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Her first thought was how to overcome the differences between the Australian and US education systems, and the entirely different attitude towards philanthropy. Susan recalls receiving that initial phone call from Philip and Sean inviting her to come along to discuss setting up something like The Point Foundation here in Australia. It was a slow burn at first, taking nearly five years to issue the first two scholarships, with the main priority to ensure that Pinnacle was set up properly with impeccable governance, policies and procedures in place to mitigate any risks for Pinnacle’s patrons, ambassadors, donors, and supporters,” remembers Philip. “We discovered that amongst us there was plenty of experience – Paul and I with our experience in sponsorship and revenue building Sean with his corporate experience in headhunting and Susan with her experience in compliance and governance. So, when I spoke with Sean and Philip and saw the Time Magazine article about this organisation which was doing what we wanted to do and was doing it well, I knew we could do something similar in Australia.” Philip recalls that from that first meeting they began a plan of action to approach youth organisations to see if something similar was in place in Australia so as not to duplicate an existing initiative. A few friends of ours collected some money, put some posters on telegraph poles and gave some money to students at the arts school and never heard from them again.
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“We definitely knew there was a need as we tried to start something very informally once before. Paul remembers sitting down one evening over dinner at Sean and Philip’s home to discuss how we might create this charity. Sean and Philip then approached two long-time friends, Susan Brooks and Paul Clark, who went on to become the two other founders of Pinnacle. With determination Sean remembers saying, after discovering there was a huge need, “Let’s really do this.” Philip and Sean sat down to think about what was needed to get started, and who they needed to work with and engage. That was the first step in a long journey to establish The Pinnacle Foundation. So, inspired by the work of The Point Foundation, Philip and Sean made an effort to contact the US founders who offered them great insights into setting up something similar in Australia. This concept was the spark that ignited the thought, “Is this something we can implement in Australia? Does something like this exist already?” Philip recalls. The objective was simple – to help these young, often marginalised people fulfil their potential and achieve their dreams, despite the discrimination and setbacks many faced due to their sexual or gender identities. Philip Comans, Sean’s partner at the time, now husband, and one of the four co-founders of The Pinnacle Foundation, recalls that fateful day and being equally impacted by the article, especially the mention of The Point Foundation, which was offering scholarships and mentors for LGBTIQ+ students to attend universities in the US. For every social group devoted to ensuring gay students get the same chance of acceptance, there is an opposing group, typically religiously affiliated, seeking to “cure” kids of their gay lifestyles. But the story also underscored the ongoing tension between religion and homosexuality. Sean’s attention was captured by the magazine’s cover which featured the headline ‘The Battle Over Gay Teens.’ The article touched on the effort to eradicate anti-gay speech and bullying in schools and to set up clubs and advocacy groups to support gay teens. The Pinnacle Foundation’s journey began serendipitously back in October 2005 when Sean Linkson OAM, filling in time at Los Angeles airport whilst waiting for a flight back to Australia, picked up a copy of Time Magazine.