This year Melbourne Grammar School is celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the Grammar Foundation, which for the past five decades has provided strategic feedback, advocacy, and support for School fundraising.
Philanthropy has always been a part of the School. For example, between 1958 and 1968, School Council undertook a significant capital campaign, the Centenary Building Campaign.
Its outstanding success – raising $500,000 (equivalent today to more than $11m) – made it clear that the School community had an extraordinary resolve and faith in the mission of Melbourne Grammar.
The Foundation was codified six years later to further support new building initiatives, and to ensure the School would remain an impactful education experience with first-class standards.
There is no doubt that it is worthwhile for MGS not only to continue to provide the services it now provides, but to continue to improve those services. In fifty years’ time the value of MGS [should] be no less than it is now.
The Melburnian, 1974
A promise made
By formalising the School’s philanthropic community, the Foundation promised ongoing support towards financial independence – that Melbourne Grammar could continue to provide transformative education to talented and deserving students, regardless of their financial means or social circumstances.
A year later in 1975, inaugural president of the Grammar Foundation, Free Strickland AM, OBE KStJ (OM 1937), reiterated and confirmed this promise.
“[The Foundation is] ready to stand behind the School Council and to marshal the goodwill of all members of the School family,” Strickland said.
“If [the School] is to maintain its independence, if it is not to become a place only for the financially privileged, then we must – all of us, old boys, parents, staff, friends – become actively involved.”
At the time, the School held a high rate of 1 in 8 boys who received financial assistance.
Today, around 160 students are supported financially at any given time: 1 in 6 at Senior School, 1 in 12 at Wadhurst, and 1 in 3 boarders (inclusive of campus totals).
Only through the generosity and commitment of the School’s donors has this been possible.
Having welcomed more than 2600 members since its inception, the Foundation’s enduring legacy ensures that Melbourne Grammar’s commitment to excellence and accessibility will thrive for generations to come.
Any member of our school community who has donated more than $5000 (cumulatively) is a Grammar Foundation member.
The Foundation is led by a board of volunteers who provide strategic support for School fundraising.
