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The George Alexander Foundation
Chapter Seven
The George Alexander Foundation
George Alexander held the view that you do not really own the possessions you have, ‘you’re just minding them’. He felt that this belief ‘frees up your thinking about how you deal with money’ and it was central to the development of his philanthropy. He never attached himself to anything he owned and believed that once you accept that ‘you’re only minding it’, the decision to give money away becomes easy.
As his inventiveness and hard work paid off with the success of Neta, George’s financial position became secure and he developed an interest in sharing his wealth. During the 1960s he made several donations to the institutions where he had studied and taught, the Gordon Institute and RMIT. These donations were for specific items of equipment.
It was through Roger Darvall, the general manager of the ANZ Bank and a Governor of The Ian Potter Foundation that George became interested in developing a structured form of philanthropy. Roger Darvall told George, ‘You’re foolish just to give your money away –there is a better way to do it.’ Once money is given away, it is gone forever, but if it is used as the capital base for a foundation, then it can be a gift that lasts indefinitely. George was inspired by this idea of using his money constructively rather than frittering it away with small gifts or giving it all away with one grand, but short-lived, gesture on his going.
Roger Darvall made the further suggestion that the governors of The Ian Potter Foundation could become trustees and administrators of The George Alexander Foundation. George did not want to be involved in deciding who should receive gifts from his foundation, so long as he was satisfied that the money was given wisely. The arrangement he made with The Ian Potter Foundation not only assured him that his money was used creatively, but also minimized administration costs. George expected that The Ian Potter Foundation would have teams of accountants and administrators and was surprised to find that Pat Feilman ran it almost on her own.
The George Alexander Foundation was established in June 1972. Again on the advice of Roger Darvall and Pat Feilman, it had broad philanthropic aims that would allow the trustees to respond to changing circumstances. On 16 August 1972 George Alexander came to a meeting of the governors of The Ian Potter Foundation. He explained to the governors the practical difficulties he had found trying to give money to charitable causes without the formal machinery of a foundation and thanked them for their help in resolving his dilemma. He was always grateful as the work of The George Alexander Foundation would not have been possible otherwise.
The initial gift to establish The George Alexander Foundation was $30,000.17 Regular gifts over the following years built the corpus of the foundation up to $250,000 by August 1975 and $1 million in 1987.
The first gift made by The George Alexander Foundation was a $700 grant to Mr J Bailey of the Preston Institute of Technology to travel to England to examine management development programs for small business owners. Other early gifts were to the National Heart Foundation, Swinburne College of Technology and the Melbourne YMCA.
George Alexander never sought to control where his money was given, but he was often consulted for his views on particular projects. For example, he remembered being asked whether he thought his foundation should make a donation to help send an apprentice wardrobe mistress on a tour of Russia with the Australian Ballet. George’s thought was that it would be an awful job trying to keep all those girls happy and he was all in favour of helping.
In the early years of The George Alexander Foundation, gifts tended to supplement those of The Ian Potter Foundation and were made across the wide fields of scientific and medical research, education, social welfare and the arts. Significant grants from The George Alexander Foundation were made to the Royal Children’s Hospital Research Foundation, the Melbourne Zoo, the Queen’s College Library Appeal, the Australian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness, the Mission to Streets and Lanes and a wide range of other worthy causes. As George became part of the Queensland community, the governors responded by making grants from the foundation with more of a Queensland focus. Thus, from the mid-1980s The George Alexander Foundation gave substantial support to the Blue Nursing Service at Beenleigh, and the Queensland branches of Lifeline, the YMCA and similar organisations. While Queensland focused, these grants were still made across a wide area and the emphasis tended to be toward the general field of social welfare. When George moved to Queensland, his intention was to retire from business and live a quiet life. However, his entrepreneurial spirit was too strong and the opportunities he saw in Queensland too tempting, and within a few years he was heavily involved in real estate investment on the Gold Coast. At first he and Ethel lived in the Thornton Tower in the heart of Surfers Paradise and George learnt about real estate sitting in a display unit talking to people. Soon he began to buy and sell high rise units on the Gold Coast, showing a talent for buying when the market was low and selling when it was high. On occasions he bought properties just to help a friend and happened to end up making money when they were sold. Other business ventures followed including an investment in a sand mine, which came about when the owner, who was a friend of George, ‘got in a spot of bother’ and George helped him out. In the early 1980s George was asked to become involved in a subdivision to the north of the Gold Coast. This proved highly successful and George built on the subdivision and lived there.
