The Daylesford Foundation was founded in 2018 by Jim and Norma Foster, with a simple purpose: fostering the youth of Hepburn Shire.
It began with a simple hope
When Jim and Norma moved to the Daylesford region in retirement, it felt less like changing address and more like coming home. Norma’s great-great-grandfather opened the first school on Camp Street in 1872, and the family had spent many holidays in the area.
Like many people, they had given to children’s charities for years, but increasingly felt their giving should be local, for the families and children living alongside them who were doing it tough. They searched for a local charity with clear goals, strong governance, minimal overheads and the ability to respond quickly. When they couldn’t find one, they said, “Well then, let’s do it ourselves.”
The Hepburn Shire most visitors never see
Hepburn Shire is known for its historic townships, natural beauty, food and wineries. That’s true, but there’s another side. More than 300 households have an unmet need for affordable housing, while over 2,000 homes sit empty on any given night. More than one in three rental households are in rental stress, and rents have risen 51% in a decade (Participate Hepburn – Affordable Housing Hepburn Shire Council, 2023).
The Daylesford Foundation exists for the community that doesn’t appear in the tourism brochure.
What we do – Our Three Pillars
- Schools Support: funding across all 13 schools in the Shire, helping students access essential resources, health services, activities and literacy programs such as MiniLit and MacqLit.
- Scholarships: helping young people pursue university, TAFE, training, apprenticeships and employment, including through our partnership with YouThrive Victoria.
- Local Impact: helping local people through financial hardship, working with Child and Family Services (CAFS), Central Highlands Rural Health (CHRH) and Good Grub Club.
How we work
We have a volunteer board, no paid staff, and trusted local service providers who assess requests before they reach us. Our founders cover all operating costs, so every dollar donated goes directly to local families and programs.
Our values are Transparency, Generosity and Kindness. Every person we support is met with warmth and respect, and seen for their worth and potential.
Our impact since 2018
- Over 10,000 instances of support
- More than $1.2 million invested into our community
- All 13 schools across the Shire supported
- 34 scholarships awarded since 2022
- $324,584 in direct community support in FY2026
Our Journey
- 2018: The Daylesford Foundation was established and registered as a Charity with the ACNC.
2019: Made its first distributions, totalling $2,525, with five of the six recipients receiving laptop leasing and repair support in partnership with Daylesford Secondary College, beginning seven years of frontline partnership work.
2020: Expanded into health and food relief, funding Hepburn Regional Community Cheer, Daylesford Good Grub Club and Healthy Lunch Kitchen.
2022: Donated a car to the L2P Program to offer local learners access to a vehicle in partnership with Ballarat Foundation.
2023: Formalised the Schools Support program, now funding all 13 schools across Hepburn Shire.
2024: Took control of the $1.92 million Forever Fund, an endowment established by founders Jim and Norma Foster, now partnered with the Australian Communities Foundation.
2025: Passed $1 million in cumulative community distributions.
2026: Reached major growth and regional scale, distributing $324,822 in a single year and taking total giving since 2018 to $1,234,434.
A note from Norma Foster, Co-founder
Like many Melbournians, Jim and I did the semi-regular weekend trips up to Daylesford, always feeling an affinity with the area. But it wasn’t until our retirement, many years later that we were able to move here permanently.
Surprisingly, when researching family history in the early years I found both sides of my Australian family are from the area along with Jim’s grandfather from Bendigo. My great, great grandfather came to Daylesford with his family in the mid-1850s to meet up with his brothers. Samuel Verey was his name, and after purchasing land on Sullivan Street where he made many improvements such as planting trees he decided working on the land wasn’t for him and he moved on to his next project: opening up a school in Camp Street and becoming its Headmaster. His son Ebenezer (at aged 15) helped him in the school.
In 1875 the opening of the first public school, Daylesford Primary effectively closed Samuel’s school and he moved on to other endeavours. Many of my grandfather’s family members are buried in Campbell’s Creek. members are buried in Campbell’s Creek. I’ve heard the saying “You can’t really call yourself a local unless you’ve got relatives buried in the cemetery”. Perhaps Jim and I were destined to become locals!
Building our future
Through our Forever Fund, we’re building a $5 million endowment by 2030. Combined with our Helping Hepburn Fund, it will provide over $600,000 every year to support the young people of Hepburn Shire, indefinitely.