The Dyson Bequest - Bruce and Jane Dyson
The Dyson Bequest was established by Jane and Bruce Dyson in 2000 as the next phase of their commitment to community service and to increase their philanthropic impact in Victoria. Along with their lifetime passion for skiing, both Bruce and Jane staunchly believed in giving back.
For Bruce, a key element of this was his time as an active director and president of the Arthritis Foundation from 1991-2002, as well as his compassion for those who needed housing while he lived in the UK.
For Jane, during the years the family lived in Gippsland she worked tirelessly in the community to encourage good education and in their later years in Melbourne she volunteered weekly at a local special needs home for children. Bruce and Jane always looked to help others, being supportive and generous to those who were sick or in need.
To this day The Dyson Bequest lives up to Bruce’s lifelong philosophy of having a positive mental attitude. The Dyson Bequest also honours Jane’s character of giving her time, energy, and expertise to making a real difference to their family, friends and community.
The next chapter of The Dyson Bequest has been led with much care, commitment and inquisitiveness by Jane’s daughter Rose Gilder, and Bruce’s nephew John Dyson. Rose’s care of Bruce in his last years and John’s steady support for Bruce and Jane in navigating difficult times at the end of their lifetime, allowed them to become the natural stewards of Bruce and Jane’s giving. John and Rose felt privileged to spend quality time with them in their last years, understanding and helping execute their philanthropy through the Dyson Bequest before Jane’s passing in 2004.
To this day, Rose and John continue to focus on and draw out the innovative essence and entrepreneurial enthusiasm that characterised Bruce’s business career, by supporting a range of pioneering approaches addressing social issues and leveraging their giving for greater impact through collaborative philanthropic responses to contemporary community needs.
Rose and John as well as the third-generation family members Hope and Annabel, all feel tremendous privilege and responsibility to continue Bruce and Janie’s legacy and importantly their impact. They want to do their forebears proud and continue to demonstrate good and effective family-based philanthropy for future generations.
Find out more A family that lives on through the generations
Three Generations
Grantee Partners
Stanford University Association of Australia
Over the last 15 years, the Dyson Bequest has assisted 15 executives to attend Stanford University, of which 12 executives have been women. For many of the scholarship winners it has been a career, if not a life changing event, and the community has continued to the benefit from their experiences for many years afterwards.
Pictured: Angelique Wan, CEO and Co-Founder of Consent Labs – 2025 Stanford Executive Program Dyson Bequest scholarship recipient.
Documentary Australia
The film is a coming-of-age story following Rina, Freda, Julianna and Jess on their journey from the Tiwi Islands to Melbourne and back, as they learn to play AFLW at an elite level. In 2024, the film premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival and toured around the country.
Like My Brother Documentary PDF
Zoos Victoria
The Dyson Bequest has supported the Fighting Extinction program for over a decade. From 2014-2019
The Dyson Bequest has supported the Fighting Extinction program for over a decade. From 2014-2019, The Dyson Bequest supported the Eastern Barred Bandicoot species. During that time, we supported the breeding and protection program based at Werribee. In 2019, some members of The Dyson Bequest participated in a live release of the Eastern Barred Bandicoots on French Island.
Pictured: Mountain Pygmy Possum (Burramys parvus)
Beautiful Bunch
Through The Dyson Bequest funding, we have supported the Beautiful Bunch in 2021-2024 including funding for its webpage development and associated marketing strategy.
Pictured: Dyson Bequest representative, Annabel Dyson at a Beautiful Bunch bouquet workshop.
The Nappy Collective
From 2014-2019, the Dyson Bequest supported The Nappy Collective, an organisation that provides nappies to mothers and children who are experiencing “nappy stress”.
Founded in 2013, the Dyson Bequest was one of the early supporters of the founder Sandra Jacobs.The Nappy Collective has repurposed over 8 million nappies to 280K families who needed them and avoided the nappies going into landfill.
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI)
The Dyson Bequest’s support of female scientists at the Institute began in 2009 when they provided the philanthropic support that enabled the appointment of the first Dyson Bequest fellow. Since then, The Dyson Bequest has supported three other research fellows.
In 2015, The Dyson Bequest made a $1 million founding gift to support the construction of the Professor Lynn Corcoran Early Learning Centre on the institute’s Parkville campus. The childcare centre enables WEHI families to access quality childcare that is reliable, affordable and convenient.
Pictured: Dyson Bequest research fellow Dr Tracy Putoczki (WEHI)