In 1986 George employed a young student named William Owen-Jones to help around his garden. They got on well and William became George’s closest friend and constant helper, with George enjoying the role of mentoring a young protégé. After William completed a Commerce degree at Griffith University and had spent some years working as an accountant, George asked him to take on the role of managing director of George’s private companies to help him manage his various assets. In 2006 George said, ‘I decided that the assets needed to be kept working, even if I wasn’t directly involved. William has helped generate real profits that have contributed to the increase in the capital of the foundation, and it is something that I hope he will continue to be involved in, and gain enjoyment from, long after I have moved on.’
George believed that philanthropy is something that needs to be encouraged and he hoped that his example would show others that it can be enjoyed while they are still around to see it happen. He said that, ‘It’s not clever to hold on to it until the last minute, and I am sure you cannot take it with you when you leave.’
In his last years, George often told people that, ‘I have sat on my backside for the last quarter of a century and still made money’. His astute investing meant that he was in a position to steadily increase his gifts to the foundation. In 1989 he gave over $1 million, instantly doubling the foundation’s capital, and his subsequent gifts, together with investment growth, saw the capital rise to over $15 million before his death in 2008 with annual distributions exceeding $750,000. George enjoyed ‘seeing it working’ during his lifetime and hoped that his example would encourage others into the spirit of bold philanthropy.
George Alexander was always a generous man but he did not look for praise or acknowledgement. He never brandished his wealth around, but lived modestly and always maintained the careful habits engendered by the privations of his early life. His friends recall that he could walk into a pub and nobody would think that he had any money at all – his wealth had no impact on his dress or behaviour. Like others of his generation who became wealthy late in life, George never got used to spending money. He did not like travelling. After his sole overseas trip (to New Zealand) he told his friends he had not enjoyed it because it felt too much like frivolous spending.
The closest to extravagance George ever came was the house he built for himself at Coomera, the northern Gold Coast suburb that he did much to develop. Although it was a large house, it had only one bedroom but a five-car garage. The garage was used primarily as a workshop because George always had some project or another that he was working on. He retained his love of engineering and metal work and he was forever building or modifying pumps, water pipe fittings and so on. In old age, George gained great pleasure from his dog and his goldfish. He had two huge tanks of goldfish and his Jack Russell terrier ‘To and Fro’ was a constant companion. He taught the dog many tricks and it seemed to live on a very similar diet to George!
George was an early and competent internet user and enjoyed pretending to put on bets with internet bookies. He also had two televisions in his living room and constantly channel surfed between them.
In 2001, following the appointment of Dorothy Scott as executive secretary of The Ian Potter and The George Alexander Foundations, Dorothy and George worked together to re-orient the giving of The George Alexander Foundation. Previously the guidelines for grants by The George Alexander Foundation were almost identical to those of The Ian Potter Foundation, but George and Dorothy agreed that The George Alexander Foundation should ‘focus solely on the environment and the education of talented young people’.18
The new orientation of the foundation reflected George’s own enthusiasms. His years working on farms, together with Neta’s involvement in water supply, had given him an awareness of rural Australia’s environmental problems. Although he had little time for the ‘wild and woolly greenies’, he believed that much could and should be done to repair the damage that has been done to the environment since 1788. In particular, he was keen on programs to help farmers develop sustainable farming methods. Similarly, the enthusiasm to help young people receive an education was a reflection of the struggle that George had faced to educate himself. Focussing on these two areas allowed The George Alexander Foundation to make more substantial grants, be more creative in its giving, and really make a difference. As George said, when he and Dorothy analysed it, the areas he was most interested in were the environment and ‘rewarding and encouraging bright young kids’. And this had the added bonus for George of ‘saving me from the whingeing and crying of the bleeding hearts’, which he had always found an unwelcome aspect of being involved in philanthropy as ‘so often one would be misled into funding the unworthy’.
