Ottomin Foundation Committee
Ottomin Foundation
The Ottomin Foundation was founded by Richard and Jennie Kovacs in 2010.
The Ottomin Foundation embodies the Ottomin Group’s commitment to driving meaningful community impact across key philanthropic initiatives.
The Ottomin Foundation is committed to building long-term, strategic partnerships with charities that champion causes close to Richard and Jennie’s hearts and align with the Foundation’s core principles, fostering active, sustained engagement with the community.
The Foundation’s work continues to be made possible by the returns generated through Ottomin investment activities.
The Foundation’s Focus
The Foundation’s philanthropic efforts focus on five key areas:
Conservation of Wildlife:
The Ottomin Foundation holds a deep commitment to conservation science, grounded in the belief that wildlife and people share a connected future. We support initiatives across animal care, environmental conservation, community education, and scientific research—driven by the conviction that protecting the world’s precious wildlife is a responsibility we all share, for today and for generations to come.
Adolescent & Youth Support:
The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a pivotal stage—one that shapes a young person’s future. The Ottomin Foundation is dedicated to empowering young people to reach their full potential and thrive. Through strategic support of intervention programs, mental health initiatives, education, and sport-based engagement, we champion the values of a ‘fair go’ and ‘access for all’.
Women at Risk or in Crisis:
Every woman deserves to live with dignity. The Ottomin Foundation prioritises support for women navigating crisis or hardship—whether facing abuse, isolation, or addiction. Through safe and empowering initiatives, we help women rebuild their lives, reclaim independence, and thrive.
Medical Wellbeing & Research:
The Ottomin Foundation maintains a unique focus on medical wellbeing — an area close to the hearts of its founders. We proudly support initiatives, research, and health promotion efforts with a particular emphasis on Type 1 diabetes, aiming to improve lives and drive meaningful progress to cure, prevent and treat Type 1 diabetes.
Liberty & Cultural Freedom:
The Ottomin Foundation supports independent research and policy initiatives that advance the principles of free markets, individual liberty, and cultural freedom. We believe that the freedom to explore, create, and innovate is the engine of human progress—building prosperous communities and healthy societies for generations to come.
In addition to its five core philanthropic focus areas, the Ottomin Foundation may, from time to time, support other initiatives aligned with its values and mission.
Our Charitable Partnerships
The Ottomin Foundation is proud to collaborate with a diverse range of organisations that share our commitment to creating lasting impact.
A selection of the charities the Ottomin Foundation supports, comprising of current and past charitable partners, can be viewed via the button link below. Each represents a meaningful chapter in the Ottomin Foundation’s journey of strategic philanthropy and community engagement.
Philosophy
The Ottomin Foundation’s charitable activities are guided by its Charity Committee.
The Ottomin Foundation’s Charity Committee meets regularly to review giving strategies, assess impact, and ensure meaningful involvement across all philanthropic initiatives.
The Ottomin Foundation is driven by a set of core principles that shape its philanthropic approach and ensure meaningful, long-term impact:
Partnership: We prioritise active engagement with our charitable partners. By understanding their services, challenges, and goals, we foster enduring relationships that typically evolve into multi-year funding partnerships. The Ottomin Foundation tends to avoid one-off donations.
Impact: Our focus is on delivering tangible, measurable outcomes. We support targeted programs that provide immediate and lasting benefits to the communities and causes we serve.
Leverage: Where possible, we amplify our contributions through strategic partnerships, such as matching donations, to maximise the reach and effectiveness of our support.
Collaboration: We bring together like-minded community and business groups to broaden the visibility of our partners, enhance fundraising capabilities, and expand service delivery.
Sustainability: We work with our partners to strengthen their market presence, improve fundraising capacity, and ensure continued service provision beyond our direct support.
Accountability: We seek relationships with charities that demonstrate strong governance, transparency, and alignment with our values. Annual acquittal reports and a culture of openness are essential.
Involvement: We value hands-on engagement. Our Charity Committee members often participate directly in volunteer opportunities, deepening our connection with the causes we support.
Leadership: We back visionary management teams and are comfortable taking a leadership role in piloting innovative charitable projects, especially in their early stages.
Since its inception, the Ottomin Foundation has built a strong track record of supporting pilot projects in their formative stages. By identifying promising initiatives early, the Foundation helps catalyse long-term sustainability—often enabling projects to attract recurring government or private donor support once proven. A notable example is the Foundation’s nine-year commitment to the Chronic Illness Peer Support (CHiP) Program at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, which, following extensive research into the benefits of peer support, now receives ongoing government funding.
“We are often overwhelmed by the passion and commitment of those in the organisations we support. It is our fervent hope that we reflect that spirit in the manner in which we support the charities we work with.”
