Leave a legacy
Include a gift in your Will to help the next generation of Queenslanders
Remembering The John Villiers Trust in your Will is a powerful way of giving hope to the next generation of Queenslanders to build stronger regional communities that can continue to be the beating heart of Queensland long into the future.
John Villiers was a proud Queenslander and an even prouder Central Queenslander. He understood the unique challenges that face Queensland communities. When he died, he thoughtfully left some of the wealth he had accumulated during his lifetime to establish a philanthropic trust. The John Villiers Trust is a wonderful way to support and benefit charities working to help fellow Queenslanders. It is believed that John was inspired by one of his relatives, Helen Macpherson Smith. Helen also left a generous final gift in her own Will to establish a philanthropic trust, which today greatly benefits charitable purposes in Victoria.
John’s love for the rural, regional, and remote communities at the heart of Queensland lives on through The John Villiers Trust. Since it was established in 2002, the Trust has grown from his original generous bequest gift of $6.75 million to hold investments worth over $24 million in 2024. The Trust has awarded more than $10 million in grants to charitable organisations working to build stronger communities throughout regional and rural Queensland.
If you share John Villiers’ vision to create a stronger, more resilient country Queensland communities, a gift to The John Villiers Trust in your Will can help us continue to create powerful, positive, long-term change for generations to come.
You do not need to be wealthy to leave a kind gift in your Will. Even a gift of a modest percentage of your estate can make a big difference to the future of Queensland. Each and every single gift in Will that we receive can help to build stronger Queensland communities and support your fellow Queenslanders long into the future.
With your help and thoughtfulness, together we can create better, fairer, and more resilient communities for the next generation of Queenslanders that come after us.
Read more about how The John Villiers Trust is helping grow strong Queensland communities.
Create a lasting impact
After the passing of John Villiers in 2002, his trusted associate Darvell Hutchinson AM became the inaugural Trustee of The John Villiers Trust. Darvell went on to serve as Chair of the Trust for 17 years, dedicated to honouring John’s wish to leave a lasting legacy that would continue to support Queenslanders.
Darvell was also passionate about recognising the scale of need – and opportunity – in rural, regional and remote Queensland communities, and amplifying their voices. Even after retiring from the Board, he continued to donate to the Trust, helping to support the vital work of our grantees.
Darvell’s family likewise recognised and valued the positive, long-lasting impact of JVT and the organisations we support and partner with. Sadly, Darvell passed in early 2022. In recognition of Darvell’s close affinity with JVT and his love of country Queensland, his family made a donation to JVT in his memory, continuing his legacy of support.
“Our father was very proud of the work of The John Villiers Trust, and its focus on contributing to Queensland’s country communities,” Darvell’s children – Jane, Sally and Martin – said.
“It means so much to us to be able to give this gift in his name, and know his legacy will live on through the excellent work of the Trust.”
We are grateful to the Hutchinson family for their thoughtful gift and we will continue to honour Darvell’s contribution to JVT.
Gifts like these help JVT to support more organisations working to make a difference for children and youth in country Queensland. As one of the few philanthropic organisations dedicated to supporting young people outside of the south-east corner of the state, our work is vital so country communities can continue to thrive. Leaving a gift in memory of a loved one or making a bequest to JVT leaves a lasting legacy that will make a real difference for generations to come.
Leave a Legacy FAQs
Country Queensland communities are the backbone and cultural heart of our state. We know Queenslanders form the beating heart of this amazing State. But sadly, we also know that many of our communities are struggling and facing enormous challenges at the moment.
Queenslanders living in rural, regional, and remote areas of the State have less access to allied health, education, digital connectivity, and employment and business opportunities. Country Queensland children are starting life already lagging behind their city peers and, without support, many of them will never have a chance to catch up or reach their full potential in the future.
Your legacy gift to The John Villiers Trust will help fund grants to organisations that are helping build better, fairer, and more resilient communities throughout Queensland.
Since the Trust was established in 2002 by John’s kind legacy, we have partnered with a wide variety of organisations and community groups across the State to help deliver community-led programs and services. We all want a bright, sustainable future for the whole of Queensland.
