The Invergowrie Foundation: Chairman's Report

For the Year ended 30 June 2007

It is with great pleasure that I present the Chairman's Report of The Invergowrie Foundation for the year ended 30 June, 2007.

As always, the Mission and Vision of the Foundation, the advancement of the education of girls and women in Victoria, have been central to our deliberations. This year we have reviewed our Strategic Plan and developed a program of tasks for the coming five years which will ensure that the goals will be achieved, and we have implemented a timeline for renewal of policies.

Recognising the vital importance of good governance in the operations of the Foundation, the Board of Directors aims to work within a Governance and Best Practice framework based on recommendations of the Australian Stock Exchange and which is appropriate for the size, complexity and operations of The Invergowrie Foundation. The ongoing relevance and effectiveness of this framework will be periodically reviewed to reflect changing circumstances and ways of improving the practices we have adopted.

As you will see from the Treasurer’s Report, the corpus of the Foundation continues to grow, and I am delighted to report that the total value of the Foundation’s investment portfolio, inclusive of cash holdings, was $14.7m on June 30th. I would like to thank the Finance Committee for their careful management of the funds under the guidance of Ruth Bunyan (until November 2006) and Wendy Lewis (from November 2006). Ruth Bunyan stepped down from treasury after nine outstanding years as Treasurer. We congratulate her on her leadership of this important area. The Foundation acknowledges that the extraordinary growth in the equities market over the past few years must face a correction in the near future, but in the meantime we have been able to increase significantly our grants, particularly in the area of need. We are very fortunate to have had the advice of Sandi Tuddenham and Jeff Olsen from Tolhurst Ltd with respect to our investment portfolio.

I would also place on record my appreciation of the work of our CEO, Alison Smith, who has continued to give excellent service to the Foundation, developing excellent relationships within the philanthropic community and with the organisations we support with our grants. With the increase in our giving has come an increase in the work that she undertakes for the Foundation.

The most important work of the Foundation is its grant-making which the Grants Committee oversees with great sensitivity under the dedicated guidance of Ros Otzen as Chairman of the Committee.

It gives me pleasure to report that approximately $599,000 has been disbursed in grants and distributions in the 2006/2007 year. The purpose of the grants made by the Foundation to schools, universities and community organisations is to advance the education of girls and women in Victoria, to support programs which encourage excellence and leadership, to provide assistance to help overcome educational disadvantage, and to support research.

Grants made to primary and secondary educational facilities in the financial year 2006/07 include:

Former AHIGSV schools (10)	School grant of $10,000 each*
Girls’ Government schools (8)	School grant of $3000 each
Catholic Education Office (3)	School grants of $5000 each
Beth Rivkah	School grant of $3000
Currajong School	Two bursaries of $6000 each
Port Phillip Specialist School	School grant of $23,000 in support of three programs
Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School	Two scholarships of $5000 each
A special grant of $40,000 was shared by five rural/ regional Invergowrie Foundation member schools to assist students, whose families have been affected by the drought, with additional educational expenses such as excursions, camps, books etc.

*NB. It was decided that this year we would make a larger grant of $10,000 available to our former AHIGSV schools every three years on rotation. Each year, ten of the schools would be able to make application for these grants. Schools would be able to plan for a significant project at some point within the three year cycle.

Grants made to tertiary educational facilities include:

Residential Colleges (7) – University of Melbourne: A scholarship pool of $4500 for each college. (The full year grant will be $5000 per college in 2007, up from $4000 in 2006)
Residential Colleges (4) – University of Melbourne: A scholarship pool of $2500 for each college. Four colleges were added to our list this year; hence the amount for each of these colleges reflects the payment for the first half of this calendar year.
University of Melbourne: One continuing Early Childhood Education Scholarship valued at $5,000 p.a. (second year of the scholarship covering the four years of undergraduate studies).
Marcus Oldham College Geelong: The Invergowrie Foundation/ Invergowrie Past Students’ Scholarship worth $5000 awarded to a female student for first year of study in Bachelor of Business (Agricultural Management)
Monash University: The Invergowrie Foundation / McPherson Family Education Scholarship awarded to two students undertaking post-graduate studies in Science/ Education and worth $5000 each.
Victorian College of the Arts: Two tertiary scholarships of $5000 each for women studying for the first year of an undergraduate degree
Deakin University: Two continuing scholarships for women of $5000 each p.a. for the duration of a three-year undergraduate degree
LaTrobe University: The Invergowrie Foundation Scholarship for Indigenous Women. Two scholarships, each of $5000 p.a., for the duration of the students’ three years of undergraduate studies (the amount of $5000 represents payment for the first half of the calendar year 2007)
RMIT: Invergowrie Foundation Science, Engineering and Technology Portfolio Scholarships awarded to three students in 2007 for three years’ duration of their undergraduate studies in an area of science, engineering and technology. Support of 2006 recipients continued.

