Trust wants to boost profile of its operations

BY SARAH LAMONT

The latest awareness survey for the Community Trust of Southland showed 80 per cent of Southlanders knew about the trust – up from 70 per cent in 2007.

Trust chief executive John Prendergast said the telephone survey interviewed 560 people with half of the responses from people in Invercargill.

There was a brand awareness of the trust but people did not understand particularly what it did, Mr Prendergast said.

"We asked people for suggestions – what we might do to make the trust better known."

The Community Trust of Southland is a grant-making organisation that supports charitable or non-profit groups or organisations. It offers two different types of grants. The operational grant uses 40 per cent of the trust's yearly budget and funds health and social service organisations. The project grant supports one-off project funding under three different strands.

Grants up to $5000 are awarded once a month, grants over $5000 and under $50,000 are awarded three times a year and over $50,000 are awarded once a year.

Applications closed for projects last week with 37 major applications received totalling over $17 million. The trust's budget for this year is $9m.

Mr Prendergast said the key factor in choosing who to fund was the benefit to the Southland community.

The trust had increased its grants during the recession despite investments being down.

Mr Prendergast said during bad economic times funding was increased because that was when people needed it the most.

In the year ending March 2009 the trust had lost $14m in investments but still gave away $9m for grants.

However, the trust was rewarded financially because in the year ending March 2010 investments were up by $34m and it still gave away $9m in grants, Mr Prendergast said.

He said the trust would continue to maintain this approach.

The trust had also made changes in the last 18 months which included a range of new scholarships.

The Southland trust is the only one in New Zealand to offer scholarships, and include areas such as tertiary education, outward bound, sports and arts, Murihiku health and community leadership.

The trust had funded $200,000 towards scholarships this year.

Mr Prendergast said it was trying to get groups into the health sector by supporting them through their studies.

He said the students were bound to a contract to return and work in Southland after their studies for two years, a benefit for the Southland community.

Southland Hospital was starting to get first year health surgeons because of this scholarship, Mr Prendergast said.

In the past year funding for operational grants had changed from one year to three years with two years notice if funding would stop.

"During the recession is when we introduced it because that is when organisations needed certainty."

People can apply for grants through the Community Trust of Southland by filling out an application form online or through the trust on Don St.

- © Fairfax NZ News