About Us « The Pinnacle Foundation

The Pinnacle Foundation has been established to provide scholarships to lesbian, gay, transexual, queer, intersex and bisexual youth who are marginalised or disadvantaged. We saw a big need in the LGBTIQ community that was not being met.

About Us

“The sudden and complete withdrawal of both financial and emotional support of my parents was a direct response to the realisation on their part that I had a partner who was a female. I was in a situation with little savings, having been unprepared for the events which took place… I must now work almost full time hours in hospitality in conjunction with a full time study load in order to put myself in a financially viable situation.” 21 year old Lesbian applicant

“I grew up in the country and came out as same sex attracted when I was 16. Due to differences in opinion of my sexuality with my father, I left home. Moving in with a friend that I had met, I found myself a job, and put myself back into High School, completing 11 and 12 Year. I was diagnosed with depression, which had a major impact on my studies…” 23 year old Gay applicant

With so much determination and unrealised potential out there we’re about providing financial and mentoring support to LGBTIQ youth who may not be able to achieve their educational or career goals on their own. Pinnacle aims to give young LGBTIQs the chance to achieve their full potential.

No matter what your interest or vocation, we might be able to help. Want to complete HSC year or ready to start TAFE or university we can help, irrespective if you want to be a teacher, nurse, musician, architect, chef, lawyer or engineer? Whatever you aspire to, we may be able to offer the financial support and resources to help you get there.

We know that some young LGBTIQs can face a tough time coming out to their families, friends and schools, with some finding themselves without the money and support needed to keep up their studies. That’s where we come in.

We know from our own stories and what our applicants tell us that having completed an education can make a big difference in this world.

“I see study as setting myself up as a life-long learner, gaining wisdom from wonder and about fostering my thirst and love for knowledge.”

We know that with hope for the future it’s possible to leave disappointment and rejection problems behind and move on to fulfilling and productive lives. We want to help encourage young LGBTIQs to make something of their lives so that they can act as future role models for others. We want to light the spark within!

So we’ve set up The Pinnacle Foundation with the aim of having enough money to fund many scholarships every year and with the continuing support of our Community we can strengthen our national presence.

Our strategy and priorities reflect our aspirations in a very practical and achievable way and emphasis team work and collaborative efforts’ and provide a link to the information below which visitors can review.

Our Strategy and Priorities for 2012 -2017

Strategy: Increase community and corporate awareness of Pinnacle’s aims and strategy to maintain and grow a strong productive donor and volunteer base

Priority: Build corporate participation through partnerships involving volunteers, services in kind, employment and placement opportunities for scholars and donations.

§ Performance Measure : have 10 national corporates engaged in fostering ties with the Foundation.

Priority: Establish and support regional committees in each state to build equitable representation and involvement across Australia

§ Performance Measure: Have 5 regional committees established and effectively operating across Australia

Priority: Continue to strengthen our social media networks so that stakeholder engagement is stronger

§ Performance Measure: Implement most of Accenture’s recommendations over time

Priority: Create a national mentor registration database for potential mentors and ensure that their relationship with the Foundation is deepened over time.

§ Performance Measure: Our Mentor base has 500 GLBTIQ Australians registered

Continue to improve overall fiscal responsibility by increasing revenue and maintaining the Foundation’s ongoing viability

Priority: Establish an Endowment Fund with management and investment guidelines

§ Performance Measure: annual reports demonstrates it is operating with its established guidelines

Priority: implement a targeted marketing campaign for major donors

§ Performance Measure: Achieve a commitment of $5m

Expand scholar growth opportunities for professional and career development using a broad range of professional leaders.

Priority: Build the leadership and career capabilities of Scholars

§ Performance Measure: Corporates and Mentors provide vocational placement for at least 6 past scholars and leadership seminar strengthens all Scholars’ skills.

The Pinnacle Board now has the great support of a volunteer Managing Committee, a bunch of people really committed to creating life-changing opportunities for LGBTIQ youth.

The good news is we are a registered charity with gift deductibility status. That means all your donations over $2 are tax deductible, so give generously. Our endowment fund can also handle any bequest you want to make!

If you’re into nitty-gritty details, Pinnacle has been established as a public company, limited by guarantee and registered under the Corporations Act 2001 (ACN 127 662 604 and ABN 81 127 662 604).