Trucking magnate Lindsay Fox and his wife, Paula, are donating $100 million to the National Gallery of Victoria for the construction of the NGV Contemporary. Four bequests bolster the list: Marie Knispel, $26 million; Jennie Mackenzie, $20 million; Arthur and Hanni Tittman, $16.8 million; and Louise Berta Hanson Dyer, $14.6 million.
David Fox, Lindsay Fox and Paula Fox at the 2022 announcement of their $100m pledge to the NGV. Getty
McLeod notes the Productivity Commission’s current inquiry into philanthropy will consider how bequests can be improved to make them more popular. “At the moment, about 7 per cent of estates leave a bequest to charity in Australia whereas it’s double that internationally.”
The government has asked the Productivity Commission to report back on how donations to charities can be boosted to meet its goal of doubling philanthropic giving by 2030. A final report will be handed down next year.
“High-end philanthropy is doing fantastically well and I contrast that to mass-market donations, which are struggling,” McLeod says. Mass-market donations rose 3 per cent in 2022 following two years of declines but are still below pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest JBWere NAB charitable giving index.
McLeod says giving in Australia is changing as the largest philanthropists become more activist, targeting causes such as climate change, mental health and effective government.
“They want to improve the way the country operates and find solutions rather than just patch things up,” he says.
The May issue of AFR Magazine, the Philanthropy issue, is out on Friday, April 28 inside The Australian Financial Review. Follow AFR Mag on Twitter and Instagram.
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