Scotch College has thrived on the philanthropic commitment of its community. Scotch College is a product of the Enlightenment which swept through Scotland in the 18th Century. Our founder, the Reverend James Forbes, campaigned strongly for a system of public education to be established in the colony of Victoria. He worked tirelessly to establish Scotch College, which opened its doors on 6 October 1851.
Forbes was passionate about the importance of education to the future of Australia, and espoused the notion that each generation should be better than the one before. Scotch has always sought to live up to Forbes’ belief in the necessity for a broad, general and scientific education based on Christian principles.
The Scotch College of today is a modern and dynamic Australian school, inspired by the values of our founder, and based firmly on the crucial role we believe education plays in empowering young people to take control of their lives.
The Scotch College Foundation (Inc.) was established in 1973 as an initiative of the Principal of the day, Colin Healey, the Old Scotch Collegians’ Association, and a number of prominent Old Boys, including Sir Laurence Muir (’42), Bib Stillwell (’44), Bruce Lithgow (’46) and Brian Randall (’52).
The Foundation is the organisation through which financial support for the school is directed and funds distributed. The Foundation’s broad objective is to anticipate and provide for the funding needs of Scotch College over and above what is provided by school fees and government grants. Income is derived from donations and gifts directed to the school through any of the Foundation’s fundraising programs.
Funds are directed to the development of the school and to support the School’s scholarship and bursary program, including the Building Fund, the Library Fund, the Archive/Museum Fund, the Foundation Scholarship Fund and the Indigenous Scholarship Fund. Recently the Foundation conducted the successful $20 million Capital Campaign to fund the construction of the Sir Zelman Cowen Centre for Science at Scotch.
The operation of the Foundation within the Development Office at Scotch is funded by the school. The President of the Foundation is Assoc Prof Doug Lording (’64), and the Executive Director is Tim Shearer (’85).
In addition to its Major Gifts and Gifts Programs, the Foundation also runs the School’s Annual Giving Program, which commenced in 1977 and allows every member of the School community to support the School financially.
This year the Foundation is making a concerted effort to assist families who have been financially impacted by the events of 2020 by seeking support for the Scotch College School Fee Assistance Fund.
Please note that donations to this fund are NOT tax deductible. Tax deductible donations can be made to a variety of other funds.
A new online Foundation donation platform can be accessed here:
Further information on Foundation Membership, the Bequest Program, the Life Support at Scotch Program, Governance and the Board here:
