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Welcome to the Northland Community Foundation
‘Local giving for local causes’

Community Foundations are a new and ground- breaking concept in New Zealand.  Like the other seven community foundations in the country, the Northland Community Foundation seeks to identify and meet the needs of the communities in the geographic region it serves. 

The Northland Community Foundation was established in 2004 and has been created by and for the people of Northland. Our goal is to provide a simple, effective and long-lasting way for you to give to local causes now and in the future, through a mix of endowment funds and carefully chosen projects.

As a family, business or individual you can contribute to the well- being and growth of our community by making a gift to the Northland Community Foundation. Your gift can benefit causes that you are passionate about or that you have a personal interest in.

Like all other community foundations throughout the world, the Northland Community Foundation encourages the spirit of giving as a means of improving our community and adding depth and further value to our society.

Benefits of the Northland Community Foundation

We all receive support from our local community – it is a significant influence in determining who we are and gives us a sense of place and of belonging and helps foster a pride in being Northlanders.

The Northland Community Foundation’s active promotion of philanthropy helps raise awareness of the benefits of giving to local charities.  This in turn encourages more people to give - a recognized positive side effect from the growth of Community Foundations overseas, particularly in North America.

The community benefits from a greater and more sustained level of fundraising and giving at a time when government, and other more traditional sources of funding, are shrinking.

Over time, as the Northland Community Foundation grows, we will have a large pool of income from our funds to be distributed annually.  Local charities will be able to apply for grants from this pool.

With the ability to apply for grants from the Foundation, community organizations which have struggled to access funding from traditional pools, will have the ability to focus on their real objectives while the Foundation absorbs some of the time it takes for them to raise funds and manage endowments.

If a bequest is made to the Community Foundation that names a specific charity as its beneficiary, that charity will be able to rely on the funds as a permanent source of income and be able to budget accordingly.  The charity will also benefit from the expertise of our Investment Panel and Grants Panel and from having the lump sum invested as part of a larger endowment, meaning greater returns.

Because donors to the Foundation have a say in the use of their gifts, they can be secure in the knowledge that their gift is under effective stewardship.

We keep costs to a minimum and cover many of them by running some fundraising activities each year to build up our Foundation Fund.  We also actively seek grants, donations and sponsorships from commercial organizations, individuals and other community agencies. 

The Northland Community Foundation is apolitical and has no religious or cultural affiliations.

Governance is provided by a board of volunteer trustees, all of whom are well known members of the Northland Community. Their wide geographical spread and diverse areas of expertise ensures trustees are finely tuned to local needs and issues. Board of Trustees, Investment Panel and Grants Panel member details can be seen on 'Our People' page. Details of how the funds are managed by the Investment Panel and distibuted by the Grants Panel can be found on the 'Fund Management' page.[see Menu Bar top left]

The N.C.F curently has one full-time staff member, Development Manager, Carolyn Wagner, to whom all correspondence and enquiries should be addressed. [see side-panel, bottom-left ]

 
History

Community Foundations are one of the fastest growing forms of philanthropy worldwide.  More than 600 community foundations in the United States now have at least $70-billion in permanent endowment assets. 

In England there are more than 95 foundations monitoring $350 million in endowments and in Australia there are around 30 Community Foundations managing substantial endowment funds.

The Northland Community Foundation is one of seven Community Foundations that have been established in New Zealand with funding from the Tindall Foundation.

Because Community Foundations are donor- driven organisations they rely on the building of a large endowment fund.  The path from establishment to a fully fledged, working Foundation is acknowledged as being likely to take eight to ten years.

Northland Health

The Foundation also has an ongoing close working relationship with Northland Health which sees it working alongside the Northland community to assist with fundraising for the four Hospitals in Northland.  Health services are a major concern of all communities and particularly with smaller, predominantly rural communities such as ours.  

The relationship sees the Foundation actively encouraging community giving for the benefit of all Northlanders future health needs; engendering community involvement and responsibility for health related solutions and providing additional medical equipment, support and help to staff, patients and families.  This is seen as an extra to government funding and not a replacement.

 

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