What our Alumni say about Fintona

Although we cannot envisage how our lives might have turned out had we done this, or not done that, I have alsways considered myself lucky to have received a Fintona scholarship.The six years I spent at Fintona are much of who I am today.

Jacqueline Carr (2006)

Giving to Fintona

Why do we need your involvement?

Fintona was founded on philanthropy. In 1961 Miss Margaret Cunningham, Fintona's Principal at the time, gave the gift of the deeds of the School to the Fintona Girls' School Company. On her death in 1984, Miss Cunningham left a major part of her estate, to the School. Her bequest was used to establish the Margaret Cunningham Endowment Fund. The Fund has the sole aim of assisting the Fintona Board of Management to ‘preserve, improve, develop, and maintain the standards, services, property and facilities of Fintona'.

In 2000, the Board authorised the incorporation of the Fund, and Tourmont Incorporated was established. The charter of the Endowment Fund embraces support of educational, social, cultural and sporting activities; scholarships and bursaries; property, building and equipment. Distributions have been of enormous benefit to Fintona in a variety of projects over the years. Often the distributions have been unannounced, but there have been more obvious contributions such as the internal refurbishment and external maintenance of Tourmont. A significant commitment of the Fund was the purchase of the Balwyn Road property which the School has now converted to the new Early Learning Centre.

Capital Appeals

School fees cover the expense of operating a school, rather than of capital projects, although donations made to the Building Fund with fees are dedicated to such works. Large and occasional projects often require funding beyond the scope of fee structures. Over the years, due to generous involvement and donations, the Elizabeth Butt Building, the Music School and, more recently, the Early Learning Centre and the Margaret Ross Centre have all been made possible by Capital Appeals. Often when a new building is planned, an Appeal will be launched to highlight the project and to ask families, friends and past students to directly financially support the specific project. In 2002, we launched our latest Capital Appeal for the Margaret Ross Centre, and resulting from your involvement we will see the completion of this exciting project in early 2010.

Annual Giving

In 2008, we relaunched our Annual Giving Appeal. With the involvement of many families and past students we were able to fund the majority of the Junior School Garden Project. The garden had been designed by Andrew Laidlaw, responsible for the Ian Potter Childrens' Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens. This project reached out to many of our families and Alumni, who generously supported the project, and the young students at Fintona's Junior School are now enjoying their beautiful, new garden. In 2009/10 we are focusing our Annual Giving on our Scholarship program. Many students have been able to benefit from a Fintona education, because of this program. In our Annual Giving Brochure, we have asked for your involvement to support the scholarship program so it may continue to grow strongly and provide support for other Fintonians.

Bequests

A bequest of legacy is a gift which can be either named or anonymous. It is contained within a Will and specifically reserves part of an estate for a particular beneficiary. A bequest can comprise of personal assets such as shares or bonds, property, a fixed sum of money or a percentage of an estate. A general bequest is the most flexible gift that you can make to Fintona. It enables the School to respond to changes that occur in education. In the past, such gifts have provided scholarships, state of the art capital equipment and facilities. A bequest to the Margaret Cunningham Endowment Fund will be everlasting. Such gifts give year after year because the money is invested in perpetuity and the earnings used, where they are needed, to add to the School.

For other options or to receive more information about bequests, Capital Appeals or Annual Giving, please contact Karen Brown, Development Officer, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays on (03) 9880 4421 or email kbrown@fintona.vic.edu.au