FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Answers to questions about Kura Tāwhiti – Canterbury Community Foundation, Community Foundations, our funding model, and our approach to philanthropy.
We connect generous people who care with causes that matter.
A Community Foundation is a charitable organisation that pools donations into a coordinated investment fund, with the returns distributed as grants to local causes. Community Foundations focus on building endowments and bequests to create a permanent source of funding for community projects, rather than spending all donations immediately. This model ensures sustainable, long-term support for local initiatives.
Facilitating this type of giving for our region is imperative – there are no other charitable entities committed to perpetual, place-based philanthropy like Community Foundations. There are 18 Community Foundations in New Zealand and over 1,800 Community Foundations worldwide. Nearly every region in Aotearoa has a Community Foundation – you can see the list here.
In the wider Christchurch region, Kura Tāwhiti – Canterbury Community Foundation provides an important philanthropic infrastructure by:
Building a series of permanent endowment funds that support local causes, in perpetuity
Offering a transparent, accountable vehicle for donors who wish to give back to their local community
Understanding the local charitable sector, assessing local needs and directing funding towards critical areas/sectors
Providing specialist knowledge to ensure donations go where they can make the most difference
Providing individuals and whānau an excellent way to pass on philanthropic values to future generations, without the administrative burden
Connecting donors with causes they care about
Offering another way in which local charitable entities can access funding
Supporting disaster response by stewarding generosity in the immediate aftermath to where it is needed
Providing another avenue of funding for charitable entities, reducing pressure on current funders
Building a culture of strategic philanthropy in wider Ōtautahi
Money given directly to charity is generally spent on everyday needs, which is essential income for the charity sector. Increasingly, New Zealanders are also considering giving to their chosen causes in a more strategic way, with longevity. This is where the local Community Foundation like Kura Tāwhiti – Canterbury Community Foundation comes in.
Funds are professionally invested, with the aim of growing the initial gift and the returns flowing back to donor cause(s) of choice as a revenue stream, forever. Over time, it means that giving delivers more income to local causes.
Further, this method of gifting assists local charities and causes with their long-term financial sustainability by providing a reliable, long-term funding stream, enabling them to spend less time on fundraising and more on their mission.
And, because Kura Tāwhiti keeps in touch with changeable community priorities, and who is doing great work, it means that donor gifts can be steered towards the greatest community needs and aspirations at point in time, enabling giving to remain relevant for the long term.
We provide a simple, powerful way to give back to Canterbury – not just today, but forever.
We are proud to announce our new name:Kura Tāwhiti – Canterbury Community Foundation .
We have entered a new phase of maturity, and with that, came the development of our new identity. We are the Community Foundation for the Christchurch City, Selwyn and Waimakariri districts, stretching from the Rakaia River up to the top of Canterbury’s regional boundary. It was important for our name to represent the whole region, and our approach to building an endowment for this community we call home.
This pausing and reassessing who we are and what we stand for reflects the shift in our purpose: to build a long-term funding stream that will support future generations, centred on our three pillars – People, Place and Planet. Our new business model is uncompromisingly focused on sustainable philanthropic growth, to ensure we are here for good, forever.
The rebrand reflects a complete operational overhaul that has seen Kura Tāwhiti reduce costs by over 70%, hold over $2.8 million in managed funds, and distribute over $380,000 to the community in the past year.
Kura Tāwhiti is the original name of Castle Hill, a place of great significance for Ngāi Tahu. This is located on the southern boundary of our area, at the western ranges of the Southern Alps. It is a refuge of hidden ecological treasures such as the Castle Hill buttercup (Ranunculus paucifolius), a strong inspiration in our logomark and iconography.
Kura Tāwhiti literally means “the treasure from a distant land” in te reo Māori, referring to the kūmara that was once cultivated in this region. Ngāi Tahu used this area as a mahinga kai and sacred resting place.
“Kura”, often utilised to indicate a school, has other meanings that align with our kaupapa – it describes the colour red, synonymous with Canterbury as a region. The word points to something precious or sacred, to be valued, preserved, and passed on.
That’s exactly what we are here to support in the Canterbury region – generosity that grows. For good, forever. We are proud to recognise the broader geographic catchment beyond Ōtautahi - something our stakeholders have been asking about for a while.
The name honours our cultural heritage and was gifted by Ngāi Tahu leader Te Maire Tau.
We partnered with Antony & Mates, a local creative agency who has been supporting us with our evolution for more than a year. They intuitively understand the importance of a Community Foundation for Canterbury, and have put an immense amount of thought into the Kura Tāwhiti – Canterbury Community Foundation logomark, colour palette, typography and iconography.
