Giving has been a constant thread running through Angelique Boileau’s life — shaped by her childhood, her values and more than three decades running a successful family business.
In 2024, that longstanding generosity was formalised with the establishment of the Boileau Family Foundation.
The catalyst came after 35 years in business, when Angelique sold ICT services provider Boileau Business Technology following the State Government’s compulsory acquisition of its land for the South Road tunnel. While the acquisition and sale of the business was deeply emotional, it also created an opportunity.
The Boileau Family Foundation was formally launched in December 2025, built on funds from the sale of the family business and guided by a clear purpose.
“The foundation allows our family to give intentionally, strategically and long term and it is something that will outlive any one person,” Angelique says.
“Its core purpose, the reason the foundation exists, is to create enduring, meaningful impact by supporting causes that reflect our family values.”
Those causes span across conservation of animals threatened with extinction, the arts through Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Australian Dance Theatre, and funding Shelter for Women & Children fleeing domestic violence by partnering with St Vincent de Paul and the Hutt Street Centre-Sisters of Charity.
The Adelaide Zoo holds a particularly special place, as Angelique’s connection to zoos began as a child, growing up in Hungary. Each year, at the end of a long trip to Budapest in her mother’s attempt to apply for a passport to Australia to join their father already in Adelaide, which was repeatedly denied, her mother would take Angelique and her siblings to the Budapest Zoo as a reward for their patience.
Later, when Angelique returned to Adelaide and started her business, she was drawn to sponsoring Zoos SA, which became the very first organisation she supported. That relationship has now stretched nearly four decades.
“Supporting the zoo feels like everything is coming full circle,” she says.
Through the Foundation, that support has become more focused and hands-on. Rather than general sponsorship, the Boileau Family Foundation now funds specific conservation projects across Zoos SA’s Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Safari Park, including support for Giant Pandas, Red Pandas, rhinos and, most recently, a project protecting the native critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot.
“Project-based giving is really important to us,” Angelique explains. “We want to be involved, to see how the project evolves and truly understand the difference our support is making.”
That impact is felt not only at the zoo, but within Angelique’s own family.
“When my grandchildren visit Adelaide Zoo or Monarto Safari Park, they proudly point things out and say, ‘that is here because of what my nanna did’ and that brings such joy to me” she says.
For Angelique, a family foundation is as much about shaping values as it is about funding projects.
“One of the greatest things about involving the family is that everyone grows up with a giving culture,” she says. “Giving doesn’t just support organisations. It brings families together to be on the same page.”
Her advice to others considering formalising their giving is simple but honest: a foundation requires commitment, governance and care — but the rewards run deep.
