BUILDING OUR FUTURE
Gifts in Wills at Melbourne Grammar School are central to our past and crucial to our future.
A message from our Chair
When, as a young boy, I sat the scholarship examination for Melbourne Grammar School, I could not have imagined the impact it would have on my life.
The School recognised my potential and awarded me a scholarship, which was a significant moment in my life, as it gave me an opportunity that eventually led to a rewarding business and sporting career.
I was fortunate to benefit from the generosity and forethought of previous generations who were determined to support the School and the outstanding education it offers.
A Melbourne Grammar School education provides a holistic education and grounding that is simply exceptional.
The combination of my own experiences and the School’s outstanding reputation ensured that my wife and I wanted our son and grandchildren to have similar opportunities.
I recognise that others are not so fortunate yet have the same determination to provide an exceptional education for their families. With my mother, Margaret – who greatly appreciated the value of the scholarship I received – I’ve established the Michelmore Family Scholarship and why I have left a gift in my Will to Melbourne Grammar School.
Philanthropy has been central to Melbourne Grammar School since our establishment. It is the pillar that has allowed countless families to aspire to a wonderful education and it has enriched the School’s community for more than 150 years.
Today’s students similarly deserve an opportunity to cultivate a lifelong love of learning, with all the benefits that it brings to them and their communities. Talented and enthusiastic students deserve a School with modern learning environments, brilliant teachers, and curious and driven peers.
I’m proud to be an Old Melburnian, and proud to give back to the School that’s given me so much.
When you’re preparing or updating your Will – and after providing for your family and friends – I hope you will join me in leaving a gift to the School. All gifts, no matter the size, make a difference. There is no better legacy to leave.
Andrew Michelmore AO Chair of Council
The Melbourne Grammar Future Fund
The Melbourne Grammar Future Fund is an endowment that supports innovative educational initiatives, scholarships, our boarding community, our exceptional staff and our inspiring learning environments. It is a fund that benefits every student at the School.
Through the Fund, your gift in Will contributes to Melbourne Grammar School’s financial security and ensures that the School continues to provide life-changing experiences for its students.
We pass, the School remains.
Alfred Deakin (OM 1871)
Australia’s second Prime Minister
Provides stability, ensuring that the School can invest in programs to the benefit of all students.
Offers agility, guaranteeing the resources to meet unexpected needs and seize new opportunities.
Embodies responsibility, recognising that we’ve been here for generations, and that we will remain here – remain strong and vibrant – for generations to come.
Underpins our ability to sustain excellence and educational leadership.
The opportunities afforded to me thanks to the generosity and legacy of a bequest are unparalleled. Every day at Melbourne Grammar School is an adventure, where I can aim to excel in the classroom, in drama, in sport or through public speaking. Coming to this School has changed the course of my life.
Hugh Ryan (OM 2024)
The Melbourne Grammar Future Fund
Boarding at Melbourne Grammar School has enabled me to become a much greater individual. I have been challenged academically and in my sporting interests.
I will forever be grateful for the experiences I have had at the School, which have allowed me to become a leader and to contribute to the wider School community. I will take the lessons I have learnt at the School with me through my life and, hopefully, one day I will be able to give something back.
Carl Ziebarth (OM 2023)
Your gift in Will
We encourage you to seek independent legal advice when preparing or updating your Will, and to consult with your loved ones. Doing so helps ensure your wishes are articulated clearly in your Will, and that those wishes can be carried out as intended when your Will comes into effect.
In giving to the School in your Will, you can choose from several types of gifts. These include:
Residual gift
The remainder of the estate after all expenses have been paid.
Percentage gift
A nominated percentage of your whole estate.
Pecuniary gift
A specific sum of money, shareholdings, works of art, or real estate.
SUGGESTED WORDING
To make a gift in your Will to Melbourne Grammar School, we suggest the following wording:
I bequeath to Melbourne Grammar School Residual gift / Percentage of my estate / specific sum of money absolutely to Melbourne Grammar School.
Melbourne Grammar Future Fund: ABN 38955707429
Melbourne Grammar School of 355 St Kilda Road, Melbourne VIC 3004
I direct that the receipt of the Headmaster, Finance Director or other proper officer for the time being of the School is an absolute discharge to my executor and Trustee.
CODICIL
If you’ve already made a Will, adding a codicil is a simple way to include a gift in your Will to Melbourne Grammar School. To add us to your existing Will, please contact us to receive our codicil form.
Looking back over the 60+ years since leaving Grammar in 1961, I see three main pillars of support that have stood me in good stead to the present day.
First is the support of my family, especially that of my parents and wife. Second, my steadfast belief in a Creator whose love has never faltered. Third is the excellent grounding in mathematics and sciences that I was given by the dedicated teaching staff of Grammar, and the Headmaster’s instilling of respect for fellow man.
These three pillars were the source of my successful career in tertiary education and astronomical discovery. It is important that I now give back to the school in my Will the same measure of support I was so fortunate to receive.
Andrew Prentice (OM 1961)
Witherby Tower Society
The Witherby Tower Society, founded in 1995, brings together the valued members of our community who have remembered the school in their Will.
As part of the Society, you’ll be part of a community that believes in the power of education to create extraordinary possibilities in the lives of young people, and through them, in the communities in which they live.
Members will be invited to special events and have opportunities to stay connected to the School, to other like-minded donors and – crucially – to our incredible students.
10 Melbourne Grammar School
Please join us as we set out to realise our vision of guiding and inspiring future aspirations and future generations.
To explore some of the ways you can get more involved, please contact:
+61 3 9865 7680 kmbarnett@mgs.vic.edu.au Contact us
Kate Barnett Director of Community Relations
Carl Junot
Head of Development
+61 3 9865 7683 cljunot@mgs.vic.edu.au
Roni Baird
Senior Philanthropy Manager
+61 3 9865 7632 vgbaird@mgs.vic.edu.au
Chris Weaver
Senior Philanthropy Manager
+61 3 9865 7633 cdweaver@mgs.vic.edu.au
Melbourne Grammar School
355 St Kilda Road, Melbourne VIC 3004 Australia
+61 3 9865 7555 | mgs@mgs.vic.edu.au
mgs.vic.edu.au