George always maintained that the executive and governors of the Foundation should make the decisions on how gifts were allocated. A letter from William Owen-Jones to Dorothy Scott in May 2002, summarised George’s position. George had been approached directly about a prospective grant, but ‘he wanted to make it clear that he has no intention of becoming involved in the grant-making process (having abdicated that responsibility to your office!). His preference remains for grant seeking to be managed by the Secretariat, and any of his business contacts to be managed by Barkala [his main company].’ However, he occasionally made suggestions on the foundation’s projects, with William concluding his letter, ‘Finally, with respect to the foundation’s “environmental” objectives George is still interested in stirring up some action regarding a decent project that helps create a coordinated approach to addressing any issue relating to the management and care of Australia’s precious water resources.’19
Following the introduction of the new guidelines, the major education initiative was the establishment of The George Alexander Foundation scholarship programs at Griffith University in Queensland and RMIT University in Victoria. The scholarships at Griffith University were awarded to first year students to assist with their residential college fees, with recipients being chosen for ‘their academic merit, leadership capability, and their potential contribution to the community’. The RMIT scholarships were awarded to ‘undergraduate students of good academic standing who have the ability and will to succeed in higher education, but who require financial support to fulfil their course requirements.’
To launch the new emphasis on environmental education, two major gifts were made to Sovereign Hill in Victoria and to Landcare in New South Wales. In June 2000, Sovereign Hill was given the pastoral property ‘Narmbool’ near Ballarat and it later acquired an adjoining block of natural bushland. The George Alexander Foundation made a substantial gift for a ‘Landventures’ bush camp program on Narmbool for secondary students in years 7 to 9. This program combined environmental field studies and practical conservation work with tuition in modern farm management and wool production. The Foundation’s grant to Landcare helped set up a display caravan for public education about land care. The project aimed to encourage the understanding of land and water degradation issues in more remote locations by disseminating land management information to farming communities in a practical, grassroots strategy. The display caravan was featured at regional shows, agricultural field days, special days at sale yards, and at primary and secondary schools, in many isolated parts of rural NSW.
George Alexander’s generous philanthropy was recognised in the Australia Day honours for 2004, with his appointment as Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to the community through philanthropy, particularly in the areas of higher education, social welfare and the environment. George had always been conscious that he had never taken out Australian citizenship (which was not necessary for a British subject), but after receiving the award he commented, ‘Now I feel like a real Australian.’
George was 94 years old when he received his AM, but he said that he always felt young inside. He did not fear old age and always had an optimistic view of life. Nonetheless, as he grew older he became increasingly withdrawn and his always low tolerance for fools became even lower. The main reason for this was his failing hearing, which made conversations increasingly difficult and led to him becoming uncharacteristically introverted – though he always said that he wasn’t becoming introverted, but rather ran out of friends as they all died before him.
George never lost his sense of humour and was always quick to make a joke. If he felt that someone was trying to take advantage of him or presume on his generosity he could be quite caustic. In other situations his humour was gentler. Like many elderly people he often woke during the night and would often write down his thoughts. In September 2004 the Foundation had asked for his thoughts on the design of a certificate to be given to scholarship winners and at 3.30 a.m. one morning he wrote a note for William Owen-Jones.
Always modest and self-effacing, George was reluctant to talk about his past because, as he said, he could not believe that anybody would find it of interest. Fortunately, he was persuaded to write the story of his early life and to talk, if still reluctantly, about Neta, his move to the Gold Coast and the establishment of The George Alexander Foundation. The main reason he agreed to his life story being told was to show the deep sense of satisfaction that he found in giving during his lifetime and to encourage others to develop a spirit of philanthropy.
