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The Wahroonga Foundation
VW Bro Cec Richards PDGIW was a stalwart of Lodge Wahroonga 674 and when he passed to the Grand Lodge Above, at the conclusion of the Lodge of Sorrow, a motion was put to the Lodge to remember him by establishing a scholarship for disadvantaged school children. VW Bro Richards, having left school after primary, was always very enthusiastic about education.
The Wahroonga Foundation was established to administer the Cec Richards Memorial Scholarship for disadvantaged school children, in honour of VW Bro Cec Richards PDGIW, a muchloved member of Lodge Wahroonga.
November saw the official launch of The Wahroonga Foundation at the Turramurra Masonic Centre, supported by over 50 guests including the Grand Master who commented that he now knew Cec Richards through the memories shared by the brethren. He also commented that it was good to see brethren coming back to the lodge room and getting on with Freemasonry again. He spoke passionately about the needs of society and how Freemasons are trying to fill those needs through a variety of charity work.
Entertainment was provided by Bro Dean Pritchard in his stage persona Dean Ray and a fundraising wine raffle raised $5,000.
About the scholarship
The recipients of scholarships will be selected based on merit and need by the Trustees of The Wahroonga Foundation. The criteria to receive a scholarship are a need that is beyond the means of the applicants and their family, and a schoolaged student residing in the jurisdiction of NSW and the ACT. Preference will be given to children who have not received assistance for the same need from another funding source.
Nominations for the Cec Richards Memorial Scholarship are now open and the application forms are available at https://thewahroongafoundation.org or by contacting The Wahroonga Foundation by email at info@thewahroongafoundation.org . Hard copies of the scholarship application can be forwarded to an applicant if necessary.
About the Foundation
The Lodge settled funds from its bank account on the Foundation to create a corpus to cover the Foundation’s future administrative costs. This means The Wahroonga Foundation can apply all donated funds to recipients of the Cec Richards Memorial Scholarship.
The trust deed needed to satisfy the legal requirements of the Charities and Not for Profit Commission, the Australian Taxation Office, and NSW Fair Trading. This was achieved at no cost, thanks to the assistance of a legally qualified brother and allows the Foundation to carry out fundraising with Deductible
Gift Recipient Status. As a result, all donations over $2 are tax deductible. The Foundation is also exempt from taxation and GST.
(Details of the trust deed can be made available to any other masonic group.)
The Foundation’s core principle is that 100% of donations will go to recipients of the scholarships and the scholarships are generally to be provided by purchasing goods or equipment needed by the recipient. As a result, the funds raised by the Foundation are applied directly to the specific needs of the recipient; in this way the Foundation will be able to help as many children as possible. The second principle allows the Foundation to buy locally and thus support local businesses.
The webpage is also available to make secure taxdeductible donations and has further details of Cec Richards’ biography, the story of the Foundation, and the trustees. Soon it will include stories about recipients.
Next time you’re surfing the internet we invite you to visit our website at https://thewahroongafoundation.org
The Foundation took over four years to create. The trustees thank their partners and relations for the support provided in setting up the Foundation. For example, a family member of one trustee with web design experience in the charities area set up the web page at no cost.
