Great Scot May 2020 Great Scot 159_MAY 2020_ONLINE_V3 | Page 53

FOUNDATION
ASSOC. PROF. DOUG
LORDING ('64)
PRESIDENT OF THE
SCOTCH COLLEGE
FOUNDATION
CONTINUING
STRONG
SUPPORT
FOR THE
SCHOOL
It was not the start to the year we would have hoped
for, as bushfires, flooding and other major weather events
occurring locally merged with the global crisis related
to the COVID-19 virus. We are watching daily as the
infection spreads and commentators speculate about
the potential suffering this may cause. Finance markets
have declined, many businesses big and small are facing
extreme difficulties, and people are having to curtail
their activities where risk is higher. For many around us,
this is a cause of major anxiety and will have significant
ramifications.
As we have just signed off the Scotch College
Foundation’s audited accounts for 2019, and worked
through the allocation of monies from the Foundation’s
endowed funds for 2021, it’s noteworthy that the diligent
and prudent management of the Foundation’s assets
leaves us in a position to continue to give strong support
to the School. Although our bottom line always looks
better in times of strong growth, as happened in 2019,
our philosophy is to invest for income so that a steady
cashflow is always available. This positions us best in
difficult times such as we are currently experiencing.
At the time of writing, the Foundation Executive
Director, Tim Shearer, and I have just signed off our
annual letter to the Principal, Tom Batty. The Foundation
has been able to provide $2,032,982 to the School this
year. Of this, $1,204,405 relates to scholarships that the
School can award in 2021, $392,984 is a contribution
from our corpus, which is used at the School’s
discretion, $300,000 goes to support the Library, and
the remaining $135,593 is for prizes, staff support, the
arts, and bursaries. All of these contributions, of course,
are made possible by benefactors who generously
donate funds to the Foundation.
While on the subject of scholarships, we have had
two very successful recent campaigns, one to fund the
Michael Robinson Boarding Scholarship, and the other to
fund the General Sir John Monash Scholarship.
Late last year, the Foundation board noted that the
scholarship in Michael’s name had been fully funded,
INTERIOR OF THE KEON-COHEN DINING HALL
and we were able to bring forward the opportunity for
the School to award that scholarship in 2020. Michael
was passionate about boarding, particularly about rural
boarders, and he would have been well content knowing
that the School has used the scholarship in this way. The
first Monash scholarship can now be awarded in 2021.
We hope to continue to build both these funds through
the Annual Giving process, so that each can be awarded
to a new boy every year.
We have had a busy few months, with the new
Keon-Cohen Dining Hall and St Andrew’s Square almost
completed, and later in the year, the completion of
the Archives Museum and OSCA House project, also
incorporating the Scotch Shop. Many members of the
Scotch Family have contributed generously to these
projects, and I am grateful to all of them for helping to
bring the projects to fruition.
This year is one of consolidation for the Foundation.
The School is exercising its collective mind regarding
further developments, and this will take some time to
take shape. It’s to be expected that a number of Scotch
families will have been directly affected financially by the
pandemic, which will impact on their ability to pay school
fees. The School will do its best to help those in genuine
need wherever possible through the Scotch College
Student Assistance Fund. This fund will form the basis of
a significantly revamped Annual Giving appeal for 2020,
to be launched in mid-May.
Hopefully this difficult period will soon settle, allowing
us to return to our normal routines.
www.scotch.vic.edu.au Great Scot
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