George’s wish was to leave his entire estate to the Foundation, with the exception of a few legacies to friends and those who had helped him. In 2004 he decided that he would like to make most of these gifts in his lifetime, so he gave money to some, helped another buy a house, forgave some debts he was owed, and so on, with the result that most of these legacies could be taken out of his will.
George died on 6 February 2008 of complications following a fall. He was 97. His life was recognised with obituaries in The Age and the Brisbane Courier-Mail, and with the naming of a major thoroughfare in Coomera, the suburb he did much to establish to the north of the Gold Coast. William Owen-Jones tells the story that there was some debate whether the road should be called ‘George Alexander Drive’ or ‘George Alexander Way’, but it was agreed that ‘George Alexander Way’ was more appropriate because he always did it his way.
Legacy
George Alexander had bequeathed to the Foundation the Barkala Group of companies together with two properties he owned personally. The property portfolio comprised 14 Queensland properties, which were a mixture of commercial offices, factories and warehouses, office units, some vacant land and his personal residence. The net equity position of the portfolio was $20.9 million (that is, the value of the properties at the date of George’s death less borrowings secured by the properties). George’s death coincided with the onset of the global financial crisis, leading to a sharp downturn in the value of many of the properties. Consequently, the Foundation’s trustees revalued the portfolio, but even so the bequest more than doubled the corpus from $15.5 million at 30 June 2008 to $32.6 million at the end of July 2008. The Foundation's corpus was valued at approximately $44 million in June 2022.
The management of the estate was not without complications. The fall in property values on the Gold Coast, together with the fact that some of the properties were encumbered by debt led the trustees to decide to sell down the property portfolio. Further, the trustees were uneasy acting as property developers, taking on debt, and running businesses. In addition, a change in the law in 2011 mandated that a charitable foundation had to distribute four per cent of its corpus each year, making it untenable to hold properties that were not generating an adequate return. Taken together, these factors meant that George’s wish that his business enterprise should continue as a ‘going concern’ proved impossible to fulfil. Properties were sold, debts paid off and the bulk of the Foundation’s assets are now in equities. William Owen-Jones’ role as manager of the business came to an end in late 2011 and he has moved on to a successful career on the Gold Coast as an accountant and Gold Coast city councillor.
George Alexander’s bequest has enabled The George Alexander Foundation to take a longer term view of its commitments. In 2007, commitments for grants totalled $695,680 and covered four years, with the majority of the commitments covering two years. The following year, grant commitments jumped to $2,172,000 and covered five years, with 38 per cent committed for beyond two years. In 2022, grant commitments exceeded $10 million over five years.
Following George’s death, the strategic focus of the foundation's activities was concentrated almost exclusively on the scholarship program. The rationale for this decision was that the Foundation’s grants would have a greater impact focused in one area. There was also a change of emphasis in the scholarship program, which in the early years had tended to focus on disadvantaged students, to follow more closely George Alexander’s wish that the Foundation concentrate on supporting ‘the best and brightest’, especially those from rural and regional areas. George was inspired by the idea of the Foundation’s scholars making a major contribution to society through their skills and leadership abilities.
