22 SEPTEMBER 2005

NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 161

4055

The Community Trust of Mid & South Canterbury Incorporated uses a multi manager system to manage their asset classes and contract MCA NZ Limited of Auckland as consultant.

Donations

Donations were made of some $566,426 to a wide number of organisations. Of special note was the donation to the Timaru Mental Health Support Trust that was able to extend its residential care facilities. The trust also made a substantial grant to Search and Rescue for the benefit of the entire Mid and South Canterbury region. It was evident to us that this region has a large hinterland of alpine playground in a unique geographical setting, where many local and visiting recreationalists hike and camp. Inevitably there are situations of mishap and this small group of volunteers come to the rescue. Our donation was specifically directed at providing greater safety to those who conduct the rescue in what can be life-endangering situations.

Mission

"To work with community groups to achieve a region of healthy, vibrant, and caring communities"

The Community Trust of Mid & South Canterbury Incorporated is only a very small part of the fabric that makes up the civil society of our region. This trust could not achieve any part of its mission without the dedication and enthusiasm of the people of this community. Your trust has looked hard at the needs, as outlined in the social research paper Mid & South Canterbury: A Profile, to guide our donation principles and priorities.

The trust works within the confines of its trust deed to enhance the health and vibrancy of the community by making grants in the following categories:

• Education
• Community health and welfare
• Recreational and sport
• Cultural and heritage
• Youth activities
• The environment

In addition, the trustees believe that the greatest impact in attaining this mission is achieved by enhancing the occurrence of civil association. This means, in plain language, the more people who volunteer to be involved in community-based activities, clubs and groups, the more healthy and vibrant that community becomes. The trust believes that its purpose is not an end in itself, but that it can create synergies with other organisations to build what is known in the sector as social capital.

In order to achieve this purpose, the trust has adopted a general "funding services" policy in which it attempts to help all not-for-profit applicant groups by making a grant within the donation policy criteria. For those who do not qualify or need extra funding above the capacity of this trust, our staff redirects them to other possible sources of fundraising. This service has led to a collaborative role, whereby the trust co-ordinates several funding bodies to achieve a project result.

In addition, the trust works with other grant makers to try to co-ordinate the grant-making environment. I would like to make special note of the work and assistance that Jennifer Williamson, of the Department of Internal Affairs, has given to this collaborative approach. Jennifer organises an annual funder’s forum within Mid and South Canterbury, which complements our involvement with Philanthropy New Zealand and results in a better informed and skilled grant-making sector in our region.

Trustees

In June 2004, the Minister of Finance, Dr Michael Cullen, supported our recommendation and appointed Peter Dalziel as a new trustee. This appointment resulted from a vacancy created by the departure of Trevor MacIntyre in 2003. We are delighted to have Peter Dalziel on board and he has proven to be a very worthy representative for the Temuka area. Peter attended the combined community trust conference, along with our executive manager and myself, in Auckland earlier this year.

All trustees have worked hard to carry out their duties, which are quite arduous in the modern world. Knowledge of financial investment, as well as in-depth awareness of the needs of the community, is essential in enabling a fair and equitious distribution of large sums of money back into the community voluntary sector. I wish to pay special thanks to Carole Brand, my deputy chairperson, whose skill and time commitment has been a real asset to this organisation. As an entity, we have limited control of our succession plan. However, it is gratifying that we have such an excellent mix of skills and a good geographical representation of trustees. From a personal perspective, this board is a pleasure to chair.

Staff

John Wilson has proven a lively and enthusiastic executive manager for this trust. John has lifted the public profile of the trust and presents a welcoming and user-friendly interface between the board and the public. John is developing new and innovative ideas to be more effective and accessible to community needs.

Under John’s guidance, Strategic Planning, Trustee Performance Reviews, and Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives (SIPO) reviews are regular features of our business calendar. Given all this scrutiny, the executive manager’s review is also a regular event.

Sally Marsh very ably assisted John in the administration workload as administration officer. Sally has been with the trust for seven years and is a valued member of the team. Her loyalty and skills in carrying out this role are acknowledged.

External Relations

Through this trust’s involvement in the combined community trust group, we have achieved some significant successes. During the past year, the combined group was a participant in a regulation review of the Department of Internal Affairs’ charges imposed on the community trusts. This process involved an independent consultant completing this process under the instruction of the Minister of Finance.

Our trust played a significant part in producing evidence of positive social externalities within the whole community. The resulting policy change relieves all 12 community trusts of their existing cost burden to the Department of Internal Affairs. This, in effect, leaves more money to be distributed back to the community and is recognition from government of the substantial contribution of social capital made by the combined community trusts annually. To the year ended 31 March 2004, the total distributed funds throughout the communities of New Zealand by the combined community trusts were in excess of $75,000,000. It is anticipated that the figure for the year ended 31 March 2005, once known, will prove to be much higher.