Chair's Update - Annual Report 2025

From the Momentum Waikato Annual Report 2025 - see full report in PDF.

By Margaret Wilson, Chair of Momentum Waikato.

It is a privilege to have been asked to chair Momentum Waikato.

As I said after I first joined the Board in 2023, being a Momentum Trustee is a good way to give back to the region that has given me so much over the years, so I appreciate the opportunity to expand my involvement as Chair, as of February 2026.

I thank my predecessor Neil Richardson, for his huge contribution to the development of Momentum Waikato. Neil stepped off in December 2025 after thirteen years on the Board, the last six as Chair, he being the last of the founding trustees from 2013 to retire.

At the same time, Simon Rickman also left the Board, after eight years of service, for which we thank him.

A few months prior to those retirements we welcomed two new trustees, Susan Hassall and Stephen Town, who have since brought much wisdom and expertise to the table. Susan has taken on the role of Deputy Chair, which I previously filled.

The new year 2026 started on a high with the opening of the Waikato Regional Theatre, now known as the BNZ Theatre.

Momentum Waikato is proud to have initiated and driven the project that enabled the Waikato Regional Property Trust and Foster Group to build this significant new regional community asset.

Momentum is now preparing to further develop our contribution to the Waikato and Coromandel. Our fundamental objective remains to promote ‘A Better Waikato for Everyone, Forever’, through inspiring and enabling generosity, offering personal and organisational endowment funds that amplify and sustain the charitable impact of bequests and savings, building a regional endowment fund, and investing in projects that generate transformational impact across Waikato communities.

Continuing to develop our ‘Professional Advisors Network’ (PAN) programme is amongst our current priorities. We are connecting with lawyers, accountants and investment advisors to encourage them to introduce their clients to the various avenues through which they can contribute to the Waikato’s future. Momentum is uniquely positioned to provide this service, but it will require resourcing.

Momentum has always undertaken a transformational role through supporting projects that accommodate the needs of a changing and developing community. Work has been done to test whether it is viable to develop a ‘Braintree Wellness Centre’ to meet the non-clinical needs of people with neurological conditions, based on the Christchurch facility of the same name. A preliminary business case is due by June, so we can decide whether to proceed with the project.

We are also working with The University of Waikato on their New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine, the ‘Waikato Medical School’, to identify how best Momentum can support the training of doctors in the region.

Although it is at an early stage, it is thought we can assist with scholarships and the placement of students in local medical practices. This strategy is consistent with our development of place-based funds such as those in Cambridge and the Coromandel. Venturing outside Hamilton and across the region is a priority.

Finally, we want to enable generous people to take advantage of our ‘smart giving’ model without having to set up their own fund, so we are starting a set of ‘purpose based’ endowments that each cover an area of public interest or concern. Experience has shown us that if we can accumulate a fund of reasonable size, we can have a significant impact on the wellbeing of the community.

With the assistance of a foundational donor, we started the first such ‘focus fund’, the ‘Momentum Waikato Arts, Culture and Creativity Fund’, late last year.

In the coming months we are aiming to provide further opportunity for donors to support each other’s values through collective investment in ‘focus funds’ that share their objectives.

On behalf of the Momentum Waikato Board, I want to thank all of you who support us as your local community foundation. If we can help you, or you know of an organisation or individual who needs to know about what we offer, please let us know.

We are here to support the community.

New Faces

Susan Hassall – Deputy Chair

Susan joined the Momentum Waikato Board in August 2025. She is most well known for her time as Headmaster of Hamilton Boys’ High School from 2000 to 2024, following her earlier career as an English teacher there.

An Executive Member of the Association of Boys’ Schools since its inception in 2002, Susan has an abiding interest in, and involvement with, gifted education, having contributed to the Minister’s Advisory Group for many years.

In 2016 Susan joined the University of Waikato Council, becoming Pro-Chancellor in 2017, and then Chancellor in 2025, plus she is also a member of The University of Waikato Foundation. She is also Chair of the Hospice Waikato Trust, returning to its Board after being its Acting CEO in 2024-2025.

Stephen Town - Trustee

Stephen also joined the Momentum Waikato Board in August 2025. He has held senior positions in education, transport and local government, having first stepped up to a Chief Executive role at age 34, at the Whanganui Regional Community Polytechnic.

Stephen was Chief Executive of Franklin District Council and Tauranga City Council, then Auckland Regional Director for the NZ Transport Agency for three years, and then Chief Executive of the Auckland Council for six-and-a-half years.

He then joined Te Pukenga in 2020, where he spent two years as Chief Executive. Most recently he was the Cyclone Recovery Lead at Thames Coromandel District Council for two years.

Stephen has wide governance experience and awareness, having been involved in appointments to Council Controlled Organisation boards and Special Purpose Entities.