What’s the change you want to see in your region? Do you want to ensure your giving has the maximum ongoing impact on the issues you care about?
Momentum Waikato exists to simplify and enable local philanthropy. We’re here to make the Waikato the most generous region on the planet. A better Waikato for everyone, forever.
Our role is to nurture and build our community strengths and assets. We connect generous charitable people with the work of the proven changemakers in their area and communities. We’re convening the Waikato’s current and future philanthropists to grow the region’s endowment fund and initiate transformational projects, all for the benefit of the generations to come.
As an independently established community foundation, we are nimble and flexible, able to fill the gaps government and most funders can’t reach. We accept and leverage individual and business donations, so offer options such as payroll giving and corporate gifting.
Talk to us if you want to know more about donating towards worthy causes in the Waikato in a way that provides them with sustainable ongoing support well into the future. Especially if you are considering leaving a bequest in your Will, or are a lawyer or an accountant who advises people writing their Will – Momentum Waikato can help create your legacy.
We ensure that each and every person who contributes to Momentum Waikato experiences the joy of giving like never before, with the ability to choose and then follow the path of their gift from beginning to end. Contact us today to find out more.
We’re part of a network of Community Foundations that have been growing around Aotearoa New Zealand since 2003.
Through the coordination of the Community Foundations of New Zealand (our national body), we’re all working to provide resources that will make a lasting difference in our local communities. Our aim is for every New Zealander to be able to affect lasting change wherever their home or heart may be.
Make an impact
DonateMomentum Waikato runs the ‘Waikato Vital Signs’ program to research the 'Impact Areas' in our communities. These are the fields in which we will assist and drive transformational change in our region, wherever the needs are greatest. Find out more about Waikato Vital Signs.
We find and facilitate social, economic and technical innovations that propagate the growth of artistic, cultural and heritage activities across all communities, age groups and social classes in the Waikato. We aim to increase the number of attendees and participants in artistic and cultural offerings, so our city and region are more vibrant and attractive to talent and can provide more employment opportunities and improved livelihoods for local artists.
We look to create lasting change for children and youth (up to the age of 21) and their families by generating the maximum impact in areas of therapeutic or rehabilitative services for children and youth, including those with special needs. We will prioritise funding for community-based projects that require and / or make best use of community resources to undertake their proposed activities and / or achieve their stated objectives. These should involve capacity building, i.e. the creation, expansion or augmentation of services, rather than the maintenance of existing offers.
We aim to build the economic foundations of a thriving and sustainable future for the Waikato. Strategic economic initiatives we will support to deliver on this commitment could include quality creation, workforce skill development, new or improved infrastructure investment, innovative transport projects or any other enterprising schemes that vastly improve the Waikato's regional economy. Those projects that utilise existing community resources or leverage the work of other organisations to produce economic benefit will be most readily and generously supported.
We look to bring forward any innovation that will strengthen schools, neighbourhoods and workplaces through the participation of students, parents, educators and employers. The anticipated outcomes would ensure children are socially and emotionally prepared to start school, and that young people are able to transition smoothly through and beyond the education system and have increased employment opportunities.
We support innovations that increase the health and resilience of New Zealand's physical environment, and / or protect and enhance the welfare of domestic, wild and farm animals. We aim to achieve outcomes that address and respond to climate change and other key global and local environmental issues, and increase public understanding and engagement with the challenges facing the planet.
We want to encourage individuals, families and communities to create healthy, caring, safe and supportive environments for all members of society. Our goals are to assist people to enjoy improved health and wellbeing and to be well connected to their communities. We want to enable individuals and communities to feel they have the power to contribute to and seek knowledge about their health.
We look to support programs and projects that will have a positive impact on people of all ages through providing opportunities and motivation to take part in sport, physical recreation and other healthy activities. Those engaged in an active lifestyle are more likely to be committed to their ongoing well-being and connected to their community.
We will work across the community to address economic inequity, social justice and poverty, prioritising seniors and families. Our support will go to innovative, transformational projects that will ease isolation in the growing elderly population, address the effects of poverty and inequity, engender safe neighbourhoods and districts, and help everyone to live secure, more productive lives.
Momentum Waikato has a rigorous governing process driving its strategic direction, donor gifts, fund growth and impact investment, underpinned by a smart, strategic approach to high-impact community investment.
Our initial five-year strategic plan has some ambitious targets, including the aim of raising $25 million in funds and distributing $10 million in grants, a commitment to genuinely engage with our communities, and for our strategic decision-making to be informed by solid, robust research. It’s a bold start to the momentum we want to create - to meet and exceed the greatest needs and aspirations of our community, now and into the future.
Get in touch
Momentum Waikato has the added complement of independent investment fund portfolio managers Craigs Investment Partners and JBWere providing strategic investment fund management, to ensure solid growth returns for future distribution throughout the community. An investment committee oversees the recommendations of these expert portfolio managers.
Professional investment advice should be taken before making an investment. This graph provides a guide, however growth depends on fund performance and changing market rates.
Our Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives outlines our commitment to prudent stewardship of donor funds, focused on maximising fund distribution over the long term.