Foundation for the WA Museum

Your support for the WA Museum makes all the difference

The Foundation for the WA Museum mobilises, harnesses, and directs your support for the Western Australian Museum to increase the Museum's cultural, scientific, educational, and social impact and help secure its long-term financial sustainability. By supporting the Foundation, you are supporting five key pillars of the WA Museum's work:

Research and Fieldwork  
The WA Museum is heavily involved in research projects investigating the rich human history, biodiversity, and geodiversity of Western Australia. This includes the recent excavations of a nearly complete Diprotodon skeleton at Du Boulay Creek in 2023, as seen in the above image with the Western Australian Museum palaeontology team. 

Collections and Acquisitions   
The WA Museum collection reflects contributions from the WA community and the findings of scientific research since its inception in 1897.

Education, Learning and Outreach   
Museums play a crucial role in fostering learning, creativity, and critical thinking, particularly among young audiences.

Exhibitions and Storytelling  
The WA Museum exhibition program brings to life important themes including ‘Being Western Australian’ - celebrating the diversity of our people; ‘Discovering Western Australia’ - providing a gateway to our incredible State; and ‘Exploring the world’ - defining Western Australia’s place in the world. Woven throughout each exhibition are the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, recognising the primary rights of Australia’s first peoples in practicing and expressing their cultural heritage.

State-wide Activities  
Through the Museum of the Great Southern, the Museum of the Goldfields and the Museum of Geraldton, together with the Gascoyne Aboriginal Heritage and Cultural Centre in Carnarvon - Gwoonwardu Mia - WA Museum shares a wealth of stories about the regions, its people, extraordinary landscapes and its place in the world. WA Museum also delivers outreach programs for communities state-wide who are not able to visit any of the Museum sites.

Ways to support the WA Museum through the Foundation for the WA Museum

The support and generosity of individual donors, families, businesses, corporate organisations and community foundations continue to positively impact the activities of the Foundation. In a rapidly changing world, further support helps the Museum innovate and evolve, providing future generations with the knowledge and context they need to succeed.

  • Donate: Help WA Museum now and into the future with a meaningful, important gift that makes a real difference for generations to come. 
  • Corporate Partnerships: Align your corporate impact and brand with WA Museum's scientific, social and cultural impact across WA. 
  • Leave a Gift in Your Will: Show your generosity and commitment by leaving a lasting legacy to WA Museum in your will. 
  • Events: Join the Foundation at a range of events that showcase the diversity of the work of the WA Museum and the Foundation's support.

What Happens to Your Gift?

All donations to the Foundation are directed through the Discovery Endowment Fund and are invested to provide long-term funding to the WA Museum.

The Discovery Endowment Fund is a self-sustaining source of funding for WA Museum. With the Fund's principal growing through philanthropic support and invested in perpetuity, a portion of the 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.

Each year, based on the Museum’s priorities and the Discovery Endowment Fund's investment earnings, funds are made available to the WA Museum through the Foundation's Annual Grants Program. Within the framework of the Foundation's five support pillars, WA Museum independently directs how the annual grant funding is allocated to programs, projects, initiatives, or acquisitions.

The Foundation's aim is to continue to grow the Discovery Endowment Fund in order to continue to provide regular annual grants to the Museum, and to grow the grant amount over time. The Foundation is actively seeking to grow corporate and private support for the Discovery Endowment Fund.

With ongoing philanthropic and corporate support and a low-risk, long-term focused investment strategy, the Discovery Endowment Fund will be able to provide growing annual returns to the WA Museum in perpetuity.

Find out more about the work of the Foundation for the WA Museum at https://www.fwam.com.au/welcome or sign up to their e-newsletter at https://www.fwam.com.au/news

(08) 6552 7474 | foundation@fwam.com.au | fwam.com.au | @foundationforthewamuseum

Founding Partners

Foundation for the WA Museum

The Founding Partners share a passion for the diversity of Western Australia’s natural, historical and future stories and programs.

 

Independently, they have invested in the Foundation for the WA Museum through its Discovery Endowment Fund, leaving a significant cultural footprint in our State.

Minderoo

Rio Tinto

Stan Perron Charitable Foundation

Tianqi Lithium

Wesfarmers

The Woodside Energy logo