As a young girl, Tara Hunt was deeply influenced by a nun at her school who gave an enormous amount of time and energy back to her local community. Although the sister had no material wealth to share, her generosity of spirit remained with Tara and when she was fortunate to receive an inheritance, shaped part of her inspiration to give back to society.

After reading an article about Private Ancillary Funds (or PPFs as they were then called), Tara undertook some research and decided a Private Ancillary Fund (PAF) would allow her to invest the shares she had without selling them, give away an amount each year, and then keep giving. It provided Tara, her husband and their children with a reason to discuss giving.

The first project that Tara ever supported is still very dear to her heart. A journalist friend suggested that she go to Cairns, to visit a women’s service that had been in operation for 30 years and was in danger of closure. The centre provides maternity support, health and accommodation to Indigenous women across Cape York and had never received private funding before Tara stepped in. Needing a carport to get their buses off the street, Tara’s assistance helped keep the centre’s doors open. From that initial donation, Tara has visited the centre many times over the years, meeting the staff who work there and the women who use the centre’s services, and has been profoundly affected by the community she is now a part of.

‘I never expected to receive the rewards I have experienced at all. The connections we’ve made, the people we’ve met along the way have been a total delight.’

Tara also relishes the opportunity to teach her children that the world of privilege in which they live, is not shared by everyone. The Hunt Foundation PAF is a powerful tool for Tara and her husband to help instil the joys of giving in their daughters and help them to realise that buying a bigger car or house is not what’s important ‘ that to give, and not just money, is what happiness and satisfaction is all about.

Tara’s daughters recently attended the opening of a brand new $2 million centre with her in Cairns and are now coming to her with ideas about where their annual donation should be made.

And while Tara does not expect her children to take over the PAF when they are older, she hopes that their early exposure to philanthropy will teach them how to contribute to the world, in their own way.

Although Tara finds it hard to adequately portray the difference between just giving and being involved, it’s the extraordinary people she’s met, the life lessons for her children, the unforgettable eight hour trip in a troop carrier across the desert to visit a project. These are the priceless benefits of Tara’s giving, benefits that she could never have foreseen and that make her want to just keep giving.

Ask Tara what her Private Ancillary Fund means to her, and her answer is disarmingly direct.

‘The most rewarding thing I have done and our family has done together. Just go for it’