From left, Donny Charitable Trust Chair Barry Paterson, Hamilton Mayor Julie Hardaker, and Momentum Waikato Chair Leonard Gardner.

The Donny Charitable Trust understands the importance of empowering those who can influence the future. The Trust has enriched the lives of tens of thousands of individuals and organisations since beginning its good work in 1978, honouring the generous legacy of its founding philanthropists, Frank and Germaine Donny. Since then, over $10 million in grants have been made to a wide range of organisations, many of whom have been Waikato-based. In 2014 Donny’s focus shifted to supporting selected organisations working at the forefront in three key areas: child protection, agricultural training and palliative care nursing.

Donny trustees have also been looking for a public project that would make a significant difference in the Waikato and, on hearing about the proposed riverbank development, they decided it was just such a project. The trustees identified Momentum Waikato Community Foundation as a channel for managing their gift. Executing the wishes of the Donny Trust, Momentum Waikato is providing the vehicle for the first donation to the Hamilton City River Plan. Donny trustees have pledged $1 million in support of the Ferrybank project, citing its fresh approach to creating a dynamic river edge with greater public accessibility as the reason it captured their imagination.

Donny trustees appreciated the simplicity and flexibility of Momentum Waikato’s giving solutions, with their first pledge utilising the Foundation’s Today Fund. This fund enables donors to distribute significant gifts immediately and realise no administrative costs for the service. The Foundation can also manage other grantmaking activities through its Future Fund, again with no fees incurred, keeping the capital intact and using only the return on investment for annual distributions to create a lasting legacy.

Momentum Waikato is dedicated to serving its donors to create a better Waikato for everyone, forever. The Foundation offers donors, including existing trusts like Donny, the opportunity to partner their investments with others to produce greater collective impact for the benefit of the community.

Contact the team at Momentum Waikato Community Foundation today to find out how easy it is to transfer an existing trust to the Waikato’s only fee-free, comprehensive, philanthropic advisory service.