“As a boy growing up I had nothing, and I was determined that I would do better when I grew up.”

Stan Perron AC

History

The Stan Perron Charitable Foundation was established in 1978 to support a range of charitable causes especially those related to the health and wellbeing of Western Australian children.

In creating one of the first foundations of its type in Western Australia, Mr Perron always made it clear that his inspiration was his own childhood of hardship and struggle.

Enduring the struggles of the depression years on the Western Australian goldfields, the story of Stan Perron is one of a man who quite literally lifted himself from rags to riches through hard work, sheer will, vision and business acumen.

Starting out as a boy selling pieces of hand-crafted wooden fretwork to miners, the Perron Group, as it is now known, advanced through earthmoving, mining, property development, vehicle wholesaling and the distribution of automotive spare parts.

Today the Group generates earnings from a wide-ranging portfolio of assets and business activities stretched throughout Australia including:

• Shopping centres

• Office towers

• Land development

• Toyota WA vehicle and automotive parts & accessories wholesale distribution

• Infrastructure investments including airports

• Mining royalties

• Managed equities

Established by a businessman renowned for his commitment to ethical behaviour, the Perron Group operates with a passionate commitment to its vision and a set of values personified by Mr Perron over his lifetime. This is known simply as The Perron Way.

It was his desire to help others that inspired Mr Perron’s lifetime involvement with Rotary and its ideal of service above self that ultimately led to the establishment in 1978 of The Stan Perron Charitable Foundation.

The Foundation provides a formal structure to facilitate Mr Perron’s long-standing ambition, that after his death, future generations would be able to continue his legacy of philanthropy.

The relationship between the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation and Perron Group is significant. Under a structure put in place on the passing of Mr Perron in November 2018, the Perron Group pays dividends to the Foundation for charitable purposes.

As of June 2024, the Foundation has donated over $180 million since its inception in 1978, with additional commitments of $145 million to be disbursed progressively over the next 10 years.

Funds continue to be given to organisations and individuals with a significant focus on Mr Perron’s heartfelt desire to help Western Australian children battling illness, disability and disadvantage.

Importantly, Mr Perron was strongly of the view that small gifts matter as much as larger contributions. In his own words, the contributions which gave him the most satisfaction were those often followed by a handwritten letter from an individual writing to say thank you for a few thousand dollars graciously given and gratefully received.

The Stan Perron Charitable Foundation operates with a clear vision: To continue Stan Perron’s legacy of generous giving to the benefit of the Western Australian community, the disadvantaged and others who need a helping hand.

Underpinning this vision is the funding criteria set out by Mr Perron before his sad passing in 2018.

They provide the basis of the Foundation’s Funding Guidelines, which are used by the Board of Directors to assess requests for assistance. Central to these Guidelines are clear instructions from Mr Perron on the causes closest to his heart and also the principles that the Directors should consider in the distribution of funds.

These Funding Guidelines are very much shaped by those causes and considerations, which formed the majority of Mr Perron’s significant giving during his lifetime and include commitments to:

• Needs within the Western Australian community

• The health and well-being of children

• Cultural enrichment

• Funding in partnership with beneficiaries rather than financing an entire project

• Ensuring accountability from beneficiaries in how funds are spent

• Funding solutions that focus on the origins of a problem

These Funding Guidelines provide the basis for the more detailed criteria which is set out in the ‘Apply’ sections of this website.

“I always remember every donation I make, what it is for, what we are proposing to achieve and I always follow up. It is important that donation recipients have a sense of responsibility for the support given and provide maximum value for the funds provided.”

Stan Perron AC

The Foundation is overseen by a Board of Directors who are guided in their consideration of requests for funding as outlined in the Founder’s Intent.

Elizabeth Perron AM (Executive Chair)

Ms Perron has served on the Foundation Board since 2014, working closely with Mr Perron over more recent years in assisting in the management of the Foundation. Following the passing of Mr Perron in November 2018, Ms Perron was appointed Chair of the Foundation. In addition, Ms Perron has served as a Non-Executive Director of Perron Group Limited since 1996 and is the Chair of Toyota WA. Ms Perron has extensive experience in the commercial property industry, encompassing roles in Commercial Leasing, Retail Property Management and Marketing for Hooker Corporate, Knight Frank and Jones Lang LaSalle.

Ross Ledger AM

Mr Ledger was appointed to the Foundation Board in July 1988 and was a Director of Perron Group Limited from 1991 until retiring June 2020. He has more than 50 years’ experience in accounting and business and is a partner in the firm R E Ledger Pty Ltd, which has operated since 1990 and, prior to this, was a partner of Hendry Rae & Court for 25 years. He is a Life Member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and a member of the Taxation Institute of Australia. He is also a Director of Australian Wildlife Conservancy and the Spinifex Charitable Trust. In 2020, Mr Ledger was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant services to the accounting profession, to wildlife conservation and to the community.

Steven Carulli

Mr Carulli was appointed to the Foundation Board in April 2001. A Director of Perron Group since 2010, Mr Carulli is the former Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle (WA) with more than 30 years commercial property experience and was a member of the company’s Australian Management Committee. Mr Carulli is the immediate past Chairman of the WA Building Services Board and a member of the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Board. He is also a Non-Executive Director of two nationally based IT firms.

Dr Gervase Chaney

Mr Chaney was appointed to the Foundation Board in August 2018. A fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians, Professor Chaney is a distinguished medical practitioner and academic formerly serving as Dean of the School of Medicine at Notre Dame University, Fremantle. Dr Chaney has extensive professional experience in senior roles in children’s health including as Executive Director Commissioning the new Perth Children’s Hospital and Executive Director of Princess Margaret Hospital for Children.

Ross Robertson

Mr Robertson was appointed to the Foundation Board in December 2018. He is the former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Perron Group and currently an Executive Director of Perron Group Limited. Mr Robertson is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Fiona Payne

Ms Payne was appointed to the Foundation Board in October 2021. Originally trained as a physiotherapist, Ms Payne worked with sick and disabled children in hospitals and community-based organisations. She has since served in multiple roles as an executive and board member, notably in the not-for-profit community sector, health and disability services.

Consistent with the Foundation’s vision and Funding Guidelines, our logo has a story that connects its design to the heritage of the Foundation, Perron Group and our Founder STAN PERRON AC.

Symbolic of Stan Perron’s strength of character in overcoming humble beginnings as a child to achieving great success in business, the brand mark uses an abstract form of a “dandelion seed pod”.

The humble dandelion flower can thrive in the toughest conditions, able to grow practically anywhere there is a pinch of soil or a crack in the pavement.

The colours of the logo are significant, with each coloured seed representing the various areas of business that together form the Perron Group:

• Red for Toyota WA

• Vibrant blue for commercial and retail property

• Green for land development

• Earthy brown for mining royalties

• Bright pink for philanthropy and The Perron Way

Emblematic of a well known tradition for children to blow on dandelion seed pods to make a wish, the “blown seeds” represent all the donations made over time by the Foundation to the variety of causes to which assistance is granted - spreading benefit throughout the community and helping those in need.

For guidelines on the use of the Foundation’s logo, please contact communications@perronfoundation.org.au