2016 Lord Mayor Charitable Trust Dinner |

For more than 50 years, the Trust’s fundraising efforts have improved the wellbeing of the most marginalised, vulnerable members of the Brisbane community.

Established in the 1960s, the Trust continues the good work of the Lord Mayor whose mission is to improve the liveability of all Brisbane residents. The Trust supports charitable organisations under the governance of a Trust deed and guided by a board of eight Trustees, including the Lady Mayoress, Chairperson of the Trust. The Trust’s work supports charities that assist people suffering from disability, homelessness, mental illness, drug or alcohol addiction, trauma, abuse or neglect.

Uniquely, every dollar donated to the Trust is re-given to a wide variety of charities working hard to provide vital community services and to address pressing social needs. The Trust supports charities through two annual grants rounds, each application capped at $10,000; an Easter Appeal, involving Easter egg donations; and a Christmas Appeal, involving donations of toys, food vouchers and small cash grants up to $2,000.

Augmenting this annual giving program is a commitment to supporting priority causes through a medium-term, major grants process. This approach enables the Trust to make a significant donation to a single recipient whose work is focussed on addressing a particular and pressing social need. In the next four years, the Trust’s goal is to award a major grant to a suitably worthy charity working to support the Brisbane community in the area of disability.

Corporate partners, community groups and individual benefactors are confident donating to the Trust because of its ability to identify charities in genuine need of support. The Trust supports lower profile, generally under-funded charities based on a thorough assessment of each applicant’s financial needs and community benefits. This ‘due diligence’ process ensures support is only allocated to the most appropriate and worthy recipients.