The Discovery Endowment Fund and Annual Grant Program

92%

Learned something new at the "Dinosaurs of Patagonia" exhibition

85%

Had a positive overall experience at "Dinosaurs of Patagonia"

88%

Thought the exhibition was well produced and presented.

86%

Agree the WA Museum site they visited gave them a sense of joy, beauty and wonder

75%

Agree the WA Museum provides enjoyable and vibrant spaces for visitors 

83%

Would attend another WA Museum exhibition in future based on their experience. 

Your donation will last forever

When you donate to the Foundation for the WA Museum, your generous gift flows into the Discovery Endowment Fund for the WA Museum, where it is responsibly invested and continues to grow year after year.     

As the Discovery Endowment Fund grows over time, the grant amount we can provide to the WA Museum through the Foundation’s Annual Grant Program increases, financing some of the WA Museum’s most impactful programs and initiatives with a focus on:    

  • Collections and acquisitions   
  • Research and fieldwork 
  • Exhibitions and storytelling initiatives 
  • Education, learning and outreach programs  
  • State-wide projects and facilities.   

This enables the WA Museum to have a bigger social, scientific and cultural impact for the people of Western Australia.    

Our mission is to keep growing the Discovery Endowment Fund through the support of private donors and corporate partners, and by applying a low-risk, long-term investment strategy. This will ensure our annual grants are available to the WA Museum year after year to achieve the museum's priority programs in perpetuity.   

This way, your donation will last forever and be a powerful gift to the people of Western Australia. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an endowment fund?

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An endowment is a permanent, self-sustaining source of funding. In an endowment fund, the principal is invested in perpetuity and only a portion of the investment’s earnings is used each year to support the fund’s purpose. Any earnings in excess of this distribution are used to continue to grow the fund’s market value.

Why was the Discovery Endowment Fund established?

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The Discovery Endowment Fund was established to provide the Western Australian Museum with a source of grant funding independent of government funding and help secure its long-term future. 
 

How is the Discovery Endowment Fund managed?

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The Foundation’s Board includes several highly experienced investment professionals who are members of the Foundation’s Investment Committee and shape the Foundation’s investment strategy, working with commercial funds managers. The Investment Committee adheres a conservative investment strategy.

 

How can you support the Discovery Endowment Fund? 

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All donations to the Foundation are directed through the Discovery Endowment Fund. A portion of the Fund's investment earnings is used each year to support the WA Museum. The annual support to the Museum is provided through the Foundation's Annual Grant Program, which is aligned to the Foundation's five pillars of support for the Museum. 

What are the Foundation's five pillars of support for the WA Museum?

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You can find more information about the five WA Museum pillars we support on our page about the Foundation's impact. 

The Foundation for the WA Museum's Annual Grant Program

The Foundation aims to help secure the WA Museum’s long-term future and help WA Museum shape WA’s future for generations to come. Since the establishment of the Foundation for the WA Museum as an independent not-for-profit entity in 2017, the Foundation concentrated on building the principal of its endowment fund, the Discovery Endowment Fund.

Thanks to the support of the Foundation’s Founding Partners, other corporate partners and private philanthropic support, the Discovery Endowment Fund has grown to a size where a carefully calculated and measured return can start flowing to the Museum.

While the Foundation continues to focus on building endowment capital and securing further funding support, the Discovery Endowment Fund has grown to $30 million in funds under management and is now at a stage where a significant grant can be distributed to the WA Museum each year.

The Foundation’s Board has approved the Foundation’s Grant Distribution Policy, which paves the way for a significant, annual financial grant to be issued to the WA Museum from 2023 onwards. The WA Museum allocates the Foundation’s annual grant based on the Museum’s strategic priorities and the cultural, scientific or social impact of the funded initiative.