Your bequest will be added to the growing funds held by the Trust and all of the gifts received from other proud Queenslanders. This will ensure that your special gift has a greatest possible impact on delivering support to Queensland’s next generation. Your bequest gift can end up doing more to help the future of Queensland than any one of us could have alone.
The John Villiers Trust is an independent, non-profit organisation with a track record of sound financial management. Since 2002, John Villiers’ original bequest gift of $6.75 million that he left in his own Will has now grown to include investments of over $24 million, with more $10 million in grants awarded to date.
Your gift will be combined with funds from the Trust’s capital and other donors to help grow the support we can provide to organisations that are working to create better, fairer, and more resilient communities throughout country Queensland. This means your gift, whatever its size, will make a big impact for your fellow Queenslanders.
Read more about the types of grants your gift could help fund.
If you have chosen to include a gift to The John Villiers Trust in your Will, or would like to learn more please contact our CEO, Lea-Anne Bradley on 07 3102 9588 or [email protected].
We suggest the following wording for your gift:
“I give <percentage>% of my estate to The John Villiers Trust (ABN 83 508 203 243) for its general charitable purposes, and declare that the receipt of the secretary or other proper officer of the Trust shall be sufficient discharge to my executor or trustee.”
We recommend you obtain appropriate legal and financial advice about the best possible way to support the next generation of Queenslanders through including a gift to the Trust in your Will. However you decide to support the Trust in your Will, it is important that you talk to your loved ones about your decision and your commitment to helping secure the future of Queensland. This will help to ensure that everyone around you understands your decision and that your final wishes to support your fellow Queenslanders are carried out correctly.
If you do not have a Will, a solicitor that is used to drafting Wills is the best person to help you write one that properly reflects your final wishes. If you already have a Will, it may be relatively quick and inexpensive to update it to include your gift to the Trust and a solicitor can advise you of the best way to do this.
If you feel comfortable, you can also choose to create your Will online yourself. There are a number of online Will providers available. A good quality free online Will can be created through Gathered Here. Visit their website for more information about just how easy it is for you to create a lasting legacy and include a gift to the Trust – https://www.gatheredhere.com.au/make-a-will-online
Please do let us know if you choose to include a gift to The John Villiers Trust in your Will. We would love to be able to thank you personally for your thoughtful decision, express our gratitude and learn more about how you would like your gift to be used.
There are several different types of gifts that you could choose to include in your Will. However, we recommend that you consider leaving the Trust a percentage of the wealth held in your estate, also known as a residuary gift. This means that, once you have provided for your friends and family, the remainder, or a percentage of the remainder, of your estate is gifted to The John Villiers Trust.
Leaving even a modest percentage of your estate to the Trust means that your loved ones will be well provided for, whilst also supporting your favourite Queensland causes. You can create a powerful legacy, providing positive, long-term change for the future generations of country Queenslanders that will live in this amazing State, long after you have gone.
You may choose to gift your whole estate, a larger percentage of your estate, or a specified amount or asset (such as funds from your superannuation, some or all of your share portfolio or perhaps some real estate). Whatever type of gift to the Trust that you decide upon including in your Will, your legacy for Queenslanders will live on, long after you’ve gone.
The John Villiers Trust (ABN 83 508 203 243) is a Public Ancillary Fund, registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient by the Australian Taxation Office.
We are proud Queenslanders that truly believe in making country Queensland a special and thriving place for strong communities to grow.
Our mission is supporting charitable organisations that carry out transformative work with communities, helping Queenslanders overcome some of the challenges of living in rural, regional, and remote areas of Queensland.
Any bequest gifts that we receive for our general purposes are invested alongside the funds from the Trusts’ capital and any other charitable donations we receive. This ensures that your clients’ bequest gifts can have a greater impact on improving the lives of the next generation of proud Queenslanders than any of us could have on our own.
If you or your clients would like to speak with someone at The John Villiers Trust about the possibility of creating a lasting legacy for a specific purpose, special reason or particular region of Queensland, please call our CEO, Lea-Anne Bradley on 07 3102 9588 or [email protected] for a confidential discussion.
