Many of you in the community have put your time, energy and expertise into acting as trustees for local charities and community organisations which distribute or use funds to meet community needs. The management of many of these groups is becoming increasingly complex and expensive, and attracting future trustees can be difficult.
Transferring a trust to Geyser provides a simple and effective option. Our low-cost structure enables capital to remain intact and protects it against future inflationary pressures, while distributing income from the investments back to the community you love.
Upcoming changes in New Zealand Law means that many local trusts are facing a changing environment. There are many reasons why a charitable trust may find itself facing challenges, including:
- growing complexity of trustees’ roles, particularly around compliance requirements
- increasing obligations and potential liabilities
- the trust’s original mission has been realised and funds need to be appropriately reinvested and / or redirected to another community benefit
- recruitment of new trustees who are willing and able to meet the entity’s obligations is increasingly difficult
- the fund is relatively small scale and trustees are spending more time on compliance and annual reporting than on distribution
- trustees wish to find other avenues to grow the fund
- the group’s capital base is earning minimal interest and incurring ongoing fees
- it’s difficult to identify beneficiaries or spend the income of the trust
- it’s becoming more difficult to attract new trustees
- the legal and compliance reporting requirements are becoming too cumbersome
- administering the trust is becoming too onerous for the size of the fund
- trustee’s wish they knew more about local issues and funding opportunities.
Benefits of transferring an existing trust within Geyser’s endowment fund structure include:
1. Plug into our existing organisation for a simple and stress-free transfer
Geyser handles annual reports, Charities Service registration and ongoing compliance. The set-up of your Fund is simple and straightforward. Once funds are transferred and the intended purpose of the fund set, you can concentrate on the pleasure of giving to the causes you are passionate about.
2. Retain your brand
You choose the name and the purpose of your Fund, knowing that Geyser is supporting effective philanthropy in the background.
3. Access professional fund management
Tap into the financial expertise of Cambridge Partners with oversight from our experienced Investment Committee.
4. Partner with an organisation with granting know-how
Geyser has in-depth knowledge of the issues facing our local community. We have gifted more than $2.2 million to the community since Geyser was first set-up, thanks to the support of a growing number of Donors. We know where generosity gets the best results. Extensive research and strong relationships with other local funders ensure that our Donor’s charities goals are met.
5. Benefit from robust governance oversight
Geyser has a well-established Board of Trustees and Committee members with diverse and complementary skill sets and in-depth knowledge of the local community. You still determine your ongoing level of input into your Fund.
6. Low ongoing costs
Geyser takes an annual fee of no more than 2%. There are no additional legal, tax, accounting, insurance, staff or record-keeping costs.
Sharing some of our Donor’s stories:
Harold Holmes Student Grant Trust
Local businessman and Rotarian, Harold was passionate about Rotorua and its people. In 1991 he created the Harold Holmes Student Grant Trust which awards a scholarship each year to a local high school student to assist with the cost of their tertiary studies.
In 2012, it was decided that due to the difficulty in finding suitable investments for the Trust funds and to ensure the continuity of administration, the funds of the Harold Holmes Student Grant Trust be handed over to the Geyser Community Foundation
with the provision that the students applying for the grant be referred to the Trustees of the Harold Holmes Student Grant Trust each year to select the winning applicant.
Sadly, Harold died in 2002 but his wish to support young people who show promise of benefitting their local community is now kept alive forever.
Tongariro Memorial Fund
The Tongariro Memorial Fund is a living legacy to four national park rangers: William Cooper, Keith Blumhardt, Derek White, Marie Williams, and pilot Douglas McKenzie who lost their lives in a helicopter crash in the park in December 1982.
In 2015, the Fund was transferred to Geyser so that Trustees could concentrate on their core business of protecting the environment.
The annual income from the Fund is made available to Project Tongariro every year for investment in one of four key areas of focus: biodiversity, education, history or recreation, and enable continued development of projects and programmes in and around Tongariro National Park, World Heritage Area and in the wider Taupo region.
Project Tongariro began receiving annual income from this Fund in 2018, and the amount has continued to grow year on year.
Putaruru Vets
Local scholarships are set to continue thanks to the Putaruru Veterinary Club Trust re-settling its funds and establishing an endowment fund with the Geyser Community Foundation. Originally set up in the 1940s by the Putaruru Veterinary Club to encourage new vets into the area, a Trust was formed in 2006 to look after the remaining assets of and provide scholarships to students from the South Waikato District to assist with the costs of studying veterinary sciences, agriculture or other disciplines that will benefit farming. More than 80 local students received assistance over 14 years.
In 2022, the Trust decided to close and transfer the assets to Geyser Community Foundation, thus ensuring the continuation of the Trust’s purpose and objectives forever. Geyser is responsible for the administration, investment, compliance and governance of the Fund. Trustees will continue to be involved in choosing scholarship recipients for as long as they wish.
For more information on how to transfer an existing trust with Geyser, contact us.