Nau Mai, Haere Mai
We hope this finds you well in these challenging times, here's our latest news, plus a couple of articles from our newly published Annual Report 2021.
Choral support tuned up by new Fund
Financial support for a beloved Waikato music institution has been tuned up thanks to a new addition to the region’s endowment fund.
The Hamilton Civic Choir Foundation has set up a dedicated ‘Named Fund’ with the Momentum Waikato Community Foundation, to provide a sustainable new stream of investment income.
VOCAL LOCALS: Hamilton City Choir perform at St Peters Cathedral on 9 April 2022.
Choir Foundation Chair Ray Harlow says choral fans can donate directly to the Choir, which supports its immediate activities, and/or donate to the Foundation either via Momentum or directly, which supports the Choir into the future.
Brian Prestidge, who has been a Choir Foundation trustee since its inception, says the new Fund realises the aspirations of its founders.
“The Hamilton Civic Choir is an outstanding choir for a city the size of Hamilton,” says Brian. “It really is quite something, the city and region can be rightfully proud of it.”
Chair and Chief Executive Update - Annual Report 2021
The newly published Momentum Waikato Annual Report 2021 is full of great stories, one of which is below, with more to follow in future issues.
From the front of the booklet, here's the Chair and Chief Executive's Report by Neil Richardson and Kelvyn Eglinton.
The year 2021 was a watershed for Momentum Waikato.
As an organisation, we asked ourselves ever sharper and harder questions on how we can achieve our vision of ’A Better Waikato For Everyone, Forever’.
We live in a world that, for all its goodness, is increasingly unequal, unstable, and unsustainable. Central and local governments in New Zealand are struggling to meet their traditional responsibilities to their citizens, especially those most in need, while having to address a new range of emerging responsibilities, such as our community response to climate change.
The answers to the housing crisis, climate change, social inequality and realising our Treaty of Waitangi responsibilities have been known for some time. However, it seems that neither the market nor the government of any colour have sufficient mandate, capacity or the will and drive to move the legislative, budgetary and policy settings in the direction that will realise those answers.
Kia Ora Maxine, Haere Ra Ken
The Momentum Waikato Board has recently welcomed new trustee Maxine Moana-Tuwhangai and farewelled respected member Ken Stephens.
Maxine brings a wealth of governance experience as a director in both the business realm and Te Ao Maaori. Currently she is also on the boards of KiwiRail, St John, Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Aotearoa New Zealand and Raukura Hauora o Tainui.
The opportunity to join an organisation focused on positive change for local communities is one she is happy to take up.
“I wasn’t looking for another volunteer role, but Momentum’s focus on being transformational is appealing, and it is doing things I haven’t been involved with before, so I could see I would learn a lot as well."
Momentum Waikato in a hurry to build community resilience
Further to the Waikato Business Awards announcement we sent out in mid-March, this article from the Waikato Business News March/April 2022 issue includes the judges feedback on our winning entries.
Momentum Waikato took home two of the silver ‘vortex’ trophies from the recent Waikato Business Awards ceremony – those for ‘Community Contribution’ and ‘Not-for-Profit’.
The region’s community leadership foundation exists to create 'A Better Waikato for Everyone, Forever'.
Since its founding in 2015, Momentum’s board and staff have been aggressively pursuing their twin strategic objectives of leading transformational projects and building a regional endowment fund.
The judges’ statement for the ‘Community Contribution’ Award showed their efforts are making a difference.
“Momentum Waikato demonstrated a range of community contribution that has had significant impact on Waikato today and well into the years to come.
“Momentum Waikato is particularly well known for championing the development and fundraising for the Waikato Regional Theatre. The judges were also impressed at the growth of the fund, the use of growth targets, extensions to giving circles and especially the development of the Houchen wellbeing retreat.”
The judges’ view on the ‘Not for Profit’ Award was equally enthusiastic.
Seen the Momentum car out and about?
A huge thank you to Ebbett Hamilton for their support for Momentum Waikato and the Waikato Regional Theatre - in the form of a smart new SEAT Ateca! We're proud to have such a great local business as our vehicle partner.
Here's Karl, the Dealer Principal for Ebbett Hamilton, presenting these Spanish wheels to Kelvyn late last year.
The car is regularly out and about - keep you eyes peeled, it will be coming to a town near you this year!
Greatest Needs Appeal - Flexible response to Covid challenges
From the Momentum Waikato Annual Report 2021 - see full report in PDF.
SUPPORT: In late 2020 The Greatest Needs Appeal supplied grocery gift cards to Te Kuiti Community House Trust counsellors for giving to their clients in need.
The Greatest Needs Appeal was first launched in March 2020 as Momentum Waikato’s immediate response to the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Houchen’s and ‘Here to help u’ projects described elsewhere in this Annual Report were part of Momentum’s role as the flexible component of the Waikato Community Funders Group, which also included providing the public-facing function of the Appeal.
Momentum played its ‘connect and convene’ role as a community leadership foundation, getting the donated funds to effective front-line groups, meaning Greatest Needs Appeal donors could be sure their gifts were reaching the local places where they’d make the most difference.
Children are ultimate benefactors
Tim Macindoe - Momentum Waikato Generosity Ambassador
This article also appears in Seasons magazine April 2022 issue, it is a re-worked version of an article in our last Update.
One of the joys of my role as Momentum Ambassador is introducing hard-working community organisations to the tools we offer for getting the best value out of their donations and precious ‘rainy day’ reserves.
McKenzie Centre in Hamilton supports children who have disabilities and their families to have full and fulfilling lives, in communities that value them. It was established in 1982 with donations from the McKenzie Education Foundation and the Telethon Trust.
Late last year it established the new McKenzie Centre Fund at Momentum Waikato, securing a resilient ongoing income stream by putting its saved capital into our investment portfolio as a ‘named fund’, and then inviting its supporters and the public to help grow this principal with their own donations.
At the signing of the Fund’s Deed of Gift just before Christmas, Centre Director Trisha Benge said Momentum Waikato “will be a prudent guardian”.