The history of South Gippsland Community Health Foundation
The forerunner to the South Gippsland Community Health foundation was the South Gippsland Hospital Community Foundation set up in 2012. The Board of South Gippsland Hospital(SGH) believed that bequests left in favour of SGH would be better protected for community use if left to a foundation rather than directly to the Hospital. In 2012 governments were looking at rationalisation of rural hospital services and it was possible that bequests made at that time may not have been realised for many years. It was possible that in the period between a bequest to the Hospital been made and a will being enacted the government may have closed the Hospital. If this were the case then monies held in a foundation would be protected for use by other health services in our own community.
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The Board of SGH moved to set up a foundation to be called South Gippsland Hospital Community Foundation. The Foundation is operated by a public company limited by guarantee acting in accordance with its own Trust Deed . The Board of Directors of the Company were originally ten community and hospital people appointed by the Board of SGH .
Over the last ten years the Foundation has received in excess of $1 million in bequests and has distributed in excess of $500,000 to aid health services in our community .Often an investment by the Foundation has been matched by government or other funding . Three years ago the Foundation granted $274,000 to SGH to purchase the lease of the Banksia Lodge building from Prom Coast Aged Care(PCAC). SGH have since received government grants in excess of $1.5 million to allow for the refurbishment of that facility and to operate the aged day care service there . Similarly recently a grant of $175,000 to PCAC matched by $75,000 from their own funds has allowed PCAC to fit out three new residential rooms in their facility . More recently $47,000 matched by $150,000 from Gippsland Health Alliance has allowed SGH to upgrade their IT and communication facilities . The Foundation holds an amount of capital that is reserved and could be used in a crisis by SGH .
Last year the Board of the Foundation decided to approach SGH and PCAC to expand the Foundation’s role to accept bequests and donations for both SGH and PCAC .Both organisations endorsed the proposal and the newly named South Gippsland Health Community Foundation was formed . Donors or benefactors are able to give or leave money to the Foundation tagged for the benefit of SGH ,PCAC or general community health initiatives .The money dedicated for use by any of these three purposes may only be used for that purpose provided that the body the money is given for still exists as a not for profit entity .
To reflect the expanded operations of the Foundation the Board now has two representatives from PCAC , two from SGH ,one from Foster Medical Centre and five Community Representatives and meets quarterly. The Foundation intends to position itself as a major funding source for medical and aged care services in our community .
The Foundation has Deductable Gifts Registration with the Australian Taxation Office and will shortly have ACNC registration . The advantage of bequeathing money to the Foundation instead of giving funds directly to SGH or PCAC is that bequests often take years to be realised and in that period it is possible the entity which the money was left directly to may no longer exist or is controlled by an organisation outside our community whereas money controlled by the Foundation remains within our community. The Foundation has Deductible Gifts Registration with the Australian Taxation Office and is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