Up to his death, about two million dollars had been invested in scholarships, with a further two million dollars already committed. The program had been expanded from the original two universities, Griffith and RMIT, to include tertiary institutions in every state: Deakin University (Geelong & Warrnambool), Australian Catholic University (Ballarat & Sydney), RMIT University (Melbourne), Swinburne University (Melbourne), Gordon Institute of TAFE (Geelong), Griffith University (Brisbane), Murdoch University (Perth), Australian National University (Canberra), James Cook University (Townsville), the University of Tasmania (Hobart & Launceston), the University of Wollongong, and the University of South Australia. The establishment of a program at the Gordon Institute in Geelong was particularly gratifying given the role that the Gordon had played in George’s own education. One scholar at the Gordon wrote:
Receiving this scholarship has literally changed my life!! In more ways than I can express. I have been able to stay in school and undertake my studies, building fundamental skills and abilities which will lead to full-time sustainable employment opportunities. I was able to meet the requirements of the course and have the appropriate equipment and materials to achieve academic success. (20)
Similarly, George was pleased to be told not long before he died that a scheme was to be established at Murdoch University in 2008 to help students from rural areas gain a university education. The scheme was prompted by the recognition that the high cost of living in Perth had become a significant barrier to higher education for students from rural areas. To encourage rural students to enrol at university and realise their full academic and leadership potential, the scheme paid scholarship winners the full cost of their accommodation close to Murdoch University’s Perth campus. One of the initial group of scholarship winners said, ‘As a rural student it is a huge step to come to Perth to do my studies, not only in terms of leaving my home town and friends but also the great costs involved. [The Foundation’s] help with my accommodation cost is a major contribution.’21
Each of the scholarship programs was designed to fit the needs of the respective university and its students, but there was a strong common theme. Driven strongly by George Alexander’s own life experience, all programs sought to reward those with academic ability, leadership skills and commitment to community involvement. Examples of the different structures of the programs were provided by the longest-established programs at Griffith and RMIT. From 2008, all George Alexander Foundation (GAF) scholars at Griffith University became members of the Griffith Honours College, to provide them with a network of academic and social support as well as travel, further education and ambassadorial opportunities. At RMIT, additional funding was provided to assist with a Mentoring and Leadership Program aimed at helping students reach their academic potential.
However, while each university’s program differs, and the courses undertaken by GAF scholars span the full range from Aviation Engineering to Zoology, they are united by the common theme of helping young people make the most of their abilities. Possibly more than in any other area, carefully targeted assistance to talented young students has the potential to give benefits far outweighing the cost of the initial investment. Driven by this principle the GAF scholarship program continues to grow and has become one of the most significant scholarship programs in Australia, a fitting tribute to the vision and contribution of George Alexander.
George Alexander always liked the idea of philanthropy as ‘planting seeds and hoping that they grow into pretty big trees’ and this concept motivates the gifts made by his foundation. George Alexander was quiet, modest and self-effacing, though at the same time he was a man of strong views and he was not afraid of expressing them. His talents and hard work brought him financial success, but he always took the view that he did not own the money, he was just minding it, and he saw the establishment of a charitable foundation as a way of ensuring that the money could continue to help people for generations to come. A self-made man whose experiences inspired a wish to help others, his life was an uplifting example of success against great odds.
18 George Alexander Foundation board minutes, 6 December 2001.
19 William Owen-Jones to Dorothy Scott, 2 May 2002.
20 Jemma Saunders, 2015 George Alexander Foundation Scholar.
21 Samuel Baldock, 2008 George Alexander Foundation Scholar.
Author's Note
This short biography is based primarily on a 73-page autobiography written by George Alexander in the late 1990s, which told his story from his birth in London in 1910 to the formation of the Neta business in the late 1940s. The information in the memoir was supplemented by two interviews with George Alexander in September 2005 and archival research. It is noteworthy that all his statements of fact that could be verified from other sources proved to be entirely accurate.
About the Author
Peter Yule is a Research Fellow of the History Department of the University of Melbourne. He has written widely on Australian economic and social history. Among his books are Ian Potter: Financier and Philanthropist, The Royal Children's Hospital: A History of Faith, Science and Love (winner of best print publication, 2000 Victorian Community History Awards) and Carlton: A History (winner of best collaborative/community work, 2005 Victorian Community History Awards).
The George Alexander Foundation
The Ian Potter Foundation Ltd is trustee for The George Alexander Foundation, established by Mr Alexander in 1972 to provide grants for public charitable purposes in Australia.
Reflecting the Founder's special interests, The George Alexander Foundation has an emphasis on helping talented young people, especially those experiencing economic disadvantage, to achieve educational and employment goals.
Under the terms of the deed of The George Alexander Foundation and the taxation laws, The George Alexander Foundation can only make grants to organisations with both deductible gift recipient (DGR) and tax concession charity (TCC) status.
Geroge Alexander encouraged all those interested in helping others to take action so that they can enjoy seeing it happen in their lifetimes. For further information on how this can be done, contact Philanthropy Australia.
