JBWere Dec 14 report on PAFs shows giving of estimated $1.7 billion in 2014

JBWere's latest report on Private Ancilliary Funds finds record distributions in 2014

Some key findings

  ·        There are now 1,240 PAFs operating across Australia with a post GFC record number established in 2014.

·      New South Wales saw its highest ever year of new PAFs and now has 42% of all PAFs.

·         Family involvement and particularly the engagement of children is proving an important driver for the use of structured giving such as PAFs. This extends to all areas of their operations including distribution and investment decisions and it provides an ideal broad learning environment, often for both generations.

·         Distributions from PAFs have grown to record levels reaching $251million in 2012 and estimated to exceed a cumulative $1.7billion in 2014. The strong and consistent growth in distributions has highlighted the value of having a dedicated philanthropic corpus through variable financial market conditions.

·         PAFs continue to distribute around 9% of assets annually, well in excess of the minimum 5% required, with the average PAF distributing around $250,000 each year.

·         Welfare still dominates as the most popular cause for distributions with a 28% share in 2012 and an estimated total to date of $500m since PAFs began. Health and research enjoyed good gains in 2012 while culture slipped although it still sees support from PAFs well above the proportion seen in broader giving measures.

·         The overall PAF corpus jumped to $2.9billion in 2012 and with an increase in new PAFs established since, plus financial market gains, is estimated to be currently around $4billion.