Momentum Waikato Community Foundation has announced its new CEO is Kelvyn Eglinton, currently Hamilton City Council’s General Manager City Growth.

Mr Eglinton will take up the role at the community foundation in mid-March. Founding Chief Executive Cheryl Reynolds has left after four years at the helm to establish a new social enterprise for generosity.

Momentum Waikato Chair Leonard Gardner is pleased the foundation’s board has appointed Mr Eglinton. “We are grateful Kelvyn is joining us. He has a very strong background in community engagement and growth and that, combined with his strategic approach, will drive Momentum Waikato through its next important phase.”

Mr Gardner says Mr Eglinton is a strong supporter of the Waikato region, and will be a perfect fit for what is a unique role in New Zealand.

Momentum Waikato Community Foundation is an independent, permanent resource for high-impact philanthropic giving within the Waikato region, linking generous donors to strategic charitable investments targeted at transformational change. Among other things it is currently convening donations and delivering the new Waikato Regional Theatre, and runs the Vital Impact programme which invests in positive transformational change for current and future generations.

Mr Eglinton, who has held the city growth role at Hamilton City Council for two years, has a strong background in corporate social responsibility in mining in New Zealand and Australasia, and has long-term connections to the Waikato.

“The Momentum CEO role was very attractive because my background is in working across communities and within corporate organisations, particularly around corporate social responsibility. The Waikato is on the cusp of great things and Momentum Waikato is aligned with many good business people seeking to make the region a better place.”

He plans to build on the work already put in place by Ms Reynolds and the Momentum Waikato team to specialise in brokering deals by connecting donors and projects, and to make the Waikato the most generous region in the world.

“We have about 460,000 people across our region, making us the third biggest economy in New Zealand. We have communities wanting to build a sense of place, a strong iwi in Waikato Tainui and solid opportunities to leverage across projects and programmes. So, we’re big enough to trial things but we’re flexible and have great connections, and therefore we can adapt and amend quickly if we need to.”

Mr Eglinton says Momentum Waikato already has the support of many generous individual donors, and he’ll also be looking to work with corporate, iwi and community organisations to benefit the Waikato community. “Corporate social responsibility is still really in its infancy in New Zealand, but we are seeing great changes in many industries. I hope to be able to talk with companies here about providing benefits to communities in such a way that makes good sense to organisations.”

Mr Eglinton joins the Momentum team in March. Meanwhile Momentum Waikato has also announced Janice Lapwood will join the team as its Development Manager in February. Mrs Lapwood comes from a role as the Development Manager at the University of Waikato Foundation.

Mr Gardner says Mr Eglinton and Mrs Lapwood bring a wealth of talent to their roles. “I’m looking forward to introducing them both to Momentum Waikato’s friends and supporters so they can see the passion they’ll bring to their roles.”

About Momentum Waikato

Momentum Waikato Community Foundation has been created to convene and connect generous people in the Waikato with intergenerational projects of significance that meet both the current and future needs of our community.

The Foundation was given a long-term loan of $10m from WEL Energy Trust to begin its important work. The fund has been prudently invested and will continue to grow with the help of independent experts, and then distributed within the Waikato region.

Momentum Waikato’s professional investment and granting services are for donors who want to support Waikato causes and organisations, and are done with no fees charged to donors. The foundation’s no-fee service is unique among all community foundations in New Zealand.

For more information visit www.momentumwaikato.nz

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