Welcome to our September Newsletter. When we started our Annual Public meeting at 4.30pm on the 17th August we did not expect to hear the announcement within hours of a hard and fast lockdown taking place that evening. We hope you are all coping ok in what has been a difficult and challenging time with the resurgence of COVID-19.

It is great that the Otago region is now at level 2 and whilst staff are now back in the office we are discouraging face to face meetings until we are back in Level 1. Rest assured however we are open for business, our grants portal remains open for grant applications and we are committed to being flexible with our granting processes going forward. You are welcome to connect with us via email, phone, zoom or other meeting platforms.

Annual Public Meeting

Our 33rd Annual Public Meeting at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery on the 17th of August was well attended with over 70 members of the community present.

At our meeting we reported that in the 12 months to 31st March 2021, the Trust approved grants totalling $8.6 million and processed around 400 applications from community groups all over Otago. The Trust ended the year with a $48.5 million surplus, having made a $57.9 million return on its investment for the year ending 31st March 2021, a stark contrast on the previous year.

New Trustees 

We are pleased to welcome two new trustees - Andy Kilsby and Rev Alofa Lale to the Otago Community Trust. Andy and Alofa replace Pip Laufiso and Gina Huakau who are stepping down from the Trust after completing their maximum terms as Trustees.

We thank Pip and Gina for their contribution and we look forward to the blend of skills and knowledge Alofa and Andy will bring to the board.

COVID-19 Hardship Fund

Otago Community Trust understands that there has been a significant increase in demand across the region for food parcels and emergency support during this COVID-19 lockdown.

As a consequence we have established a new Fund for organisations directly supporting Otago residents experiencing hardship as a result of the Covid lockdown, for example assistance with food parcels and basic home essentials.

Should you have any questions regarding funding or our new COVID-19 Hardship Fund please feel free to contact me or our Grants Manager Sue Stewart or indeed any member of the Trust’s team, we are always here to help.

Ngā mihi

Take care, stay safe

Barbara Bridger, CE