12 December 2012

Southland Charities Benefit From $168,000 Guardian Trust Distribution

Southland community organisations continue to benefit from the generosity of a South Island couple, 27 years after a charitable trust was set up in their names.
This month, Guardian Trust is again making its now annual distribution from the William and Gwenda Sybil Dick Trust, with a 2012 gift of nearly $170,000 to three local organisations – the Southland Medical Foundation, Presbyterian Support Southland and the Salvation Army.

When the couple established the Dick Trust in October 1985, their intention was that it would help fund vital research into heart conditions and give support to Southland’s children in perpetuity.

The Southland Medical Foundation is receiving more than $83,000 and Presbyterian Support Southland and the Salvation Army more than $41,000 each.

All three organisations have received regular distributions from the Dick Trust since the 1980s, including more than $1.7 million since 2003.

Guardian Trust’s General Manager Personal Client Services, Philip Morgan Rees, says the Dick Trust is a prime example of how a well-managed charitable trust can facilitate enduring giving.

“William Dick had specific requirements as to where the annual income generated by his charitable trust was to be directed, and he had personal reasons for this. It is common for people who set up charitable trusts to direct them towards causes they care about deeply, and we are pleased that each year we are able to deliver what he wanted.

“The Dick Trust demonstrates how quality wealth management can serve long-term philanthropic giving. Our objective in managing the trust is to grow the funds year-on-year to permit regular distributions in support of the chosen causes.”

William Dick was moved to establish the trust by the death of his wife from a cardiac condition.

The Southland Medical Foundation, set up 46 years ago to support medical education and research among health sector workers, directs Dick Trust grants to fund cardiac research at the University of Otago and fulfil regular funding requests from the Heart Foundation. Previous grants have been used to purchase cardiac monitoring equipment for Gore Hospital.

The services that Presbyterian Support Southland offers through Family Works have seen a large increase in demand in recent years, putting a stretch on resources, said Presbyterian Support Southland Marketing Manager Noel Hassed. “Money received from the Dick Trust has been a critical part of our overall funding mix as we struggle to cope with the demand for our services. We recently set up the Guardian Angel fundraising initiative to help keep up with the demand.

“The funds we are given help us provide ongoing assistance to children – who are often being cared for by extended family or foster parents – and, specifically, enable us to give them clothing and equipment and facilitate activities so they can get involved in the same pastimes as other children.”

The Salvation Army uses Dick Trust funding in its provision of vital services to at-risk youth in Southland. The funding support has been used to provide young people with camping experiences, counselling and mentoring.

The funds from the Dick Trust are used exclusively within the Southern Division of the Salvation Army for children and youth work in Southland.

-Ends-

About Guardian Trust
Established in 1882, Guardian Trust (The New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited) is the leading corporate trustee in New Zealand.

Through its network of offices across New Zealand, Guardian Trust manages or administers $3 billion of client’s assets and provides corporate trustee services for securities with over $64 billion under supervision.

Guardian Trust has been serving generations of New Zealanders for nearly 130 years and is a market leader in trusts, estates and wealth management. As one of New Zealand’s foremost trustee companies, it specialises in estate planning and asset protection; lifecare and lifestyle management; financial advice and investment management; philanthropy; and corporate trusts.

Guardian Trust is the country’s pre-eminent provider of philanthropic services, administering 462 charitable trusts with nearly $600million in funds under management that provided $23 million in funding for charities and good causes in the last financial year. During 2011 Guardian Trust estimates that it provided 11% of all donations from Charitable Trusts in New Zealand making it the trustee to turn to for creating an enduring legacy.

Guardian Trust is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Trust Company, a leading independent Australian trustee listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

About Guardian Trust & Philanthropy
As the country’s pre-eminent provider of philanthropic services, Guardian Trust offers strategic advice, long-term investment management, careful planning and a commitment to ensuring that people’s generosity is effectively sustained over many lifetimes.

The charitable distributions from trusts established by Guardian Trust and its clients touch all facets of life – from the very young through the Starship Foundation to the sick and elderly through Hospices of New Zealand. Some trusts support research into illness, through organisations like the Cancer Society and the National Heart Foundation, and others provide social support, through organisations such as the Salvation Army and Presbyterian Support. During 2011 around 11% of all estimated donations from charitable trusts in New Zealand were distributed by Guardian Trust.

Guardian Trust encourages people to review estate planning and trusts regularly to ensure they meet their wishes in current times and will have longevity. Those with wills should seek advice on whether they are able to establish a charitable trust to ensure a favoured cause is supported for generations to come: $500,000 is the advisable minimum to establish a charitable trust.

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