Generosity News - August 2026
Published on 20 August, 2026
Waikato’s $120 billion legacy opportunity
By Janice Lapwood, General Manager Endowments, Momentum Waikato.
A looming demographic transition that recently led the headlines for the first time could be an opportunity to really help the communities of the Waikato.
‘Kiwi families will soon inherit millions of dollars. Here’s what they definitely shouldn’t do’ was the most read story after it appeared atop the Stuff news site last week.
As the article declared, the demise of the “Baby Boomers” over the next two decades will spark the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in the nation’s history.
It goes on to say $1.2 trillion of Kiwis’ private resources, most of it currently held as property, businesses, farms, KiwiSavers and investments, will be passed on as those born prior to the 1960s reach the end of their lives.
It is great this prominent Stuff headline has boosted awareness of the need for families and society to plan for this incoming surge in intergenerational wealth movement. However, it then only addressed those who may inherit a windfall, offering the “what you should not do is rush” advice given to big Lotto winners.
What wasn’t covered is what those who will pass on their “wealth” should consider doing with it, and that this could be a one-off opportunity for creating positive social change.
Read more of this column first published by Waikato Times.
Momentum annual distributions – call for recipient suggestions
Momentum Waikato Community Foundation manages a wide range of endowment funds set up and grown by donors looking to provide perpetual support to the charities and causes they care about.
Each year Momentum makes annual distributions from these ‘Named Funds’, in line with the founding donor’s objectives and the investment growth we have achieved.
Endowments General Manager Janice Lapwood says it’s a privilege to manage funds on behalf of generous people who are committed to giving back to their communities.
“The foresight of donors to set up endowments with us as a long-term giving solution, as opposed to a one-and-done donation, shows the future of giving is strong and that more and more people are trusting community foundations to make informed decisions on their behalf.”
While most of the Named Funds we manage are currently not contestable, we are always interested to generally learn more about the needs and aspirations of the Waikato’s communities.
The following funds are those for which we are this year seeking your suggestions on potential recipients.
Find out more about what activities these funds support by clicking on their links above.
Then if you know of Waikato, Coromandel or King Country organisations with a charitable purpose that you think could qualify to receive a grant from one or more of them, please send us your insights into what they do and why they should be supported, via info@momentumwaikato.nz by Sunday 20 September 2026.
Generosity that delivers, now and forever!
New Coromandel Future Funds video
Check out our new video promoting the six Coromandel Future Funds we're building with the locals!
These place-based endowments will grow over time through gifts-in-Wills, trust transfers and donations.
Empowering Thames into the future
The new Thames Future Fund provides locals and visitors with the opportunity to donate or bequest to a locally driven funding vehicle for the town and its surrounds.
It is one of six Coromandel ‘place based’ endowment funds established last year by Momentum Waikato Community Foundation, in partnership with Thames-Coromandel District Council and forward-thinking local Fund Champions.
April Chang, who works at Carsons Bookshop, is a Thames Future Fund Champion.
“In these days of so many challenges, the Thames Future Fund just makes good sense to me,” says April.
Support for Cambridge elderly boosted by new Resthaven Fund
“Quite simply, we want to give our older community members choice.”
That’s the vision of the Friends of Resthaven Foundation Trust in Cambridge, which will now be easier to realise thanks to their new Momentum Waikato endowment fund opening to public donations.
The retirement village and care centres run by the Cambridge Resthaven Trust offer a wide range of services, with an emphasis on providing quality, affordable facilities and support for seniors.
Don Harris became the Chair of the Friends of Resthaven Foundation Trust a couple of years ago because as a village resident he was keen to accelerate its activities and grow its impact.
Don was introduced to the idea of setting up an endowment fund to provide a perpetual income stream by Kevin Burgess, one of the Fund Champions for Momentum Waikato’s Cambridge Community Fund and a member of the Cambridge Resthaven Trust’s Board.
Together they have now kickstarted the ‘Friends of Resthaven Foundation Trust Fund’.
Future of giving
By Janice Lapwood, General Manager Endowments, Momentum Waikato.
During my eight years at Momentum Waikato Community Foundation, I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of generous people.