New initiatives in 2007 in the area of tertiary scholarships:

Victoria University: Invergowrie Foundation Higher Education Scholarship for Women	Three students commencing their undergraduate studies in 2007 have been awarded scholarships to the value of $3000 p.a. each for the three years of their undergraduate studies (the amount of $4500 represents payment for the first half of this calendar year)
Victoria University: Invergowrie Foundation TAFE Scholarship for Women	In 2007 five students were awarded scholarships to the value of $1500 p.a. each for the two years of their TAFE studies
Centre for Adolescent Health: Post Doctoral Scholarship	This year the Foundation has negotiated an agreement with the Centre for Adolescent Health to award a two year scholarship to the value of $25,000 p.a. to a female Post Doctoral Fellow undertaking research in the area of adolescent health.

A number of our tertiary scholarships are now for the duration of students’ undergraduate studies. The outstanding students awarded our scholarships are great ambassadors for the Foundation.

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

Birchip Cropping Group	Women’s Agronomy Group - $5000
Brotherhood of St Laurence Ecumenical Migration Centre	Given the Chance: An Employment and Training Pathway - $15,000 Improving Education Outcomes for Young Refugee Women - $15,000 The Brotherhood of St Laurence has received a total of $157,500 in grants from the Foundation since 1999/2000
Centre for Adolescent Health:	Advancing Adolescent Health: a professional linkage program for rural and remote female practitioners in the advancement of adolescent health - $14,000 The Centre for Adolescent Health has received a total of $58,020 in grants from the Foundation since 2005/06
Islamic Women’s Welfare Council of Victoria	Building Futures: a homework support program for young Muslim women - $15,000 The IWWCV has received a total of $75,000 in grants from the Foundation since 2002/03
Melbourne Citymission	Tutoring Program in Footscray - $15,000 This program has received a total of $147,500 in grants from the Foundation since 1996/97
Power House/ Lady Somers Camp	A grant for four girls to attend the January camp - $1460
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 $97,320 in grants from the Foundation since 2002/03
The Smith Family	Student2student Literacy Program in the Melbourne Upper Metropolitan Region for 40 students with poor reading skills - $17,000
Whitelion	Young Women’s Support Service Outreach Program: a support program for young women within the Justice system and during their transition from custody back into the community - $27,000 Whitelion has received a total of $53,000 in grants from the Foundation since 2004/05

New initiatives in the area of Community Grants during this financial year have been:

Anglicare Victoria	Find a Way Forward: Funding Assistance for Girls’ Education in drought and frost devastated areas of north-east Victoria - $10,000
Berry Street Victoria	Our Kids in the Kitchen - $14,000
Burnet Institute	Public Health Policy Research with young people in a marginalised community - $15,000
CARA Inc	Maternal Child Health Nurse - $6240
Church of all Nations Community Support Agency	Women’s Program: Engaging marginalised women and informing them about the relevant issues of health, exercise, nutrition, finance, parenting and self-care - $15,000
Travellers Aid Society of Victoria	Pathways to Education: School Travel Ticket Program - $6363
Try Youth & Community Services	Education Support Program - $10,000
Victorian Foundation for the Survivors of Torture	Group Programs with Karen, Chin & Assyrian/ Chaldean Refugee Young Women - $15,000 The VFST has received a total of $75,192 in grants from the Foundation since 2001/02

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

Another dimension of the work of the Foundation is in the networking functions that are held each year to inform our members of the progress of the Foundation and to celebrate its successes.

The speaker for our annual W E McPherson Oration was to have been Ms Kirsty Sword Gusmão, then First Lady of Timor-Leste, and Founder and Chairwoman of the ALOLA Foundation. Unfortunately the Oration had to be cancelled at the last minute because she was unable to leave Timor-Leste due to the eruption of further trouble in that country.

A highlight of the year for the Foundation is always hosting the delightful luncheon in August at the Alexandra Club for the Former AHIGSV Principals. This is always a very happy occasion where the former Principals of the AHIGSV schools can hear from the current Heads about developments in the schools, and learn of the progress of the Foundation.

The success of the Foundation would not be possible without the dedication of the members of the Council and its Committees. I wish to thank the Committee Chairmen for their leadership in the work of the Foundation, and Miss Elizabeth Butt for her support and depth of knowledge of the Foundation as Deputy Chairman.

I thank all members of the Council and its Committees for their dedication to the Vision of the Foundation.

Dr Barbara Fary OAM
Chairman
September 2007