Inspiration started with Kura Tāwhiti itself – the limestone tors and the shapes they etch onto the horizon. The geography of the region, called a Karst Landscape (where water erodes soluble bedrock). The colours of this beautiful place. The story of Tane Tiki, claiming one of the mountains for his daughter and naming it Kura Tāwhiti. How his love for her led to his creation of a korowai – a cloak made of kākāpo feathers. The importance of the flora and fauna native to this area, such as the Castle Hill buttercup and Castle hill forget-me-not. The lone tōtara. How revered this area was as a mahinga kai for Ngāi Tahu. The winding paths around the rocks that visitors flock to in their hundreds of thousands, every year.
The logomark has three distinct elements, which align with our three focus pillars – a Kākāpo Feather, central to the Ngāi Tahu Story about Tane Tiki, representing people. A round limestone boulder, grounding us in place – our tūrangawaewae. A petal from the Castle Hill buttercup, linking our purpose with the planet, knowing that we don’t thrive if our environment does not.
The variation of these shapes, all inspired by Kura Tāwhiti’s whakapapa and landscape, come together in unique ways to represent our pillars and our purpose. The colours were chosen with a nod to kura’s alternate meaning – red – a colour seared into the hearts of Cantabrians worldwide. This was balanced with the earthy, natural tones inspired by the landscape of Kura Tāwhiti Castle Hill – green for the feather, beige for the boulder and yellow for the buttercup.
Kura Tāwhiti – Canterbury Community Foundation is not focused on supporting one single cause. We’re for the greater Christchurch region, its people, and you.
We operate a mixed funding model, with funds coming from managed endowments and bequests, corporate partnerships, individual givers, operational funds from Christchurch City Council, and fee-for-service. We are proudly not-for-profit and any fees are kept low and transparent to ensure that chosen cause areas can be most effectively supported forever. The remainder of any annual investment returns will either be given out as grants or invested back into the fund to ensure long-term fund health and to keep pace with inflation. You can learn more about our fee structure here.
Since we started in 2018, we have gifted over $15.3m to the community; a large percentage of this was done in the wake of both the March 15th Mosque shootings in 2019 and the Port Hills fires. We currently just under $3m in endowed funds. As a general rule of thumb, Community Foundations become self-sustaining after raising approximately $25m. In New Zealand, only two Community Foundations have reached this level of funds under management – Acorn Foundation and Nikau Foundation.
While they take time to establish and realise, bequests and endowments typically provide a much higher return on investment compared to other forms of fundraising, particularly in charitable entities like Community Foundations, compared with other forms of fundraising such as events, activation campaigns and products. Our endowment model will provide sustainable, long-term funding that grows over time, as evidenced by Community Foundations in Aotearoa and around the world.
In New Zealand, there is a difference between Community Trusts and Community Foundations, even though their names are similar.
In May 1988 the New Zealand Government established the 12 independent Community Trusts - covering the whole of New Zealand - and gave each of the trusts 100% ownership of the shareholding in their local trustee savings bank. The specified area of operations of each of the 12 trusts mirrors the area serviced by their regional savings bank.
Therefore, Community Trusts have an existing pool of assets, which are invested on behalf of the local community with the income given out as grants. As of 2020, the 12 community trusts have aggregate assets of approximately $3.9 billion and make grants for the benefit of their local communities of over $100 million each year. Further information about Community Trusts, and a list of the 12 Trusts, can be found here.
Community Foundations are different because we are constantly growing a local fund through the generosity of local people. Further, we enable locals to be involved with assessing community priorities and where the funding will go. Our model is tried-and-tested and has proven to be successful across the world for over 100 years.
We operate as a complementary service in the philanthropic ecosystem, not as a competitor to existing foundations, and work with funders around Ōtautahi to ensure we are collaborating on initiatives for the betterment of the whole community.
The first New Zealand community foundation was the Nikau Foundation in 1991. For more information about Community Foundations, check out the CFANZ website.
Funds have been established in a variety of different ways, from pass-through funds to endowments, trust transfers to bequests. Each fund can be customised to align with the donor’s philanthropic goals while benefiting the wider Christchurch community.
Current Kura Tāwhiti funds support areas such as Women Entrepreneurs, Lymphoedema treatment and research, ecological advancement, PRIDE, and the Muslim Community of Christchurch. You can see more and donate to an existing fund here.
Don't give to us. Give through us.
