Mackenzie Charitable Fund Launch
Photos kindly supplied by Kerensa Clark - littleleafphotographynz.com
The Aoraki Foundation and the Mackenzie Area Community Trust are delighted to announce the launch of a new fund for the people of Fairlie and Tekapo/Tākapo. The Mackenzie Charitable Fund is a collaborative effort between the two charities for the promotion of health, welfare, well-being and the alleviation of hardship.
The Mackenzie Area Community Trust has been working in behind the scenes to support the local community for over twenty years. As Chairperson Stuart Barwood describes
“We go about helping people when they are in a time of need, we don’t make a big deal about it, we are just here to support our community.”
A presentation by Aoraki Foundation Chief Executive Richard Spackman and Chairperson Greg Anderson in May sparked a conversation about working together to ensure more community impact could be achieved. After several months of consideration the decision was made by the Mackenzie Area Community Trust to resettle their assets into a new Charitable Fund within the Aoraki Foundation. As Richard explains,
“The Aoraki Foundation is an infrastructure for greater giving, and we are honoured to be custodians of these community funds. This is a wonderful story about the people of Fairlie supporting the community and it is a privilege to be part of this moving forward.”
Utilising the smarter giving endowment model of the Aoraki Foundation will reduce the administration burden and provide greater long term returns.
“Having the Aoraki Foundation involved frees up the former trustees like myself to focus on growing the fund and distributing grants where there is the most community need”, says Stuart.
The official launch of The Mackenzie Charitable Fund will take place at 6.30pm on Thursday the 10th November at the Top Pub. The public is encouraged to attend and hear the story of this new fund. On the night there will also be a special guest who is making a considerable inaugural donation. There is no cost to attend but please RSVP at www.aorakifoundation.org.nz/mcf
If you wish to know more, please contact Richard Spackman at the Aoraki Foundation on richard@aorakifoundation.org.nz or 021 181 7141
About the Aoraki Foundation
The Aoraki Foundation is South Canterbury’s official community foundation. A community foundation is an infrastructure for giving and philanthropy. Using a smarter giving model, they provide a vehicle for generous donors to make everlasting gifts to their community. The Aoraki Foundation was established in 2009 by Ken McKenzie, Nick Noone, Sid McAuley, Damon Odey and Nigel Davenport. Over the last thirteen years they have grown their endowment funds to over $3 million dollars, they have funded the community to the tune of $1.4 million and supported fundraising efforts for large scale community projects. All of this has been made possible by the generosity of many individual and corporate donors. They are governed by a board of dedicated trustees who volunteer their time and expertise for the benefit of the community.