Impactful giving, made simple

Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation

Whether you are seeking to make a difference in the world, nurturing your next generation’s charitable responsibilities or looking for tax efficiencies, activating a structured giving vehicle during your lifetime may be the right option for you, your family or your organisation.

Significant giving doesn’t just happen via your Will. You can start right now to create impact that reaches beyond today. With as little as $5,000 you can kick-start your structured giving journey with a named sub-account*.

Giving you and your family a way to support the causes you care about for many years to come.

Start today. Invest with Equity Trustees. Change tomorrow.

Establish

With a modest $5,000, you can begin your own philanthropic journey by creating a sub-account of the Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation, a public ancillary fund and one of Australia’s most popular family giving vehicles. You can even give it a name of your choosing. After completing the establishment process, your named sub-account can be opened within as little as seven days with a tax deductible receipt available immediately after your initial contribution is made.

Name

With a named sub-fund, you and your family can focus on the giving, while Equity Trustees takes care of the investment, administration, compliance and operation of your named sub-account. You can call your sub-account anything*, perhaps your family name, in memory of someone important to you, or something reflecting your vision for a future your sub-account might help create.

*Except the inclusion of the words "Trust" "Fund" and "Foundation.

Grow

Through responsible investment

Your named sub-account is invested alongside the other sub-accounts within the Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation. A portfolio which is aligned with our investment philosophy to preserve and grow the real value of capital over the long term while providing a steady income stream. Equity Trustees manages all the investment of all sub-accounts and ensures that funds are invested in a way that excludes alcohol, tobacco, gambling, weapons and adult entertainment.

Most families have established their named sub-accounts to exist in perpetuity. Our investment strategy provides annual returns which you donate to chosen charities, while at the same time providing capital growth. Over time, the Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation has seen capital growth throughout many global market fluctuations since 1998 when it was established.

Interact

You, your family and your nominated successors and advisers receive secure access to a technology platform, offering 24/7 online access to your named sub-account, where you can retrieve account balances, charitable giving history and interact with you philanthropy as and when you choose.

Donate

Each year your named sub-account can recommend that the minimum balance (4% of account balance, as at 30 June of the previous financial year) is directed to any eligible (DGR1) charity that is also charitable in purpose. There are plenty to choose from – and you may already have some favourites.

Equity Trustees is here to guide you through your journey in structured philanthropy, ensuring you and the causes or communities you care about get the most from your giving. Talk to us about how we can help you and your family get the best from your philanthropy.

Philanthropy your way

By starting your philanthropic journey with Equity Trustees, you’ll join one of Australia’s most popular options for named sub-accounts.

How does it work?

Why use the Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation

Start your giving legacy during your lifetime, and benefit from the joy of giving: for yourself, your family and the generations that may follow
Enhance your giving capacity through investment returns in a tax-exempt structure and minimal fees
Receive tax benefits now, and give in the future – allowing you time and space to carefully identify your chosen eligible charities
Any member of the public can contribute to your sub-account, not just you or your family. And anyone who contributes may be eligible to receive a tax deduction for that contribution
There are no establishment fees, and ongoing fees to manage the sub-account are deducted from within the account
Access to an online Philanthropy Portal which gives you 24/7 visibility of your account and ability to manage your giving from year to year
You, your family and even your professional advisers can have access to your account via the Philanthropy Portal
If desired, clients can access the Equity Trustees team of 20+ granting specialists for additional support around your giving*
Practice philanthropy and give back to your community, alongside 320+ families within the Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation
The Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation is looked after by a professional licensed trustee company, with over 140 years of experience. *choose a different fee to access this additional support

A working example

As the Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation has now been in place for almost three decades, it is interesting to look back at one of the Foundation’s early contributors.

This philanthropist established a sub-account back in 1998, with an initial contribution of $1m and no further contributions since – an almost textbook illustration of the power of structured giving.

In 2024, this philanthropist’s account is now valued at more than $2.7m and over the past 25 years, the income generated has allowed distributions of $1.83m to the philanthropist’s chosen eligible charities.

Had they simply donated the original $1m directly to charities back in 1998, that donation would have been allocated and deployed by the recipients. But by using a structured giving vehicle, leveraging the power of investments and a tax-exempt trust structure, the impact will continue well into the future, even beyond the philanthropist’s lifetime.