Council funding is essential for our growth. Because of the Community Foundation endowment model, we will need approximately $25m under management to generate enough returns to fund both operations and community grants. To raise that amount of money and grow the endowment, we need to be able to employ staff and provide a professional service, and operational funding enables us to do that.
The Christchurch City Council has been our primary operational funder during the establishment phase. The current $82,500 grant and potential future funding of $440,000 (conditional on approval of our strategic plan) is from the Council's Capital Endowment Fund. These funds will support the operational costs of running the organisation and our ultimate goal is to grow our endowment so that we become self-sustaining. This money does not come from rates, but from the Capital Endowment Fund.
The money received from the Christchurch City Council was designated to go towards establishment and operational costs. Between 2018 and 2023, the funds were used to:
Establish the Foundation's governance and operational structure
Cover administrative and operational costs, including staff positions
Support community engagement and donor/beneficiary development activities
Develop philanthropic programmes and initiatives
Create the systems and processes necessary for managing endowments
Support the administration of emergency funding, in particular for the Mosque Attacks in 2019
Our new board and management team have implemented significant changes in 2024 to ensure future funding is used more efficiently, with a greater focus on building endowment capital and less on operational costs.
We are here to ensure our community's needs are met, both now and in the future.
Since early 2024, the Foundation has reduced staffing costs, eliminated international travel expenses, discontinued resource-intensive fundraising events and initiatives, reduced our administrative overheads and turned our focus to relational-based, endowment-focused fundraising.
Our focus is now on building endowment funds through bequests, trust-transfers and donor advised funds. We will also support pass-through funds for for-purpose organisations. We have reviewed and updated our fee structure for these services, to support our operational costs.
We anticipate we will reach self-sustainability with $25 million under management. This timeline aligns with the typical development trajectory for Community Foundations. Throughout this period, we aim to reduce our reliance on council funding as our endowment capital grows.
The Foundation Trustees are all volunteers from within the Ōtautahi community. There is currently the equivalent of 1.3 FTE staff, working remotely as contractors to reduce costs and afford the Foundation flexibility. You can learn more about us here.
Kura Tāwhiti – Canterbury Community Foundation.
For good, forever.
We measure and report on our impact through:
Regular reporting on grants made and their outcomes
Tracking the growth of our endowment capital
Monitoring the success of funded initiatives
Measuring our operational efficiency, including the ratio of administrative costs to funds distributed
Publishing annual reports and financial statements here:
Sharing success stories and case studies of funded projects
Regular updates to the Christchurch City Council and other stakeholders
Transparent communication about our progress toward sustainability goals
We ensure transparency through:
Regular public reporting of our financial position
Clear communication about our funding model and progress
Open dialogue with the Christchurch City Council and other stakeholders
Publication of our strategic plan and operational framework
Disclosure of our governance structure
Regular board meetings with documented outcomes
Independent financial audits
Adherence to best practices in philanthropic governance
Clear policies regarding fund management and distribution; our Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives is available for donors to view
All our financial statements are downloadable here, and on the Charities Services website.
Reach out to be part of shaping our future, together.
Funding is available to registered charities, charitable trusts, incorporated societies with charitable purposes, and in some cases, individuals. Each fund has its own eligibility criteria, so it's important to check the details before applying.
Most funding is distributed to charitable organisations or incorporated entities, but some donor-advised funds support individuals. These are usually highly targeted and assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Our funding reflects the interests of our donors and the needs of the wider Ōtautahi Christchurch region. You can see our current funds here.
Grant sizes vary widely depending on the fund. Some are micro-grants to catalyse small projects or community action; others are larger and support ongoing work. The fund application process will make it clear what an expected grant size might be.
Yes, if your project fits the criteria of multiple funds. Each fund may require a separate application and will be assessed on its own terms.
Some funds have fixed deadlines; others operate on a rolling basis. This depends on the fund. Some operate annually, others as funds become available.
We will announce all funds on our Grants – Open Now page. We are working on adding a newsletter sign-up button to our website, so our latest grant rounds get delivered straight to you. Keep an eye out for that soon!
Most funding opportunities are accessed through specific funds with their own guidelines and processes. You can view current open opportunities and fund criteria on our Grants – Open Now or by contacting us on enquiries@kuratawhiticcf.org.nz. Some funds are invitation-only or donor-directed.
Get in touch! You can contact us here, or email enquiries@kuratawhiticcf.org.nz. We’re always interested in hearing from changemakers in Ōtautahi. If your project aligns with a donor’s area of interest, we may be able to connect you or explore how to support you in the future.