Finance and Investments
Nambucca Valley, Alice Payne Photography
The Numbers for 2022
$208.7m
total corpus
$10.3m
approved in FY22
$204.4m
distributed since inception
The Board extend their appreciation to Trent Duvall, Quang Dang and KPMG who provide their audit services to VFFF on an honorary basis.
Using the Yale Distribution Model, Directors set a granting target of $10.66m for VFFF in 2022/23.
| VFFF | VFELF | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 $m | 2020/21 $m | 2021/22 $m | 2020/21 $m |
|
| Corpus | 208.7 | 220.0 | 6.5 | 7.6 |
| Grants approved | 10.3 | 9.9 | 0.75 | 0.4 |
| Cumulative grants | 204.4 | 194.1 | 8.05 | 7.3 |
VFFF Corpus and Grants
*Note: Historical grants represent total cash distributions in that year. From FY20 onwards the amount represents new grants approved in that year.
Investment Strategy
The Corpus of VFFF and VFELF is invested in a diversified portfolio overseen by Cambooya Services Pty Limited assisted by the Cambooya Investment Committee and JANA Asset Consultants. The VFFF Portfolio targets a long-term investment objective of CPI+5% and has met or exceeded its investment target over the five- and seven-year periods at 30 June 2022.
In 2014 VFFF set a goal to have 5% of Corpus invested in impact investments. These are defined as investments that generate measurable social impact alongside financial returns, however are expected to yield a below-market level of return for the risk taken. These investments are viewed as an extension of the philanthropic work of VFFF.
Impact Investments active at 30 June 2022 are:
| Name | Amount Invested $m | Inception | Asset Class | Social and Financial Returns to Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Box Enterprises – Bangalow | 2.0 | July 2021 | Credit | 4.24% p.a. Funding for the purchase of a property to provide long-term premises to the Lighthouse Laundry business. |
| Family Place | 0.45 | May 2021 | Property | 3.9% p.a. Purchase of a property to provide long-term premises to The Family Place, a community centre supporting families in Logan, Queensland. |
| Loan to the Crusader Union of Australia | 3.0 | September 2019 | Credit | 2.87% p.a. Loan to the Crusader Union of Australia to help fund the development of their campsite facilities in Lake Macquarie, NSW. CRU Camps is the largest provider of Christian holiday camps in NSW, welcoming over 4000 campers each year to over 75 camps. |
| Loan to Moore College | 2.0 | June 2016 | Credit | 2.79% p.a. Loan to Moore College to assist in the construction of a new learning centre, which provides in-depth theological training to prepare students for Christian ministry and mission. |
| Yume Group Holdings Pty Ltd | 0.8 | November 2016 | Private Equity (Venture Capital) | This is an early-stage investment in a food technology platform. Yume has produced social returns, including 4.2m kilograms of food redistributed to other businesses and charities, 16.8m kilograms of Co2-equivalent embedded in the food redistributed and 882m litres of embodied water in the food redistributed. |
With respect to the remaining 95% of the Corpus, VFFF strives to provide capital to organisations that treat stakeholders, the community and the environment with respect. We prefer investments that have positive social and environment impacts while considering competitive risk and return characteristics. All managers and direct investments are meaningfully reviewed through an environmental, social and governance lens.
VFFF’s thinking continues to evolve on the distinction we make between the 5% and the 95% of Corpus. We believe it is now possible to achieve competitive financial returns without sacrificing social returns from thoughtfully selected investments. We will seek to transition our portfolio over time to managers and investments which provide financial returns that are forecast for the portfolio to exceed CPI + 5% and with measurable social returns.
As an example of this approach, in FY21 VFFF committed to invest $8m with Conscious Investment Management Summer Housing Specialist Disability Accommodation. They provide purpose-built housing for Australians living with severe disability. We have also changed Australian equities manager selections by replacing managers with high exposure to gambling with managers who are more closely aligned with the values of VFFF.
Asset Allocation
Highlight: Ethni
Ethni’s approach recognises that young women of colour are best placed to identify, develop and deliver solutions to the challenges they face. Their collaborative approach ensures that these young women are active participants across every aspect of their work, from co-designing programs to sitting on the Board. The organisation offers a range of initiatives that build young women’s leadership capacity and enable them to gain practical experience giving back to community. For example, Our Voices Our Stories enables young women to work as facilitators delivering cross-cultural and interfaith awareness training in schools, sharing their own stories and experiences to educate the next generation. The Ethni team applies a strengths-based approach across all aspects of their work, recognising that with hardship comes resilience, empathy and perseverance – some of the key characteristics of great leaders.
As part of the funding process, VFFF travelled to Queensland to spend time with Ethni Founder/Chief Executive Officer Kim Rollason-Nokes and her team. This was also an opportunity to meet some of Ethni’s young people, including Board representative Elizabeth Thomas and Program Coordinator Miriel Nyange, and truly understand the organisation’s approach, strengths, and challenges. We soon realised that Ethni was offering high quality programs and wraparound support on limited funding. Team members were putting in countless “love hours” to ensure no young person missed out on support or opportunities to get involved. This presented an opportunity for VFFF to play a value-adding role by securing Ethni’s core for three years. A grant of $540,000 over three years provides the team with the time and resources to respond to ever-increasing demand and continue to demonstrate the significant impact of their work.
"Our partnership with VFFF has been an incredible turning point for Ethni. For 5 years we have been building a strong foundation. We have worked closely with our community of young women to understand their needs and co-created initiatives alongside them that are meaningful and effective. The funding from VFFF will catapult us into the next exciting stage of growth.”