CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT April 1 2020- March 31 2021

It is my pleasure to provide my commentary on the year past, which when taken with the individual reports from the Executive Officer: Rosemary Sloman, the Treasurers Report: Christine Mansell and the audited Financial Statements: Rural Accountants and Cookson Forbes, the Finance, Audit, Risk & Investment Committee, and the Distributions & Grants Committee, will provide a succinct overview of operations and performance for the year to March 31^st 2021.

The year’s activities were impacted by the Covid 19 pandemic which for several months prevented free and open travel and gatherings of more than a few people. To keep up with activities, several “Zoom” meetings of the Board were held as well as the Chairman and the Executive Officer participating in Zoom meetings with Executives and Trustees from within other Community Foundations around New Zealand. Contact and communications were maintained particularly by Rosemary Sloman, our E.O. Although shared advice from other organisations was invaluable, our business progress was unfortunately constrained through several months of restrictions.  

However important decisions have been made which will help the Foundation to grow. Early in the year Trustees considered the problem of limited administration/ operational funding which is inherent in young organisations such as ours, due to the income flow from within the financial constraints of a small but growing investment fund being insufficient to meet the ongoing operational costs. In fact, lack of such funds is hampering the foundation’s ability to expand and grow the investment portfolio. Discussions with the EO of Community Foundations NZ and Chairmen of similar sized foundations as ours highlighted the fact that this is the experience in the early years of establishment and clearly our own Trustees must find a means to overcome this impediment to the growth of EBCF. In simple terms, annual administration revenue is about $40K and expenditure approximately $70K. Trustees set a target to raise administration/ operational funding to $100K per annum, and commenced planning a pathway for growth.

A second important decision has been to change the Constitution in respect to the number of Trustees, to a maximum of twelve. The aim is to ensure that at all times through the years there are effective numbers of Trustees present for meetings who bring a broad skill base to the table. Secondly, this will enable a more diverse membership along with better representation right across the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

The Foundation Trustees and EO appreciate the access to the Community Foundation of NZ for guidance in strategic direction for strengthening the operations. It has been very helpful to be able to have confidential discussions with fellow chairs and officers of similar foundations on such as administration funding, strategic planning and operational matters and learn from their experiences. Two trustees plus the EO attended the Community Foundations of NZ Annual Conference in Wellington. This is an important event for Trustees and staff to gain knowledge and insight and meet with fellow foundations from all over NZ.

During the year several functions were held which had the diverse aims of lifting our profile within the community and at the same time being educational. We hosted a presentation to local professional advisors (accountants, solicitors and financial planners) on the new law requirements for Charitable Trusts. Another very successful evening in September, was a function for the ‘Friends of the EBCF’ hosting interested people from across the region with two guest speakers, Chloe Wright from the Wright Family Foundation and our own Ray Sharp, focussing on the difference philanthropy can make to a community. Extremely positive feed-back from many guests ensued.  On the 27^th March this year, Zespri International hosted a rugby match event at Rugby Park, followed by a dinner and auction, as a belated fund- raiser deferred from 2020 due to Covid related restrictions, for the victims of the Whakaari eruption. This was very successful with their own team playing the NZ Parliamentary rugby team. $50K was donated by sponsors to funds raised for the Whakaari Fund from this full day of activities.

This year a sub-committee was tasked with producing a full Policy & Procedures Manual. This was able to happen over several months, via Zoom meetings and has been collated and refined into an almost 100 page document presented to Trustees for their consideration and suggestions. It was adopted and ratified by Trustees in September as the ‘working guidelines’ for our foundation, with the further requirement that a review of one policy at each Board meeting to ensure the Policies remain relevant to the function of the foundation. Three trustees, Viv Barr, Scottie McLeod and Doug Bull along with EO Rosemary Sloman are appointed to the Policy & Governance Committee.

Trustees have worked well through the year and attendance at meetings and functions has been consistent, reflecting their enthusiasm and endeavours. In December Scottie (Donald) McLeod was appointed as a Trustee to the Board, and I note that the Board has just appointed four additional Trustees with a rostered retirement schedule in place. There are now four committees set up to action most of the work in their respective fields, and these will regularly report back to Trustee meetings.

I wish to express Trustees’ appreciation to Rosemary for her diligence in administration matters and for being the “front” person in the public eye for the Foundation. During the year Trustees made the decision that the key role must be to concentrate on pursuing major donors. Until such time as a budget and marketing plan is agreed which will include another part time staff member, it is necessary to work on building up the Investment Fund. Acknowledgement must also be made to Gae Finlay for her role as Minute Secretary and Archivist for the Foundation. We are fortunate that her skills for her full-time employment fit so well with our needs.

This year we started with a review of the process for our accounting methods and systems. The Finance Committee particularly through Peter Anstis and Barney Gray researched various ways and means of achieving a better outcome for the Foundation, and this resulted in Christine Mansell volunteering to take up the role of Treasurer for the Foundation, working with Trustees and the accountants. At the same time for this financial year, the Trustees accepted the offer from Rural Accountants to become guardians of the Foundation accounts.  We are grateful to Christine for the major task she has undertaken to review our accounts and procedures. This large undertaking means we now have clarity and accuracy in our monthly financial reporting and have confidence that the annual financial audit process will run smoothly with the professional skills of both Christine and the Team at Rural Accountants.

Thank you Christine for your dedication and commitment to this role.

This year our Foundation bids farewell to two long standing Trustees.

• Peter Anstis as one of the founding Trustees when the Community Foundation began in Opotiki in 2009. He guided the embryo organisation through what must have been a very difficult time. When Sir Stephen Tindall proposed that the Opotiki Foundation expand to include the whole of the Eastern Bay of Plenty, Peter oversaw this big change including the recruitment of Trustees from the new region. Peter holds a wealth of information about our community, the Foundation and we have appreciated his general business expertise and acumen. Peter, will be missed around the board table, but we know he will continue being available to our Foundation, via his new status as Patron to the Eastern Bay Community Foundation.
• Miles Mander, who has completed eight years as a Trustee and with his banking background, has been able to play a key role in convening the Finance, Audit, Risk & Investment Committee. Miles, and his involvement has always been considered and professional, with expertise in the field and his input has been valued by fellow Trustees. We thank you both.

Thank you. 

Douglas Bull.

Chairman.