Kia ora koutou, hello everyone.

It was great to see a number of our donors and supporters at our recent AGM, as well as some local charities.  Gavin gave a very engaging talk and I’m envious of his ability to hold a crowd!  It’s clear he’s going to be a fabulous asset to the Foundation, and his ‘watch this space’ message on future initiatives has already created a bit of a buzz.  I’d also like to thank Kim for all the hard work organising a very successful event, and to core event sponsors – the BNZ,  plus Damien & Celia of  Stoke Liquorland, Tasman Bay Food Co. Ltd, Chia Sisters New Zealand and Melissa Steele of Stoke New World.

Gavin and I also recently attended the Community Foundations national conference.  All 17 Community Foundations were represented, and it’s truly a great network to be involved with.  We have much to learn but plenty of willing teachers and a great range of shared resources available to us.  The movement is increasingly successful across the nation and it’s great we can now start to tell NZ success stories rather than rely on the century of progress in other countries.

Otherwise we continue to work on raising our profile, and this second newsletter is part of that ongoing process.  Please feel free to pass it on to your own connections, or let them know they can subscribe by contacting Kim at [email protected].

In the meantime I wish all readers of this newsletter a very Merry Christmas, and a happy summer season.

Ngā mihi / kind regards

Dave Ashcroft 
Chairman