Help Us

A donation to Administration and Operations will help us continue our daily work in building a brighter future for all those in the Rotorua and Taupo District communities, and throughout the Central North Island. Our costs are kept to an absolute minimum. Trustees generously volunteer their time and we employ two part-time staff (1.3 FTE) to manage our day-to-day operations. Together with our donors, we want to see Geyser thrive and this is one way we can work together to ensure this happens.

You can make a donation here to our Administration costs, simply select the name from the drop down menu and make your donation.

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Named Funds

We are proud to manage the following Named Funds on behalf of a growing number of generous local people:

Bannan Science Fund
Ken Bannan and Penny Jago established the Bannan Science Fund in 2015. The Fund provides an annual award for educational purposes for students (including adults) residing or having family links in disadvantaged areas of the Central Plateau region, who could not otherwise afford to continue their education, to study Science – Pure or Applied. Applicants must have completed their secondary school education or be in their final year of secondary school.

Cockburn Fund
People who live in the Lake Taupo area with chronic long-term disability will benefit from this Fund established by Colin Cockburn in 2019. Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at a young age, Colin lived for almost another 50 years, astounding medics. He enjoyed a good quality life in his beloved home in Taupo. Members of the Muscular Dystrophy Association of New Zealand who live in the local area have priority access to gifts from Colin’s Fund.

Roberta and Enid Griffin Fund
Bobbie Griffin loved animals. When Bobbie updated her will in 2010, she established the Roberta and Enid Griffin Fund to honour the memory of her sister, Enid, and to benefit the Rotorua SPCA. Sadly, Bobbie died in 2014. Thanks to her generosity, Rotorua SPCA will continue to receive an ongoing gift year on year, forever.

Grumitt Sisters Fund
In 2008, Shirley Grumitt established this Fund to honour the memory of her sister, Barbara Grumitt, who had passed away in 2005. The Fund provides an annual scholarship to a student at Rotorua Boys’ High School to be used for further training in speech and drama. The wishes of the donor are that the scholarship should go to a senior student at the school who is from a local and preferably financially disadvantaged family.

Karen and Greg Hunt Fund
The Karen and Greg Hunt Fund was established in 2011 to mark the donors’ 25th wedding anniversary. Each year a student attending Western Heights High School receives funding to help them undertake a personal development activity such as Outward Bound or a voyage on the Spirit of Adventure.

Kaingaroa Roading Fund
Jan Bolton, who lived in Kaingaroa Village for a number of years, established the Kaingaroa Roading Fund in 2010. The Fund provides an annual scholarship for educational purposes for residents of Kaingaroa Village, Minginui, Ruatahuna and Murupara, or the immediate surrounding areas, who have completed their secondary school education or who are in their final year of secondary school.

Joe and Jo-Anne La Grouw Fund
Established in 2007, the income is to be applied to singing scholarships to be awarded as prizes in singing competitions primarily held in Rotorua but also elsewhere in New Zealand. The Fund currently provides the second prize in the New Zealand Aria, one of Australasia’s most prestigious singing competitions, which has been held annually in Rotorua for the past 70 years and helped launch the careers of some of New Zealand’s finest young opera singers.

Legion of Frontiersmen H Troop Fund
Established in 2015, distributions from the Fund support the charitable work of the Legion of Frontiersmen H Troop in the Taupo District community.

Malcolm Lilico PF Olsen Forestry Fund

The Malcolm Lilico PF Olsen Fund was established in 2013. The annual distribution is to be allocated to any charitable purpose (or purposes) within Aotearoa New Zealand, specifically (but not limited to) environmental enhancement projects.

Colin & Jenny McDonald Fund
Disabled people and classical musicians in the Rotorua and Taupo District communities will benefit from this Fund, established in 2019 by Jenny McDonald to honour the memory of her late husband, Colin.

Sam Millward Fund
Sam Millward loved his local community. When he updated his will in 2010, Sam established the Sam Millward Fund. Thanks to his generosity, Rotorua St John Ambulance, the local Rescue Helicopter and a local Neurological Foundation have received annual gifts from his Fund since 2014.

Robert and Jacqueline Mowbray Fund

Students of families who reside in the Rotorua District and attend local schools, and do not have opportunities to access funding from other grants will benefit from this Fund established by Bob Mowbray in 2015 to honour the memory of his late wife, Jacqueline.

Ngatuku Farms Fund
Children and adults who have special needs or are physically or intellectually disabled and/or their family or caregiver who live in the Rotorua District community benefit from this Fund which Judy Keaney established in 2014.

Peter O’Flaherty Fund
Deserving students (including adults) residing or having family links in the Rotorua District community who could not otherwise afford to continue their academic or practical education will benefit from this Fund established in 2017.

David Porter and Bernadine Pelham-Porter Fund
Dave and Bernadine’s passion was to give young people the opportunity to excel by developing an interest and passion in a supported way. Another passion was music, which led them to gift this putea to the Western Heights High School Music Department in 2016 to assist with the purchase and maintenance of musical equipment.

Allan and Jan Sewell Family Fund
Allan and Jan Sewell established this Fund in 2013 to support charitable purposes primarily within the Rotorua District.

Norman Steele Memorial Scholarship Fund
The Norman Steele Memorial Scholarship Fund was established by Norman’s son, Greg and his wife, Bridget Steele in 2017 as a legacy to Norman’s interests. A Founding Director of Ngati Whakaue Tribal Lands, Norman was passionate about education and the value of science as the way forward to improve personal growth for individuals as well as improving the health of the community. Distributions from the Fund will assist students of Te Arawa descent to studying medicine in New Zealand.

Margriet Theron Fund (formerly known as the Speech New Zealand Fund)
Since 2008, Margriet Theron has made funding available for the purpose of awarding scholarships to residents of Rotorua, and more recently Taupo, to enrol for various Speech New Zealand examinations.

Wallace Holmes Fund
Warrick and Betty Holmes established this Fund in 2018 to support their chosen charities in New Zealand today, and for generations to come.

Ynys Fraser Poetry Fund
In 2023, the Family of Ynys Joy Fraser, QSM established this Fund to recognise their mother’s, grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s love of literature, and her life-long work in and contribution to the local community over many decades. Distributions from the Fund will be used for emerging or established poets residing or having family links in the Rotorua District to publish their poetry.