ABOVE LEFT : AT THE SYDNEY FOUNDATION LUNCH ON 11 AUGUST : LEFT TO RIGHT : FOUNDATION PRESIDENT , MIKE SIM (' 78 ), THE PRINCIPAL , DR SCOTT MARSH , DR NANCY HILLIER , BEQUEST PROGRAM MANAGER , SANDRA DICK
ABOVE : AT THE FOUNDATION PRESIDENT ' S DINNER ON 11 MAY : MIKE SIM (' 78 ) WITH FORMER SCOTCH PRINCIPAL DR GORDON DONALDSON AM
school , many of whose families would otherwise be unable to send them to Scotch , or in areas such as General Excellence , Indigenous or Boarding , has been heartwarming , and to see the acceleration of donations into this area over the past 15 years has been quite amazing .
The third pillar is the corpus or Endowment Fund . The Foundation came into being through the need to support the school generally . We have built up a corpus which has grown substantially over the years from investment returns , with very little money actually being contributed to it . One of my goals will be to increase the corpus ; to build up a sovereign fund – a wealth fund – so that we can potentially support a slower rise in school fees .
Do you see any important synergies between your role as Chair of the School Council ’ s Property Committee and your role as Foundation President ?
Most definitely . From the School Council point of view , I will always be looking to shape the school ’ s landscape , and when as Foundation President I am speaking to potential donors , I can speak with authority on what we are planning to do with the funds that are being raised . So there is a nice symmetry between the roles .
What are your goals for the Foundation in the short , medium and longer terms ?
We have 1914 Foundation members , so the shortterm goal is to reach 2000 members by our birthday celebration on 29 November ; or if not then , by the end of this calendar year . Scotch Family members can join the Foundation by committing $ 10,000 ( tax deductible ) to any of our wonderful projects .
My passion is to increase the Foundation corpus , which currently sits at $ 17 million . My medium-term goal is to increase the corpus through $ 20 million and then on to $ 30 million , and so on . That is going to be difficult , because funds donated to the corpus aren ’ t tax deductible , but it fits very well for people who wish to leave money to the Foundation in a bequest . That ’ s a perfect fund in which to place it . We will then give appropriate recognition of those bequests in many ways ; for example , by naming buildings , rooms , scholarships or bursaries at the bequestors ’ direction .
You have to put a stake in the ground and set some stretch targets , and it would be wonderful if the Foundation could help to support the school in various ways . For example , our corpus may be able to endow a Chair of a Faculty , such as Science , Mathematics , English or Humanities , and attract the very best staff to lead those departments . This could provide significant relief to the recurrent budget , and hence school fees .
What are the next fundraising challenges for the school ?
With fundraising for the school there are always local or global issues to contend with . For example , the issues with inflation we ’ re currently experiencing , and how that is affecting the cost of living for the normal household in terms of increases in the cost of power , food , petrol – everything has gone up in price , including school fees . There is a never-ending squeeze on families . We understand that to educate a boy at Scotch is exceptionally costly for parents , and we ’ re grateful for the commitment so many families make to the education of their sons .
We know a lot of parents are going to struggle just to send their boys to Scotch , so we aren ’ t looking necessarily to parents as donors , but if of course they ’ re able to do it , that ’ s wonderful . The economic situation , locally and globally , does have an impact . But having said that , during COVID the Foundation still achieved remarkable results at a time when people were quite apprehensive about the future of their jobs or businesses . In short – there are always issues but the Scotch Family constantly comes through . For example , our beautiful Littlejohn Chapel was fundraised and built during the Great Depression of the 1930s .
How do you see the Foundation fitting into the new Advancement model at Scotch ?
With the school ’ s new Advancement model , the very first point to make is that Tim Shearer , the Foundation ’ s Executive Director , is also Director of Advancement , and that is a great progression for Tim . Thankfully he stays within the Foundation as Executive Director , which certainly helps the school , and it helps that the Foundation , OSCA , Admissions , the Scotch Parents ’ Association – all those elements that feed into the Scotch Family – are under the one umbrella . With one focal point , we should have a much more focused pursuit of the school ’ s advancement .
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