Indigenous Education & Rights

Supporting Indigenous education scholarships and community projects.

Refugees & Asylum Seekers

Funding advocacy and support for refugees and asylum seekers.

Overseas Aid & Relief

Helping global NGOs alleviating poverty and promoting a fairer world.

Community Welfare & the Arts

Donating to the Arts and charities helping the disadvantaged.

About the Trust

The Garrett Riggleman Trust is a Private Ancillary Fund donating to
humanitarian, artistic, and educational charities working for the common good

The Trust was founded in 2007 by John Garrett in memory of his father Allen G. Garrett and his father-in-law Leonard Riggleman. The purpose of the Trust is to perpetuate their memory by investing part of their financial legacy and donating the proceeds to humanitarian, artistic and educational causes with which they would have identified.

We support a range of charitable institutions through a targeted giving program. As a private ancillary fund under Australian law, we can only support registered charities which are themselves deductible gift recipients. Each year, we give to selected organisations which in our view are best equipped to further the charitable aims of the Trust.

We regret that we cannot respond to unsolicited requests for funding.

The Trust is a charity registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

Allen G. Garrett

Allen G. Garrett (1888-1976) was a London-born metallurgical chemist who migrated to Sydney in 1915. He founded Garrett and Davidson Pty Limited (later Matthey Garrett), refiners and assayers of precious metals; bullion merchants; respected suppliers to the Australian Mint; and manufacturers of specialised products for numerous trades and professions. From his youth,  he believed in sharing a substantial part of his income in the support of good causes in the country he came to love and made his own. Following his death his son, John Garrett, maintained this charitable tradition by giving away funds derived from his estate, in his name, to a wide variety of institutions and causes he supported.

Leonard Riggleman

Leonard Riggleman (1894-1983) was a Methodist minister and educator in the American state of West Virginia. He took over the running of a struggling independent liberal arts college during the Great Depression and during 33 years as its president, transformed it into a secure, respected institution that later became the University of Charleston. He came from a poor rural background, which valued hard work, service, and faith. These principles guided his life and his sharing of material wealth with others. His modest estate helped his descendants towards financial independence and increased their capacity to give greater amounts to causes he believed in.

John Garrett, Founder

Rev. Dr. John Garrett (1920-2011) was a Uniting Church minister, historian, teacher, and author. Ordained in 1946, he served the ecumenical movement as the first General Secretary of the Australian Council of Churches and as Communications Director of the World Council of Churches in Geneva. He was principal of Camden College, a theological seminary in Sydney, and taught church history at the Pacific Theological College in Suva, Fiji, where he lived from 1968 until the 1990s. He was a prolific author and described the vital role of Pacific Islanders in spreading Christianity throughout the Pacific in a three volume work beginning with To Live Among the Stars, described as a “standard for a generation”.

The Garrett Riggleman Trust
ABN 82 086 279 546

Stephen Garrett, Director
PO Box 665 Haberfield NSW 2045

We regret that we cannot respond to unsolicited requests for funding.