JR McKenzie Trust - RCW Panel

Tricia Walbridge (Chair)
Rhys Barlow
Tony Gibson
Joan Smith

 

Rotary's role in the Trust

From the outset, Sir John McKenzie realised the value of Rotary as a network of civic-minded people throughout New Zealand.   Rotarians were willing to help, and continue to do so today: they advise the community about the Trust and what it does they facilitate assessments in their regions on occasions they offer applicant groups further assistance and contacts. Within each of the six Rotary Districts in New Zealand, there is a J R McKenzie Trust Panel. The Chair of each Panel sits on the Trust Board along with McKenzie family members and other Trustees.

 

 

The J R McKenzie Trust

Iti noa ana, he pito mata. With care, a small kumara will produce a harvest.

A brief history

The Trust was set up in 1940 by John Robert McKenzie (later Sir John), the founder of the "McKenzies" chain of department stores. From the time the company started in 1910 until it was sold in 1980, one third of the profits were placed in the Trust for the benefit of the people of New Zealand. The total amount of grants made up to and including December 2002 is $50 million.

The Trust has been one of the leading philanthropic organisations in New Zealand, and has supported the establishment and ongoing operation of many community groups. Rangatira Limited, an investment company also established by Sir John, manages the Trust’s assets. The Trust also distributes the dividends of the Jayar Charitable Trust, another investment body.

What is the J R McKenzie Trust?

The purpose of the J R McKenzie Trust is to improve the quality of life of New Zealanders who have special needs, or face disadvantage. The Trust's focus is on social, health and developmental needs, especially but not only for children, young people, and people with disabilities.

The Trust achieves this by:

• making grants to charitable organisations where they contribute the most to the Trust's purpose
• supporting innovative approaches that address needs and prevent problems
• assisting organisations to make their services more effective in empowering the people they serve
• working collaboratively with other funding bodies.

What will the Trust make grants for?

All of the Trust’s funding programmes are directed at community organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand that:

• Have aims and activities compatible with the Trust’s purpose (“to improve the quality of life of New Zealanders who have special needs, or face disadvantage”).
• Have charitable purposes (preferably with charitable status from IRD)
• Are incorporated (although groups yet to be formally established may apply under the umbrella of an incorporated organisation)
• Do not seek assistance with activities that are on the list of exclusions below.

What activities will the Trust support?

The Trust makes grants towards a wide range of activities, including both core operating costs and project-related costs. Here are some examples:

• Training of paid and unpaid staff
• Salaries, volunteer expenses, other programme delivery costs
• Administration, rent, phones, websites, publications, equipment, materials
• Advocacy – adding voice to the people with and for whom your organisation is working
• New and creative approaches to social problems
• Improvements to the ways organisations operate, to make their services more effective and empowering; this includes strengthening governance, management and administration skills and processes.
• Improvements to the strength, collaboration and effectiveness of the wider community and voluntary sector
• Formative evaluation and evaluation of programmes.

The Trust may give priority to groups that include evidence of any of the following:

• They measure the results of their activities, learn from experience and seek to regularly improve their services
• They involve clients/members/consumers in their management and decision making structures
• They work with other groups where this is efficient, and beneficial to service users
• They seek to address the causes of social problems – creating positive social change by “healing problems rather than organising them”
• They promote human rights and social justice for disadvantaged members of the community
• There are likely to be benefits from their proposal to other groups in the community sector, for example through sharing resources or lessons learned.

The Trust has two main programmes and some smaller programmes

Regional Fund

This fund makes grants to organisations

• that operate in one area of the country only, and
• are NOT part of a national structure – for example, by being affiliated to a national network, or a branch of a national organisation. In these cases, the national office may apply to the National Fund. The main reason for this is that the Trust’s funds are not big enough to assist the many networks at a local level; we usually aim to help the national body provide support for local services.

Closing dates for the Regional Fund are 28 February and 31 May. An organisation may apply only once each year.

There is no maximum amount. In 2003 the average grant was $2,850, and very few were more than $5,000. (This changes from year to year depending on funds available and the number and quality of applications.)

National Fund

This fund makes grants to:

• The national offices of organisations that have a national structure, for example that have branches or affiliates providing services around the country
• The only office/base of an organisation that provides a nationwide service or has a national focus.

The annual closing date for the National Fund is 31 August.

In most cases, these grants are used for either running costs for the national office and/or the network, or activities aimed at supporting the work of local groups - for example training, newsletters, information, publicity etc. Sadly the Trust’s resources are not large enough to be able to make a meaningful contribution at local level as well. There is no maximum amount. In 2003 the average grant was $13,000, and very few were more than $20,000. (This changes from year to year depending on funds available and the number and quality of applications.)

The Other Programmes

Innovative Fund. To support new, imaginative and creative ways to address social problems.

Chair’s Fund. This is a very small fund that allows the Trust to react quickly to situations where it is not easy to wait for the next funding round.

Targeted programmes. "Ring fenced" funds to make a more focused contribution in a certain area, through both grant making and other related activities. Currently these are the Refugee Employment Programme and Building Pacific Organisations.

Exclusions
The Trust does not generally make grants to:

• Individuals
• Sporting groups
• Schools and early childhood centres
• Out-of-school care programmes
• Rest homes and hospitals
• Environmental groups
• Festivals
• Disaster relief organisations
• Well-established, uniformed youth groups
• Groups whose main purpose is to promote a message rather than provide a service; this includes religious groups.

Also, we don't make grants towards:

• The purchase of land or buildings
• Building alterations
• Overseas travel
• Capital funds for loans, scholarships, grants etc.
• The purchase of food by food banks – we prefer supporting activities such as referral to other services, advocacy, raising public awareness etc.
• Projects already completed.

Further Information

Further information, including application forms, lists of recent grants, are available on the Trust website: www.jrmckenzie.org.nz