Malcolm and Tonya McCusker have boosted the assets of their family's charity by more than $175 million, tripling its holdings as they plan to increase philanthropic funding.
Malcolm and Tonya McCusker have boosted the assets of their family's charity by more than $175 million, almost tripling its holdings as they plan to increase philanthropic funding.
Net assets at the McCuskers' charity, The McCusker Charitable Foundation, jumped almost threefold to $298 million after they donated $60.7 million in cash and a 27.64 per cent stake in private company McCusker Holdings valued at $115 million.
McCusker Holdings is the family’s primary investment entity, which represents the bulk of the wealth originally generated from the Town & Country Building Society founded by Mr McCusker and his late father Sir James.
Based on the valuation in the foundation’s annual report for the year ending June 30, McCusker Holdings was worth $416 million, albeit the vast majority of its assets are ASX-listed shares subject to the vagaries of daily market prices.
The substantial change in asset base has not yet had a comparable impact on the foundation’s giving. It increased its donations to almost $5.9 million in 2022-23 financial year, up from more than $5.5 million in the previous corresponding period.
But Mr McCusker, who returned to the law a decade ago after a five years as Western Australia’s governor, said the purpose of the big donations was to give more.
“What has driven it really is we are keen to see worthy charitable bodies properly funded,” he said.
The McCusker Charitable Foundation has chiefly focused on funding medical research, with Lions Eye Institute, Ear Science Institute of Australia, Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research and Telethon being highlighted examples. The family’s efforts in that sector go back decades with early support for Alzheimer’s disease research, which culminated in the creation of the The McCusker Alzheimer’s Research Foundation in 2000 which was renamed the Australian Alzheimer’s Research Foundation in 2016.
It also has put money towards the arts sector and Mr McCusker was also enthusiastic about increasing support for the McCusker Centre for Citizenship, which helps students undertake internships at community organisations.
Mr McCusker said he had just finished a very positive meeting with the centre, which reported strong student demand.
“It is to encourage a sense of community among university students who are sent out as interns,” he said.
Through the University of Western Australia-based centre, students had provided a combined 300,000 hours of time to a wide range of community organisations, with 97 per cent reporting a favourable experience they were willing to recommend to others.
“We have a waiting list of students wanting to become interns, we obviously don’t want a waiting list,” Mr McCusker said regarding plans to increase funding to bolster the administration’s resources.
The McCuskers put $100 million into the foundation in 2017 and have used the ensuing investment income to fund their annual giving.
Aside from the recent donations, the foundation received about $17 million in income from dividends, share sales and bank interest.
Prior to the recent donations, the foundation had a small cash holding, with most of its money invested in a portfolio of nine ASX-listed stocks.
The equities in the portfolio, heavily weighted to major resources stocks, largely reflect the asset base of McCusker Holdings. For instance, Mineral Resources' annual report shows McCusker Holdings and McCusker Foundation owned 1.3 per cent of the listed company at August 9, in a three:two split between the private company and the charity.
At recent prices, that combined stake is worth almost $140 million, although Mr McCusker underscored the fact that assets owned by the charity are no longer his or his family’s.
One significant change from the last financial year is the charity no longer holds bank stocks, worth more than $18 million at June 30 2022. It has retained a stake in PYC Therapeutics which was worth more than $5 million at June 30 last year. Notably, McCusker Holdings remains a top 20 shareholder in Commonwealth Bank of Australia, with almost 1.4 million shares held in early August which would be worth $157 million at current prices.
The foundation also took a $1 million investment in new WA venture capital fund, Purpose Ventures.
McCusker Holdings also has some land holdings, although they are not a significant part of the portfolio, whereas the foundation does not report any land holdings.
The company’s ownership is split between Mr McCusker's interests and those of his sister, Carolyn, as well as, more recently, the foundation. Both siblings sit on the charity's board.
