Charitable Giving Victoria

We help you leave a lasting impact on the charities and causes you care about most.

About Charitable Giving

You can choose to leave a one-off gift or create a lasting impact by supporting your favourite charity or cause annually in your will or through a trust. Charitable giving allows you to experience the joy of knowing you’re supporting the causes that mean the most to you.

Giving effectively requires careful consideration and expertise to make sure your will is written in a way that achieves your wishes. With over $150 million managed professionally, our charitable giving specialists help secure your legacy for a lifetime of support in the Victorian community.

Key benefits

Our team of specialists can show you options that maximise your charitable giving impact across charitable trusts, gifts, donations and more.

Expertise

Our charitable giving specialists will consult with you on how to maximise your impact for years to come.

Flexibility

We have a range of flexible options to suit your charitable giving objectives.

Accountability

We’re backed by the Victorian Government and accountable to the people of Victoria.

Experience

We’ve professionally managed a variety of charitable trusts for over 80 years.

Getting started

Our dedicated team can help you with choices based on the size of your gift, the charities or cause you want to support and the impact you want to create. Your options include:

One-off gifts in your will:

You can simply name a charity in your will and choose to leave a dollar amount or percentage of your estate. Your executor will then pay this directly to the charity as a one-off donation when your estate is settled.
Legacy gifts in your will.

To make a longer lasting impact, your gift can be held in a charitable trust that provides ongoing financial support to your chosen charity or cause. It’s possible to do this via an already-established perpetual charitable trust like the State Trustees Australia Foundation, or we can set up a private charitable trust for you.

Speak with a specialist

Get guidance on the best charitable giving option for you.

Charitable Giving in your will

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State Trustees Australia Foundation

Overview

Founded in 1994 as a perpetual public charitable trust for all Victorians, The State Trustees Australia Foundation is a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC). You can leave a gift to a charity or cause close to your heart through the State Trustees Australia Foundation. We then work closely with the charitable sector to fund important projects with part of your gift each year. The rest of your gift is invested to fund even more projects in the future.

Giving through the Foundation

Through the Foundation, you can donate in perpetuity to a general charitable cause or a specific charity close to your heart- the choice is yours.

Alternatively, you can choose to gift to general charitable purposes through the Grant Programs supported by the Foundation.

The Foundation’s current Grant Programs focus on:

Help for vulnerable Victorians.
Medical research and support.
Environment and animal protection.
Support for regional Victorian communities.

If you’d like your gift to have a specific focus of your choice, we can keep it separate from other people’s gifts in a special sub-fund in your name.

Private charitable trusts

In some circumstances, private charitable trusts are an option for giving through your will. Our Charitable Giving specialists can create private charitable trust that can be named after you, your family or an organisation and distribute money from private charitable trusts according to your wishes.

Discuss your options

Speak with our team about the best option for you.

Fee summary

Establishing a sub-fund of the State Trustees Australia Foundation is free. Any fees to administer the sub-fund are deducted from the investment income of the sub-fund. There is also no fee to leave a one-off charitable gift in your will. The only fee involved is for the preparation of your will if required.

View all fees and charges

Giving through your will

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How your gift supports the community

Empowering positive ageing: State Trustees Australia Foundation grants $750k

State Trustees Australia Foundation Supports Youth Initiatives in Regional Victoria

State Trustees Australia Foundation distributes $250k to 13 charities

How can State Trustees help me with charitable giving in my will?

While giving to charity through your will is an enormously rewarding experience, doing so effectively requires careful consideration and expertise. Our legal and financial teams provide the highest level of will-writing guidance, and our Charitable Giving team’s deep knowledge of the charitable sector helps you make well informed decisions.

Our approach is highly consultative and places you at the centre of the conversation. We work with you to choose the most effective structure to ensure that you leave a wonderful and effective legacy to the future.

Does State Trustees have expertise in Charitable Giving?

Yes. State Trustees has been administering charitable estates since the mid-1800s and has a specialised Charitable Giving Team. From helping people to clarify their charitable objectives and deciding on which charitable causes to support, writing effective wills, managing charitable funds, administering granting programs and distributing funds and engaging with the charitable sector, our lawyers, will writers and other specialists help people give effectively through their wills.

Today, State Trustees manages over $150 million in charitable trusts and distributes about $5million each year to the community and charitable sector.

How can I leave money to charity in my will?

There are a number of different ways to leave money to charity in your will. Here are a couple of examples:

You can leave an outright gift of money or assets directly to your favourite charity

You can give to your favourite charity or charitable cause in perpetuity through a charitable trust.

Our Charitable Giving Team can help you determine which options will help you achieve your charitable giving intentions. Contact us at charitable@statetrustees.com.au

What are the differences between giving in a single lump sum and giving in perpetuity?

There are key differences between giving to charity in a single lump sum and giving in perpetuity.

Leaving a gift of money or assets in a single lump sum to your favourite charity means the charity will receive that gift in full once your estate has been finalised.

Providing a gift to your favourite charity in perpetuity through a charitable trust favours maximising the value of your gift and pledging long term financial support through an annual income stream.

What is the State Trustees Australia Foundation?

The State Trustees Australia Foundation is a public charitable trust you can gift to in your will. The Foundation provides the opportunity to give in perpetuity without needing to establish your own charitable trust. Created in 1994, right now it has over 200 ‘sub-funds’ or ‘gifts’ left by people just like you who want to make a lasting difference in the community we all share.

Charitable Giving Victoria

About Charitable Giving