Nau Mai, Haere Mai, Welcome - April 2018

It’s been an incredible 6 weeks as I’ve settled into the role, building relationships, and growing the great work of the previous team.

At the recent New Zealand Institute of Directors conference, the Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson, noted the aspiration of the Labour Government to define the success of NZ not simply by GDP growth and economic data, but by including the way in which we address our social and environmental measures.

The Minister stated that to resolve these issues, business leaders and government will need to partner with the social sector.

This concept has been further endorsed in recent weeks with an opinion piece in the New Zealand Herald by renowned NZ economist and CEO of BERL, Ganesh Nana who noted;

“It is perhaps blindingly obvious to many non-economists that well-functioning communities, with strong connected networks, accepting diverse cultural identity, are positive for business and economic outcomes. It is heartening indeed that economists are not only beginning to recognise these facets, but that we are now considering these in measures of progress and prosperity”

Both these leaders have noted the avenue for philanthropy to align the needs of their communities with their generous donors and with government and business. We see philanthropy as thoughtful giving – significant investments to make disruptive change and positive impact to issues that are important to society. To make Waikato the most generous region on the planet, Momentum Waikato are:

Building a Long-Term Endowment – The Waikato Future Fund such that the fund generates returns that can be granted to change agents within our communities in perpetuity;

Linking generous donors to issues that matter to them;

Driving transformational projects, our current project being the Waikato Regional Theatre and forming a pipeline of regional opportunities;

Leveraging and convening multi-partner projects to achieve outcomes greater than those envisaged as individual projects.

If you'd like to invest in positive change for future generations, I encourage you to talk to me, my team, or the Board, and learn more about how your generosity can create a real difference in the Waikato.

Kelvyn Eglinton

Chief Executive

Momentum Waikato