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.
Trust spokesperson, Mary-Ann Mathis said the fund’s purpose, now safeguarded for the future by the Geyser Community Foundation, is to 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.
“Students must live or have lived for at least five out of the last 10 years in the South Waikato District and immediate surrounding areas serviced by the former Putaruru Veterinary Club or be currently employed in a veterinary practice in this area.”
“The areas serviced by the former Putaruru Veterinary Club include Putaruru, Tirau, Tokoroa, Mangakino, Whakamaru, Tirohanga, Waihaha and Atiamuri or the rural delivery of these areas.
“The Putaruru Veterinary Club set up the original fund to encourage new vets into the area in the 1940s.
“In 2006, the Trust was formed to look after the remaining assets of the Putaruru Vet Club and provide scholarships to local students.
“More than 80 local students have received assistance over the past 14 years.
“In 2022, we decided to close the trust and transfer the assets and their administration to Geyser Community Foundation.
“This ensures the continuation of the Trust’s 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 we wish.
“We look forward to working with Geyser to assist more students with the costs of studying veterinary sciences, agriculture or other disciplines that will benefit farming in our local area.”
Geyser’s Chairman, Helene Phillips said the Foundation was honoured to have been chosen by the Putaruru Veterinary Club Trust to manage the fund in perpetuity.
“Many trusts are looking for solutions to get around their cumbersome and expensive structures and make themselves more relevant to the needs of present day and future communities.
“In some cases, solutions need to be found to prevent the further erosion of charitable gifts that were made by previous generations of philanthropists and to give confidence to today’s donors that the gifts they make will be managed cost-effectively for their intended charitable purpose.
“The Community Foundation model, which provides a governance and management umbrella for charitable funds, is a simple solution which has the potential to do just that. Its low-cost structure enables capital to remain intact and to be protected against future inflationary pressures while returning maximum income from the investments back to the community.
“We’re different because we’re not about one single cause: we’re about a place and its people.”
Based on a well-established, globally successful model, the network has been growing in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2003.
“Community foundations are independent, not-for-profit organisations run entirely by volunteer boards made up of local people; we run a lean model so we can keep fees low.”
It is anticipated that scholarships from the new fund will become available in 2024.
Date: 21 October 2022
