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In Australia, giving funds serve as a common vehicle for charitable giving, allowing individuals, families, and businesses to contribute tax-deductible donations to a fund, which are later distributed as grants to Deductible Gift Recipients (DGRs). Known as Public (PuAFs) or Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs) for tax purposes, the funds may also be strategically managed and invested to support long-term growth, thereby increasing the fund holder’s capacity for future donations.

Importantly, in February 2026, the Australian Government announced it will improve support for Australian charities by aligning and increasing the minimum annual distribution rate for both private and public giving funds to 6% (previously 4% for PuAFs and 5% for PAFs), and permitting a process of smoothing distributions over a three-year period.

As a DGR registered Australian charity that receives significant grants from giving funds, the team at So They Can welcomes these policy reforms. Giving funds have played a significant role in So They Can’s journey, and Australia’s domestic and international philanthropy more broadly.

For example, at So They Can, we have been working with Belinda Kerr and Adam Bennett, through their ‘80 Good Summers’ giving fund, since 2021. In the Australian Philanthropic Services’ latest Give and Grow Report, Belinda and Adam explained how their giving fund has enabled them ‘to [make] donations now while they are earning and can benefit from tax deductions, [but also] with the goal of building their fund to support even greater levels of giving throughout their retirement’. For Belinda and Adam, distributing grants via their giving fund to So They Can, in particular, was an obvious choice because of ‘So They Can’s programmatic focus on both reducing poverty via access to quality education in Kenya and Tanzania, but also gender equality through the “Keeping Girls in School” project.

So They Can has also been endorsed by the Australian Communities Foundation, who facilitate private giving fund disbursements to select DGR status charities. In their latest sectoral newsletter, ACF’s Philanthropy Team provided granting recommendations across three key themes: International Aid & Development, Social Inclusion & Justice, and Arts & Culture. They recommended So They Can because “with evidence-based, measurable, and scalable outcomes for children and communities, they are creating generational impact across East Africa”.

Ultimately, by raising the minimum distribution rate for giving funds, we believe that the wider Australian NFP sector will witness a necessary increase in charitable grants flowing to important causes. In our case, this will include additional and vital funds to combat poverty through education, community development, and gender equality in East Africa. The three-year smoothing mechanism may also support So They Can’s programs by allowing larger, one-off grants from giving funds for major projects, such as school infrastructure, while still meeting minimum distribution requirements over time.

 

We are grateful to the various giving funds that have supported So They Can’s work since our inception, and look forward to further policy reforms that support the development and expansion of Australia’s philanthropic market. This position is in line with Philanthropy Australia and the Australian International Development Network.