Mackay Community Foundation celebrates milestone gift
Since 2003, the Mackay Community Foundation (MCF) has served the diverse communities of the Mackay region on Queensland’s Coral Coast, an area that some 118,000 people call home.
In February, the foundation received a gift of a commercial property in Mackay’s city centre donated by local businessman David Denny. This single most significant donation to MCF since its establishment has increased the Foundation’s assets under management to more than $3 million.
“This will allow us to increase our grants to local community groups and project to over $120,000 each year,” said MCF Chair Frances Easton at the announcement of the milestone gift on 17 March.
The Foundation acknowledged all its leading supporters at that event with an ‘honour wall’ – a scaled up version of an honour board, and a wonderfully bold and creative way of saying ‘thank you’. The MCF honour wall has been installed at the entrance to the public library in Mackay’s CBD, a space provided by the Mackay Regional Council where people from all walks of life and all parts of town will regularly see the names of their fellow citizens who have contributed to MCF, the Denny Family included.
The donated property, now named Foundation House, has been re-fitted for MCF’s use with generous in-kind support from many local businesses. The ground floor is tenanted by Hearing Australia a long-term tenant and the 1st floor currently vacant will endeavour to be rented to non-profit tenants, with all net proceeds added to the Foundation’s funding pool to be distributed to for-purpose organisations in the community. In other words, it’s a gift that keeps on giving.
When donors are happy to have their giving publicly acknowledged, like on the MCF honour wall, the impact of their gift goes well beyond the immediate financial benefit. It also creates inspiration for other Mackay residents who may be considering how best to support their local community.
The wall features names of donors who have established a named fund with the Foundation, and those who have provided over $10,000 in-kind support – ordinary local people, families and businesses that have done something extraordinarily generous. It demonstrates to others that anyone can get involved with helping make their community a better place in this way.
While MCF’s aim is to grow their funds under management to $10 million by 2040, Frances Easton believes that this may be achieved even sooner with the help of Mackay’s generous community.
It is a common experience that building momentum for a community foundation can take ten or twenty years. “People need to know that we’re here, they need to understand what we do and how, and they need to trust us to steward their contributions responsibly and safely for the long term, respecting their wishes,” says Frances Easton. Building trust is key, and that takes time.
The Mackay region’s prosperity has been built on mining, the sugar industry, and tourism, but life is not without its challenges for some, as the Mackay’s Vital Signs report published by the Foundation in 2019 has highlighted. A well-endowed community foundation with strong local support will be a fantastic asset for people living in the region.