Positive Results See Sunrise Community Grants Increase
August 2017 - It was announced at The Sunrise Foundation AGM that better than forecast results for the 2017 year will
see the fledgling organisation in a strong position to increase funding to local organisations.
Sunrise endowment funds performed above benchmark achieving a return of 8.1% on investments in the 2017 financial year.
The foundation received $627,584 in donated funds in the year, bringing the total of donations received since the
organisation launched in 2014 to $1,566,484.
Colin Christie FCA, Sunrise Investment Committee, says it is due to the generosity of local donors and the strong
performance of investments, that funds available to grant to worthy causes has doubled from last year.
As a community endowment foundation, Sunrise invests all donations, protecting the capital and growing it every year to
keep up with inflation. The surplus investment income is available as grants to Gisborne/Tairawhiti charities and
organisations.
David Clark has been on the board of Sunrise since it was established in 2014 and is also on the investment committee.
He has been involved in the charitable sector in Gisborne for many years and is a family member/trustee on the Clark
Charitable Trust.
David is satisfied that investment managers JMIS have performed well in managing Sunrise’s endowments. “JMIS have
extensive experience managing funds on behalf of charitable trusts in New Zealand and look after the funds of other
well-known Gisborne trusts. This gave the Sunrise board confidence in appointing them as our investment managers. In
addition, JMIS have donated their services and management of our funds since inception and have confirmed that they will
continue that sponsorship for another year with no cost to Sunrise. This means we have more money to grant back to our
community.”
Richard Montgomery FCA, an independent chartered accountant, has experience in investment trusts and was approached by
the board to join the Investment Committee to bring that knowledge and expertise to the team. Richard believes there is
an added responsibility on Sunrise to invest funds wisely on behalf of a large number of local donors. “There is a need
to be cautious and an extra duty of care when taking responsibility for the safe keeping of donated funds. We strove to
achieve the best returns possible, whilst keeping the risk level low. We took a cautious approach to inflation proofing
to ensure that the fund remains robust.”
Sunrise invites local charities and organisations to apply for funding once per annum. The 2017 funding round is now
open, applications must be received before 18 August 2017. The application form and funding policy is available on www.sunrisefoundation.org.nz.
ENDS