has been our support of the Dingley Village Community Advice Bureau’s Booklist Project in 2011 with a grant of $5,000. This grant provides textbooks for female secondary students from financially-disadvantaged families.

For further details of our grant-making, I refer you to the body of the Annual Report.

The Foundation’s networking functions update and inform its members and associated parties of the Foundation’s progress and its key developments.

We were delighted to welcome Professor Wendy Brabham, Director of Deakin University’s Institute of Koorie Education, as our guest speaker at last year’s AGM/ Networking Function. In discussing indigenous education and its challenges, Professor Brabham drew upon her expertise in this field and the work of the Institute of which she has been Director since 1991. The Foundation has been pleased to support the education of indigenous women through the provision of bursaries at the Institute since 2009.

The annual W E McPherson Oration aims to present women who have achieved significant success in their chosen field in our community as role models to young women. With the underlying themes of leadership, excellence, challenge and opportunities, the Oration targets senior secondary school students (Years 9-12), as well as staff and principals from girls' schools within Victoria, Foundation supporters and members of the general public. This year’s Oration was delivered by Ms Tania de Jong AM, a leading Australian soprano, social entrepreneur and thought leader.

Once again, The Foundation hosted its annual luncheon in August for Principals of the former AHIGSV schools, enabling the current and former Principals to network and to learn of the progress of the Foundation.

Two thousand and eleven has been marked by review and debate of the future directions for the Foundation.  This has meant considerable time spent by the Council members in analysis of existing operations and development of new strategies.  I thank the Council members for their time and thoughtful contribution to the development of the Foundation.  Consequently there has also been an increase in the workload for the Foundation’s CEO, Ms Alison Smith, and I thank her for her efficient management of the Foundation and her commitment to the achievement of the its goals.

Carolyn Anderson
Chairman
September 2011

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