From our Chair

This year has proven to be a wonderful time to celebrate the beneficence of the Geelong Grammar School community. The Foundation received gifts exceeding $4.14m across the year, our highest level of philanthropic support since 2017. We acknowledge with gratitude the impact that these gifts will have on the lives of our students, and sincerely thank the many donors who gave so generously across the year.

Even as we took a break from Giving Day, Annual Giving remained a prominent feature of our giving programme in 2022. The collective support of our community through gifts great and small, all equally appreciated and valued, is truly inspiring. In 2022, we saw 291 donors contribute an outstanding $724,700 through Annual Giving. The lion’s share of this was directed to support our scholarship programme, enabling Geelong Grammar School to continue to be a place welcoming all learners. Thank you to all those donors who contributed to achieve this superb outcome for our students.

We are particularly grateful to two of our inspirational young OGGs, Rohan Byrne (Fr’09) and Jodene Garstone (EM’16), for sharing the stories of their own journeys in support of our Annual Giving activities in 2022. If you have not yet seen their videos, showcasing the immensely valuable impact scholarships have on the lives and futures of GGS students, I would urge you to do so. They are very powerful viewing.

As always, the Biddlecombe Society was a shining light in the programmes of the Foundation this year. We returned to all our key locations to host Biddlecombe Society events for those members of our community who have made the commitment of a gift to the School in their Will. Our events on the Bellarine Peninsula, South Australia, Sydney and Melbourne were all well attended by both members and friends. In 2022, Biddlecombe Society membership grew by 28 to reach 243 members. We remain especially grateful for the commitment of these members to the future of Geelong Grammar School.

We remember with respect, affection and gratitude the 13 members of our Foundation community whom we lost this year. We know that many of these members bequeathed gifts to support the School, and we recognise their generosity and the legacy these gifts will provide for generations to come.

Giving generously and for the future is a strong theme of the support we receive from the Geelong Grammar community. I take the opportunity here to recognise the significant philanthropic gifts received in 2022 from a number of truly exceptional donors, in particular Gordon Moffatt AM KSJ (M’48), Tony Poolman (FB’60), Anne and Mark Robertson OAM, the Handbury Foundation, Tim Fairfax AC (M’64), and Ern and Deidre Pope. Each of these donors has made a sizable gift, or gifts, throughout the year and all have been in support of scholarships. We are immensely grateful for your outstanding generosity and leadership.

Ian Darling AO (P’79) and Min Darling continued their support for Creative Education this year with the final gifts towards their $1 million pledge. This significant commitment, established in 2019, activated matching contributions from both the Geelong Grammar

Foundation and the School towards the Creative Education programme. Ian and Min’s important lead gift enabled the establishment of the Centre for Creative Education and the employment of our two Creative Education Collaborators to lead the School’s efforts to embed Creative Education in all aspects of the student experience at GGS.

Two particularly outstanding gifts received in 2022 came through the Estate of the late Jeff Peck (Ge’42). These contributions totalled $1.14m and were split across the Jeff Peck and Silver Harris Scholarship and the Endowment Trust, to be directed towards support for sailing. Jeff was an active member of the School as a student and benefited from the close associations he developed with his peers at GGS, continuing throughout his life and career. He valued deeply the diverse connections he made at the School and the opportunities this experience afforded him. In 2022, the Foundation Board voted to appoint Jeff Peck, posthumously, as an Eminent Member of the Geelong Grammar Foundation in recognition of his deep commitment to the School and his leadership through gifts in his lifetime and through his Will.

A further five Eminent Members were appointed by the Board in 2022. Eminent Membership recognises members of our community for their outstanding service to the Geelong Grammar Foundation. It is a category of membership not defined by the value of giving but by a commitment to the work of the Geelong Grammar Foundation towards the advancement of the School.

We acknowledge the leading contributions of the following new Eminent Members in 2022: Silver Harris, Andrew and Emma Muir, Gordon Moffatt AM KSJ (M’48) and Tony Poolman (FB’60). These members join a growing list of significant contributors who, through their philanthropy, advocacy and volunteering, have demonstrated their deep commitment to the Foundation and our School.

Early in 2022 I had the honour of presenting the Medal for Service to Society to OGG and Governor of the Geelong Grammar Foundation, Tim Fairfax AC (M’64). Tim became the fourth recipient of the medal and was acknowledged for his leadership and philanthropic support for rural and regional development, visual arts, and education in Australia, particularly in his home state of Queensland.

Tim’s medal was presented at our biennial Black Tie Dinner, held on Thursday 7 April, 2022 at the State Library of Victoria. The evening proved a very special occasion for reuniting our community after a long interlude and for celebrating the many talents of Old Geelong Grammarians. The eloquence of the James R. Darling Orator, Joanna Murray-Smith (past parent), was a delight to experience. The next Black Tie Dinner, James R. Darling Oration and presentation of the Medal for Service to Society will take place in 2024. I very much hope that you will join us then.

Once again in 2022 I was ably supported in my role as Chair of the Geelong Grammar Foundation by the commitment of our dedicated Board of Directors. I thank the Board for their unfailing and generous support.

We farewelled a number of directors of the Board across the year, all of whom served the Foundation for many years.

Serena Mitchell (Mackinnon, Cl’83) stepped down after seven busy years on the Foundation Board. She remains a member of our Biddlecombe Society Committee and an ongoing supporter of the Geelong Grammar Foundation.

Charles Henry (FB’67) retired from his position on the Board after four years, including as Chair of the Scholarships and Major Gifts Committee. Charles continues to participate actively in the work of the Foundation and in support of the School.

Will Jones (Cu’72) resigned from the Board in 2022 following eight years of inspiring service. Among Will’s many contributions to the Foundation, he shared his expertise through the Allocations and Investments Committee for nearly a decade, including as Chair from 2014-2019.

We thank Serena, Charles and Will for their enduring commitment to the Foundation and for all they achieved for the School in their time as Directors.

In late 2022 we welcomed Jacinda Dixon to the Board. Jacinda has served on the Allocations and Investments Committee since 2020. She is a current parent and brings a wealth of expertise in financial management and investing, particularly in support of philanthropic organisations. We welcome Jacinda and thank her for contributing her time to the important work of the Geelong Grammar Foundation.

The years ahead hold much excitement for the Geelong Grammar Foundation, as they do for the School. I look forward to continuing to work in partnership with you and our broader Geelong Grammar community to support our ambitions for the future of Geelong Grammar School and the talented staff and students who fill its rooms and grounds today and into the future.

I offer you again my heartfelt thanks for your generosity and commitment in 2022, and celebrate the support of all our many generous donors. Together we are making a positive difference.

Penelope McBain Chair, Geelong Grammar Foundation

Find out more

Learn more about the story of Rohan Byrne (Fr’09) at https://www.ggs.vic.edu.au/rohan

Hear from OGG and past scholar Jodene Garstone (EM’16) at https://www.ggs.vic.edu.au/jodene