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The Smith Family Endowment

Create a lasting legacy for young Australians in need

a school girl holding books in the library smiling

Your generosity can create opportunities that last well beyond your lifetime. The Children’s Future Education Endowment is The Smith Family’s long‑term education endowment fund, designed for people who want their giving to support young Australians for generations to come.

By contributing, you help ensure that children experiencing educational inequality caused by poverty can access the targeted educational support they need to stay engaged at school and build brighter futures.

Your gift is preserved in perpetuity, with investment income supporting students each year through our evidence‑based Learning for Life program. This means your commitment continues to open doors long after the initial donation.

For those considering legacy giving in education, the Children’s Future Education Endowment is a powerful way to reflect your values and give many more children the opportunity to change their future.

Reach out to our team

How the Children’s Future Education Endowment works

The Children’s Future Education Endowment was established to provide long‑term, sustainable funding so The Smith Family can continue supporting Australian families for the next 100 years and beyond.

When you give to our education endowment fund, your gift is invested through a professional external fund manager, and the income it generates provides Learning for Life scholarships in perpetuity. These scholarships offer a proven combination of financial, personal and practical support – recognising that children impacted by poverty often need extra support to succeed at school.

The Smith Family has a comprehensive Investment Policy for managing the corpus of the Endowment. Perpetual Private has supported the Endowment since its inception and was selected due to its strong reputation and expertise in the philanthropic sector. Your principal gift is preserved, continuing to generate income for The Smith Family each year. Your donation, therefore, expresses a deep commitment to supporting our purpose and shared belief that education truly has the power to transform young lives.

Three primary school students looking at computer
See how your gift to the Children’s Future Education Endowment
creates long-term impact for young Australians in need.
How it works

Invest in a legacy that supports future generations

Two primary students and laptop

Donations to the Children’s Future Education Endowment begin at $250,000. You can choose to split this amount over a period of up to five years. Once established, there is the opportunity to contribute additional funds at any time.

You’ll also have the opportunity to name your Endowment gift, for example, ‘The Wilson Family Scholarship’ – creating an enduring legacy. Some donors choose their family name, while others honour a loved one. With your consent, The Smith Family can publicly acknowledge your generosity or you may remain anonymous.

If you’re considering a gift below the Endowment level, we’d still be deeply grateful for your support and would be delighted to explore other meaningful ways you could make an impact.

Our mother's legacy

Our mother, Hannah, was a volunteer with The Smith Family for 25 years.
She devoted most of her time to helping people experiencing
disadvantage. As a result, when she passed away, it was our intention to
support The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program, so we placed
all the funds from the sale of her home with The Smith Family.

It was proposed by both of us that the funds should be invested to
enable the greatest benefit. We asked that the large deposit we made
be invested for a perpetual fund in our mother’s name. As a result,
the Children’s Future Education Endowment was established,
and we were the first donors.

Growing up without the support needed to succeed in school
leaves children without the education needed to succeed in life.
With support from The Smith Family, they should be able to
obtain a good job, and if they eventually have children,
those children should not need the help they received.

The work of The Smith Family resonates with us because investing in
the future of children in need helps break the cycle of poverty.
Being able to see the results from attending talks by the graduates
who have been helped is of great importance to us. 

For others who might be considering supporting children experiencing
disadvantage through The Smith Family, know that this will help
future generations of families. But most of all, children who had
no say in the circumstances they were born into will be able to
develop and take their place in life with a better chance of success.
Phillip Isaacs OAM and Ernest Isaacs, Endowment donors
Supporter of The Smith Family

The scale of educational inequality in Australia

Student holding pink folder looking over shoulder

Every child deserves the chance to be their best – no matter their circumstances. But for 1.2 million young Australians,1 poverty stands in the way.

Through no fault of their own, children growing up in disadvantage face daily challenges that can prevent them from achieving all they’re capable of.

The risk factors that lead to educational inequality can begin in a child’s early years and continue throughout school. Despite the resilience and commitment of parents, the contributors to disadvantage are complex. Without the right support at the right time, the effects can be long-term and intergenerational.

Education provides a pathway out of poverty – empowering future generations of young Australians.

Helping Australian children, families, and our nation

One of the most effective ways to break the cycle of poverty is to provide young people with targeted long-term support that helps them achieve educationally.

Through our Learning for Life program, we support students to attend school, to stay engaged and motivated to complete Year 12 and to go on to further study or work. We walk alongside these young people, as we know that supporting a child from an early age gives them the best chance of success.

This long-term approach helps both the child and their family. And ultimately, our society benefits when children living in poverty become thriving, productive citizens. Independent studies estimate that each student who completes Year 12 saves the community around $1 million over their lifetime compared to an early school leaver.2
Secondary student and tutor

Children are our future

At The Smith Family, we believe in the unlimited potential of children and young people in our nation. We believe in the great power of education to help young people fully realise their potential, and we believe in the extraordinary generosity of the Australian people.

Those things combined can make an enormous difference.

Watch this video to find out more about our work and how you can play a vital role.

drawing of a gift box wrapped with red and white striped wrapping paper and tied with a red ribbon forming a bow at the top. The box and bow are outlined in blue
If you’d like to find out more about the Children’s Future Education Endowment, please contact our Philanthropy team by email or call us on 02 9085 7164.
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More ways to support

Frequently Asked Questions about The Smith Family Endowment

1 Davidson, P; Bradbury, B; and Wong, M (2023), Poverty in Australia 2023: Who is affected, Poverty and Inequality Partnership Report no. 20. Australian Council of Social Service and UNSW Sydney.
2 Lamb S and Huo S (2024). The costs of failing to be inclusive: An analysis based on education in Australia. Downes P et al (Eds). The Routledge International Handbook of equity and inclusion in education.