Sunrise Foundation Awards Grants to 38 Local Organisations

Sunrise Foundation Announces Grants to Thirty-Eight Local Organisations

The Sunrise Foundation has awarded grants to thirty-eight arts, community, education, environment, health and sport causes throughout the Gisborne District. The grants, awarded as part of their third annual funding round, totalled $75,000.

Glenda Stokes, Sunrise Executive Officer, is delighted Sunrise is in a position to fund so many good causes this year. “The donations we’ve had from our community since we launched three years ago have been phenomenal. It is due to the generosity of local donors that we have been able to award three times more grants in 2017 than in our second funding round last year.”

She added there were a lot more applications than in previous funding rounds which made allocating the funds more difficult. “We received forty-eight applications requesting $190,000 in assistance. This shows how much need there is in our community and has made me even more determined to grow our endowment funds, so we have more money to help more causes in future years.”

Sunrise, a community endowment foundation, raises money through donations and legacies. All money raised is invested, protecting the capital, and grown each year to inflation proof the capital. The surplus income is granted to charities and community organisations in the Gisborne District.

Applications for grants are invited once a year and assessed by the Sunrise Grants Committee, which includes trustees Richard Briant, Colin Christie, David Clark and Lilian Tangaere-Baldwin. Rob Dymock and Leslynne Jackson volunteer on the committee as secondees.

Glenda believes having a grants committee with a wide range of experience and knowledge made what was an arduous task more manageable. ”The trustees expertise was well balanced with the health and community services sector knowledge Rob and Leslynne bought to the team. The committee assessed applications to ensure they complied with funding criteria and funds were allocated on a greatest needs basis.”

Leslynne Jackson has worked in the community services sector in Tairawhiti for many years and has seen firsthand the funding shortfalls in organisations delivering social services. She believes as the gap widens between the haves and have nots the role of philanthropy in helping to bridge that gap will become more important. “I can see the needs in our community are going to keep rising. I volunteered to help the Grants Committee because I believe the endowment model Sunrise operates is going to become hugely beneficial for our community as Sunrise grows. The money that’s given keeps on giving, forever.”

David Clark chairs the Grants Committee and has been a trustee since Sunrise was established in October 2014. 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 says the quality of applications this year were high and it was hard for the committee not being able to grant more funding. He added “as Sunrise only distributes the surplus income from the endowment funds invested there is a limit to how much we can grant each year. “

“As Sunrise’s endowment funds grow it means year on year we will have more funding available and be in a better position to support more worthy causes. We appreciate the effort organisations took in making their applications and commend all the applicants on the important work they do in our community.”

ENDS

The Sunrise Foundation Grants Committee (l-r) David Clark, Leslynne Jackson, Richard Briant, Rob Dymock and Colin Christie (Lilian Tangaere-Baldwin absent)

2017 grant recipients are Alzheimers Society Gisborne, Citizens Advice Bureau Gisborne, City of Gisborne Cadet Unit, Eastland Kart Club, Eastwoodhill Arboretum, EIT Students Association, Gisborne Boys High School, Gisborne Concert Band, Gisborne East Coast Cancer Society, Gisborne International Music Competition, Gisborne Land Search & Rescue, Gisborne Riding For Disabled, Gisborne Unity Theatre, Gisborne Volunteer Centre, Gisborne Youth Sports Charitable Trust, Gisborne/Tairawhiti Regional Science & Technology Fair 2018, Hearing Assistance, Hospice Tairawhiti, Ka Pai Kaiti, Kaiti School, Kids Can Charitable Trust, Mangapapa Union Church (CAP Debt Centre), Matapuna Training Trust, Pakirikiri Marae, Poverty Bay Woolcrafters, SLSNZ Eastern Region, St Johns Ruatoria, Swim for Life Tairawhiti, Tairawhiti Beneficiary Advocacy Trust, Tairawhiti Community Law Centre, Tairawhiti Environment Centre, Tairawhiti Multicultural Council, Tairawhiti Technology Trust, Tauawhi Men’s Centre, The Aurora Education Foundation Charitable Trust, Turanganui Schools Maori Cultural Festival, Victim Support Tairawhiti, Waikohu Health.

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