Welcome to our May Newsletter. This month’s newsletter includes lots of great information and resources for community groups.

A new series of four videos has been created by the Centre of Social Impact to help those who are new to their chair role and prepare people who may aspire to take on the position. The content for these videos was created with the input of more than 30 experienced board chairs, based on what they wished they knew when they got their first chair role. We would encourage you to take the time to view the videos if you are new to the chair role or think you may like to move into a chair role for your community group / organisation.

As I often mention in my discussions with stakeholder and grantees outside of approving grants on a monthly basis, one of the key roles of Otago Community Trust is to ensure we regularly visit different areas of our region and gain a better understanding first-hand of how our grants are making a difference. Over the last two months staff and trustees have had the privilege of visiting a variety of different community projects across South Otago and also Greater Dunedin.

A highlight of our recent visits was trekking to Irahuka | Long Point to visit the Yellow Eyed Penguin field base for staff and researchers. Otago Community Trust provided a $50,000 grant to support the establishment of the base and it was great to view it first hand and listen to the progress of the Yellow Eyed Penguin Trust. Long Point is just a short drive further on from Purakaunui Bay which is approximately 20 kms south of Owaka, it is well worth a visit.

We would like thank all those individuals and groups who took the time to show and educate us on the projects they have undertaken or are advancing. We extend a special thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to come and join us at the Owaka community ‘meet and greet’ on March 17th. The afternoon tea was truly spectacular and we are very grateful to the committee from the Owaka Swimming Pool for coordinating this.

A quick reminder that 1st of April marked the start of a new financial year for the Trust. We are pleased to announce that recently Trustees approved a general grants budget of $10 million for the 2021/22 financial year. All organisations who received funding in the period from 1 April 2020 to 31st March 2021 are now eligible to once again apply for project funding.

Finally, I trust you enjoy reading this newsletter and hearing about some of the things we have been involved with in recent months. 

Barbara Bridger, CE