Positive Results See Sunrise Community Grants Increase

August 2017 - It was announced at The Sunrise Foundation AGM that better than forecast results for the 2017 year will see the fledgling organisation in a strong position to increase funding to local organisations.

Sunrise endowment funds performed above benchmark achieving a return of 8.1% on investments in the 2017 financial year. The foundation received $627,584 in donated funds in the year, bringing the total of donations received since the organisation launched in 2014 to $1,566,484.

Colin Christie FCA, Sunrise Investment Committee, says it is due to the generosity of local donors and the strong performance of investments, that funds available to grant to worthy causes has doubled from last year.

As a community endowment foundation, Sunrise invests all donations, protecting the capital and growing it every year to keep up with inflation. The surplus investment income is available as grants to Gisborne/Tairawhiti charities and organisations.

David Clark has been on the board of Sunrise since it was established in 2014 and is also on the investment committee. He has been involved in the charitable sector in Gisborne for many years and is a family member/trustee on the Clark Charitable Trust.

David is satisfied that investment managers JMIS have performed well in managing Sunrise’s endowments. “JMIS have extensive experience managing funds on behalf of charitable trusts in New Zealand and look after the funds of other well-known Gisborne trusts. This gave the Sunrise board confidence in appointing them as our investment managers. In addition, JMIS have donated their services and management of our funds since inception and have confirmed that they will continue that sponsorship for another year with no cost to Sunrise. This means we have more money to grant back to our community.”

Richard Montgomery FCA, an independent chartered accountant, has experience in investment trusts and was approached by the board to join the Investment Committee to bring that knowledge and expertise to the team. Richard believes there is an added responsibility on Sunrise to invest funds wisely on behalf of a large number of local donors. “There is a need to be cautious and an extra duty of care when taking responsibility for the safe keeping of donated funds. We strove to achieve the best returns possible, whilst keeping the risk level low. We took a cautious approach to inflation proofing to ensure that the fund remains robust.”

Sunrise invites local charities and organisations to apply for funding once per annum. The 2017 funding round is now open, applications must be received before 18 August 2017. The application form and funding policy is available on www.sunrisefoundation.org.nz.

ENDS

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