Queensland Public Trustee (QPT) is well known for making Wills at no cost to Queenslanders – something it has been doing since 1916. What fewer people may know is that QPT provides many other services to the Sunshine State, one of which is as the trustee of more than 20 charitable perpetual trusts.
Those trusts, which include the Queensland Community Fund (QCF), the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation (QATSIF), the Lady Bowen Trust and the Forde Foundation, assist some of Queensland’s most vulnerable people, either directly or by supporting charities with much-needed grants to fund their grassroots work.
What’s a charitable perpetual trust?
A trust is a legal structure that holds money, property or assets for the benefit of beneficiaries. A charitable perpetual trust holds money, called ‘capital’, which is invested. The earnings on those investments are then distributed by the trust for charitable purposes. The intention of a charitable perpetual trust is that its capital stays the same or grows, so it can keep producing earnings and the trust can continue distributing funds to good causes ‘perpetually’.
Charitable perpetual trusts’ capital commonly come from three sources: a single, large donation by an individual, combined donations from many people or a lump sum provided by the government or another organisation such as a business.
As a trustee, QPT’s role is to protect a trust’s capital, while managing its investment to deliver the highest amount of earnings that can be safely made without putting the capital at risk, and so ensuring that the charitable intent of the trust is honoured for decades to come.
How much money do QPT’s charitable trusts distribute?
QPT’s four highest-profile charitable trusts – QCF, QATSIF, the Lady Bowen Trust and the Forde Foundation – awarded grants totalling more than $9 million to individuals and charities in 2024-25.
The grants helped people facing or experiencing homelessness move toward a more stable accommodation situation, paid for Queenslanders who grew up in care or in an institution to better their lives through treatment, personal development and employment training, provided scholarships to thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students and contributed to work done by charities in a range of areas across the state.
How to apply for a grant from QPT’s charitable trusts
Charitable perpetual trusts usually distribute what are called ‘grants’, which are funds that are earmarked for a specific charitable purpose and do not have to be repaid. Each trust has one or more ‘grant rounds’ every year. A grand round is the period in which a trust is open for applications to receive a grant.
The Forde Foundation, for example, has six grant rounds each year of about six weeks per round. QATSIF, on the other hand, receives scholarship applications in a grant round that starts in May and finishes in August, so the funds can be provided to students ahead of the following year of school.
To make it easier for Queenslanders to apply for a grant for themselves, a loved one or someone they care for, or a charity they are involved in, QPT has created a simple handout with information on who can apply for a grant from QCF, QATSIF, the Lady Bowen Trust and the Forde Foundation, what those grants are for and where to find more information and make an application.