Gardiner Foundation

We are a self-sustaining philanthropic organisation. Our vision is vibrant, thriving Victorian dairy communities where people want to live, work and invest. We aim to achieve this through smart investments and strategic partnerships. We were started in 2000 by the Victorian Government in partnership with Victorian dairy farmers, processors and manufacturing groups (under Section 65 of the Dairy Act 2000). Gardiner was created with $62m in funding from the sale of assets, including milk brands, as part of the deregulation of the dairy industry. Our purpose is the responsible management of funds, as the income generated supports our investments in key projects aimed at maximising benefits across all sectors of the Victorian dairy industry and its communities. Since we were established, we’ve proudly contributed over $90m to projects that benefit the dairy industry and communities and grown the initial fund to over $173m. We aim to make a significant impact by investing in people in dairy, community development, research and innovation and supporting industry. We welcome opportunities to work with people, communities, businesses and organisations to make this happen.