Positive First Year Results for New Charity Good News for Gisborne

Gisborne’s newest charity The Sunrise Foundation announced at their AGM yesterday that in their first six months of operation donors had contributed funds totalling $560,000.

In addition a number of generous Gisborne people have put bequests to Sunrise in their wills to the value of $750,000.

Glenda Stokes, Executive Officer, says “It has been a pleasure to begin to build The Sunrise Foundation brand, and to present to various groups and organisations in the community. And it has been particularly rewarding to meet with a number of people who are considering Sunrise as a way of providing philanthropic support to their community.”

The Sunrise Foundation, a new community foundation, was officially launched by Sir Stephen Tindall in October last year.

The Tindall Foundation has initiated and supported the development of community foundations throughout New Zealand.

Although a fairly new business model for New Zealand, community foundations are the fastest growing form of philanthropy worldwide and have been operating for over 100 years in North America.

The strength of the endowment model is that all donations and bequests are held as permanent endowments. Funds are invested and each year enough is retained to ensure that endowments grow in line with inflation, the surplus investment income is available as grants to organisations in the local community.

Mr John Clarke, Sunrise Foundation Chairman, believes that the community foundation endowment model is poised to make a real difference in the Gisborne District. “The Sunrise Foundation is an organisation for local people to give for local needs, to help build a strong future for the Gisborne District forever.”

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