Every donor I’ve met has a different story, but they have one thing in common – all of them want their giving to make a difference in their communities.
Which is why I believe the Government's upcoming changes to tax rules for donations need wider discussion.
Many charities and donors may not be aware that from 1 April 2027 there will be a $100,000 annual cap on the donations eligible for a tax credit.
Currently there is no limit on the total value of donations over a year that get the 33.33% tax credit.
Whereas from April, only the first $100,000 of a donor’s gifts each year will qualify, limiting their maximum annual tax credit to $33,333.
The Government says this reform will improve fairness, reduce tax avoidance, and sustain the tax system.
My concern is its chilling effect on the philanthropy that charities and communities depend upon.
Read more of this column first published by Waikato Business News.
Welcome Chris Williams
Chris Williams has recently joined the Momentum Waikato Board.
Chris is Director and Shareholder of King St Advertising, an agency he has owned and run since 1999 and a creative business in the industry he has worked in his whole career.
Giving keeps a community’s heart beating strongly
By Chris Williams, Momentum Waikato trustee.
Philanthropy is "the practice of giving time, money, or resources to help others and improve the well-being of humanity”.
The home I grew up in, although of modest financial means, was rich in values that included being generous and humble, and treasuring the family unit above everything.
Coming from a loving, two-parent household gave me a privileged foundation and a mindset that has always been focused on making a difference - through all my business, governance and artistic endeavours.
Start-up is a way-in for skaters with a disability
By Beth Chapman, All Good Ventures.
If you're disabled in New Zealand, a lot of everyday life can happen without you - the weekend sport, the social event, the activity everyone else turns up to without a second thought. Not because anyone planned it that way, but because nobody thought to design you in.
Rachel Whitten, a social worker based in Tauranga, set out to change that. She is one of four founders - from New Zealand, Colombia, Ethiopia and Hungary - welcomed into the All Good Ventures programme for 2026/2027, each building a business designed to help people on the margins.
The Hamilton-founded charity backs early-stage social enterprises: new businesses that earn their own income and spend it on freeing people from hardship. Its job is to help get them off the ground, with seed funding, mentoring and pro bono expertise.
Behind that work sits the All Good Ventures Fund, an endowment fund in Momentum Waikato's care, whose investment income helps pay for the year of intensive support each founder gets.
Everything she fought for: Amanda’s story
By Lucy Green, CCS Disability Action.
It did not feel real until she sat back down. Amanda Stewart had walked across the stage, shaken the right hands, and returned to her seat. Then she looked at the piece of paper in her hands and saw her own name on it.
"That moment meant everything," she says.
The date was 16 April 2026. The degree was a Bachelor of Teaching, majoring in Early Childhood Education. Amanda had begun the journey at the University of Waikato in July 2016, through the Certificate of University Preparation. Almost ten years lay between the start and that seat in the graduation hall.
"When I first started, I never truly believed I would be able to complete it," she says.
"I now know that I am resilient, determined, and capable of doing hard things."
Waikato Times: New fund honours John Luxton's vision for Māori leadership in farming
ABOVE: John’s son Richard Luxton says setting up a fund, or something similar, was one of his father’s last wishes. PHOTO: Mark Taylor / WAIKATO TIMES.
By Charlotte Graham, Waikato Times.
John Luxton always believed talent was everywhere, but opportunities were in shorter supply.
One of the late farmer and government minister’s last wishes has now come to fruition: a fund to help bridge the gap, focussed on helping Māori thrive in the primary industries.
The John Luxton Legacy Fund was officially launched at Fieldays - a continuation of a life passion to help others in the agricultural sector. John Luxton was well-known in the rural community for his numerous roles and awards.
John’s son Richard explained that, before his death, John spoke to the family about wanting to do something to open more doors for Māori.
“He came to the conclusion that the Māori connection to the land and the community was something to be admired... Compared to a normal commercial New Zealand business, where the whole motivation is growth, their motivation is kaitiakitanga and bringing the community with them.
“He believed that the more there were Māori in leadership roles throughout the primary industries, the better they would be, so that’s essentially where this fund comes from.”