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Reflecting on the aftermath of the December – February period in eastern Australia, one cannot help but be moved by the way in which the wider Australian community has rallied to assist those directly impacted by the terrible bushfires.
Prior to that, we had already seen the generous Australian community forge ahead with help for those in rural regions suffering the crippling effects of a multi-year drought.
Now, we see mother nature throwing another curveball for some on the east coast with torrential rain and windstorms.
It is not hard to sit back and feel somewhat helpless and wonder how as an individual we can make any difference to such significant events, and many people directly affected.
In keeping with our firm family values, Hewison Private Wealth has a long history of philanthropy and helping those in need through the provision of pro-bono advice. We took this a step further in 2015 and established the Hewison Foundation as a more formal conduit for helping those less fortunate in our community. Our business supports the foundation both financially and through pro-bono services to the charity.
Since then, the Foundation has made donations of over $55,000 to Sacred Heart Mission towards their innovative Journey 2 Social Inclusion program, designed to help break the cycle of homelessness, and their Women’s House facility that provides services to women who find themselves homeless and in need of support…often as a result of domestic violence.
More recently, with the help of our generous supporters, we were able to grant $25,776 to the Red Cross and $8,592 to Wildlife Victoria in a quick response to the recent bushfires in Victoria.
Our vision for the Hewison Foundation is to grow our corpus of funds so that we can increase the number of grants made to grassroots organisations each year supporting those in our community who are most in need. Through our fundraising efforts, donations and the prudent investment of funds the Foundation has a current corpus of just over $340,000. Our aim is to boost this figure higher so that we can have a greater impact on more organisations in the future and create a sustainable legacy.
Each year, we host a charity golf day at the Woodlands Golf Course; all proceeds go to the Hewison Foundation to fund future grants. This year’s golf day is being held on Friday 27th March, with some sponsorship and playing places still available. If you are interested in joining us to make a difference at this year’s annual Hewison Foundation Golf, register to play individually or gather a team of four, it’s simple to REGISTER HERE If you would like more information about sponsorship you can find out more about hole sponsorships HERE
The Hewison Foundation also hosts a fun Trivia Night in November each year, the proceeds contribute to our annual grants to the Sacred Heart Mission – this is a great night supported by our business, our wider business networks, and our clients. Keep an eye out for more information later in the year as the next Trivia night approaches.
As a Private Client Adviser, one of the most rewarding parts of my role is when we’re able to help clients put their own philanthropic arrangements in place, tailored to their passions and wishes. For some, this is still setting up their own Private Ancillary Fund, for others, it is obtaining guidance on alternative options that also provide access to a community of like-minded individuals.
Hewison Private Wealth actively manages assets for a number of not-for-profit organisations, providing regular reports to the boards of those organisations and ensuring assets are managed in a way that helps those organisations meet their objectives, both in the short and long term.
As a business and as advisers we exist in a wider community. We are acutely aware that there are those in our community less fortunate or impacted by events out of their control. Through our efforts in the not-for-profit sector and our own Hewison Foundation we aim to make a small contribution to making our wider community a better place for all.
I hope to see you at our golf day, and please make contact if you would like to find out more about our services in the not for profit and philanthropy sector.
Hewison Private Wealth is a Melbourne based independent financial planning firm. Our financial advisers are highly qualified wealth managers and specialise in self managed super funds (SMSF), financial planning, retirement planning advice and investment portfolio management. If you would like to speak to a financial adviser on how you can secure your financial future please contact us 03 8548 4800, email [email protected] or visit www.hewison.com.auPlease note: The advice provided above is general information only and individuals should seek specialised advice from a qualified financial advisor. The views in this blog are those of the individual and may not represent the general opinion of the firm. Please contact Hewison Private Wealth for more information.