Simplicity Foundation Donates Another $480,000 To Charity, And Appoints New Chair

The Simplicity Foundation, a charity which owns 100% of KiwiSaver default provider Simplicity, has just donated $480,000 to the following charities:

Trees That Count - $234,000 to plant an additional 36,000 native trees across the country.
Upside mentoring - $61,000 to support more mentoring programmes for 9-13 year olds across New Zealand.

Sustainable Coastlines - $60,000 for riparian planting to improve water quality in the Hauraki Gulf.

Red Cross Refugee Services - $25,000 for youth refugee support and development services in Wellington.

In February, Peter Neilson, the chair of the Simplicity Foundation, died of cancer. The Foundation has made a donation of $100,000 in his name to the Auckland University Centre for Cancer Research.

Total donations now exceed $3.6 million, and are growing at over $150,000 a month. 15% of all Simplicity fees are paid to the Foundation.

Marisa Fong appointed to chair Simplicity Foundation

The new chair of the Foundation is Marisa Fong, who has been a Trustee since 2016, and brings a wealth of experience in entrepreneurship and philanthropy.

She is a member of Entrepreneurs Organisation, NZ Asian Leaders, Superdiversity Institute, Global Women, Institute of Directors, Co. Of Women and associate member of Flying Kiwi Angels.

She also serves as Executive Judge for the New Zealander of the Year awards and was inducted into the New Zealand Hall of Fame for Women Entrepreneurs in October 2020.

“It’s a real privilege to step up to the role of chair and I know I’m filling big shoes after Peter’s stellar work for the last 6 years. It’s a great Board to be a part of, especially when the primary goal is to do good through giving,’’ said Ms Fong.

Sam Stubbs, Managing Director of Simplicity, said “Marisa has a huge heart, an awesome skill set, and we’re delighted she’s now the chair of our Foundation”.

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