Speaking about the choice of Antonia Ruffell for the top job, Executive Chairman, Chris Cuffe, said that she was eminently qualified for the role, with a wealth of experience in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors in Australia and the UK. 

“Antonia has over 15 years’ experience in leadership, fundraising, business development, marketing and philanthropy, most recently as Philanthropy Services Manager at Perpetual,” he said.  Prior to Perpetual, Ms Ruffell held senior roles with the Royal Agricultural Society Foundation, Mission Australia, The Prince’s Trust in the UK and ING Australia.

In her most recent role, Ms Ruffell was responsible for establishing and administering Private Ancillary Funds, overseeing a public ancillary fund and advising philanthropists on effective grantmaking.

“The skills Antonia has built up in her career and her experience in philanthropy makes her ideally suited to the role of CEO”, he said.  “I am very much looking forward to working with her to help promote the importance of philanthropy in changing people’s lives.”

Mr Cuffe went on to thank Ms Ruffell’s predecessor, Rachel McLennan, for her invaluable contribution to APS.  “Rachael was the first employee and the founding CEO and we will miss her passion and enthusiasm, without which APS would not be where it is today,” he said. 

Mr Cuffe concluded by saying how much he was looking forward to the next stage in APS’s development, pointing to the fact that the recent Philanthropy Australia conference highlighted the fact that awareness of giving is increasing at every level in Australia. 

June 2012 saw the creation of the 1000th Private Ancillary Fund (PAF), a significant milestone in Australian philanthropy. 

“We are striving now to deepen that awareness and commitment across the community,” he said. “I am confident that Antonia will add immense value to our efforts.” 

APS currently has 50 foundations under management, offering wealthy individuals, families and business the ability to donate tax effectively to a trust they have created.  The trust then disburses funds to a range of eligible not-for-profit organisations over a chosen time frame.

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One thousand individuals, families and companies have now made a commitment to support the Australian community through these simple philanthropic investment funds.

The one thousandth PAF was endorsed by the ATO last week (21 June).

Chris Cuffe, Chairman and founder of APS, said the creation of the 1000th fund was evidence of a growing tradition of philanthropy among wealthier Australians.

“The continued success of private ancillary funds is crucial to engage the next generation of philanthropists,” he said.

“I am also pleased to announce that respected business leader and philanthropist, David Gonski, has accepted our invitation to join the board of Australian Philanthropic Services and will do so within the next few months. David has been a long time pioneer in philanthropy in this country. He championed the creation of Prescribed Private Funds in 2001, and has maintained his involvement in the sector ever since. We are very much looking forward to working with him.”

In 2010, PAFs distributed almost $200m to the community across welfare, education, culture research and other sectors. At 30 June, 2010, PAFs held $2.3b in funds.

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