Genesis and Objects of the Foundation

The death of Jan Pentland was a huge loss. Many, many people wanted to honour Jan’s memory in some way and continue her legacy. Setting up a Foundation is a tangible way to do this.  The Foundation therefore focuses on financial counselling, the field to which Jan contributed so much in pursuit of the great passion of her life—the promotion of social justice for the disadvantaged.

The Foundation will be able to accept tax deductible donations. To qualify for this status, the Foundation must be a public fund established for charitable purposes, with the sole purpose of providing money for scholarships, bursaries or prizes.

Given Jan's life work, therefore, the Foundation provides financial assistance— the Jan Pentland Scholarship­—to enable a person to study financial counselling or a related discipline. There is a specific focus on assisting a person who otherwise would not be able to undertake this study. The funding may also include costs such as professional supervision, travel or accommodation.

Approach

The Foundation is planned to be self-funding in perpetuity. The aim is to set aside a sufficient corpus such that the interest on that amount would be enough to fund the annual scholarship.

Announcement of the Award

The Jan Pentland Scholarship is awarded on an annual basis. The recipient is announced at a dinner coinciding with the annual conference of the Australian Financial Counselling and Credit Reform Association.

Operation

Administrative support to the Foundation is provided by the Australian Financial Counselling and Credit Reform Association. Jan was on the Executive of AFCCRA for over a decade, including ten years as chair.

Pro Bono Support

Mallesons Stephen Jaques provide pro bono legal advice to the Foundation. Deloitte provide pro bono audit and accountancy services.