Continue your giving, even after you’re gone.
Leaving a gift in your will to a local community foundation, like Nikau, is a powerful, practical way to give back to our communities and a great way to ensure the causes closest to your heart continue to be supported long into the future. Once you have made provision for your loved ones, a gift in your will can be the perfect way to make a difference, without impacting on your current financial needs.
Growing generosity, forever.
Nikau understands that healthy, happy, thriving communities require long-term, sustainable support and resources. That’s why we invest and grow the gifts we receive, however big or small, to create positive change for our region today, tomorrow and long into the future.
Through our model, your gift will be invested and grown so it continues to create meaningful change for our communities. We exist in perpetuity so, even in 50, 100 or 150 years, your gift will continue to make an impact. It quite literally is the gift that keeps on giving!
How we work alongside you
We understand that giving is really personal. While some wish to provide opportunities for youth to fulfil their potential, others wish to preserve our region’s flora and fauna, foster the arts or make sure our region’s most vulnerable are supported for generations to come. When you establish a fund with Nikau, we work alongside you to understand your giving goals and to ensure that the causes closest to your heart are supported through your generosity, forever.
Here is how we will work with you:
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We meet with you to discuss your future giving plans, the causes close to your heart and the impact you’d like to make in our communities.
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We work with you to determine how and when you wish to give. While some choose to establish a fund in their lifetime, others choose to establish it via a bequest.
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We will establish your fund, while you add a simple clause within your will to include a gift to the fund (or a memorandum of wishes for a family trust).
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As a Nikau donor, we will keep you connected with bespoke events, stories from our communities and tailored communications showcasing organisations, projects and initiatives in your area of interest.
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Your gift will be responsibly invested and grown to create positive change for our communities long into the future.
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Once your fund balance reaches $75,000, we will make annual grants to the things you care most about.
For the next chapter of your giving, we are a safe pair of hands.
All with different visions for our communities, the below individuals have left gifts in their will to deliver transformative support to the people and places of our region for generations to come.
Futureproofed funding to support social change.
From her time facilitating in-prison public speaking programmes; first at Rimutaka and then at Arohata, Margaret Nixon is very aware of the extreme inequities that face many in our communities.
It was this knowledge along with a lack of wrap-around services to support positive reintegration that encouraged Margaret to establish the Reintegration on Leaving Prison Fund, which will be bolstered by a gift in her will.
Everlasting support for Hutt Valley High students.
When Audrey died in 2010, she left a gift in her will to establish a Trust to support Hutt Valley High School students in the Lidgett name. For many years, the Lidgett Scholarships Trust has supported students to pursue fine arts and design in their tertiary studies. In 2023, the Trustees established The Lidgett Scholarships Fund to ensure that Audrey’s vision could continue to provide these opportunities for students, forever.
An enduring gift to the city Mark helped to build.
“I made my money in Wellington, and I plan to leave it here when I go,” says Wellington property developer and committed philanthropist Sir Mark Dunajtschik. We are delighted to announce that Nikau Foundation will be the guardian of Mark’s bequest; a gift set to make a transformational difference in the lives of those living with disability.
Leaving a gift in my will - FAQ’s
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Many of us have causes that are close to our hearts. Leaving a gift in your will provides a great opportunity to continue to support these causes, even after you’re gone.
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There are two main options when it comes to leaving a gift in your will to charity.
Giving directly to a charity or cause (s) of your choice.
Giving to an endowment fund designed to benefit the charities or causes of your choice, long-term.
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An endowment fund is money held and invested for a particular purpose for the long-term. The beneficiaries of endowment funds are not-for-profit organisations rather than individuals. However, they can be established by individuals as well as many different types of organisations such as Universities and charitable entities.
All donations given to endowment funds are invested and grown, with the real value of the initial gift being protected over time to provide reliable, long-term support for its intended beneficiary (or beneficiaries). A portion of the investments is given out in grants on an annual basis*.
As a community foundation, Nikau Foundation is now the guardian of over 80 endowment funds; each with their own purpose and vision for our communities. While some of these funds are dedicated to supporting health and wellbeing, others have been established to support our region’s most vulnerable or to ensure youth have the tools and resources to thrive.
*once the fund reaches $75,000.
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When you set up a fund, you can give back in a way that is most meaningful to you. Whether you wish to nurture our region’s arts scene, provide transformative support for youth, conserve our environment or support the health and wellbeing of our communities, we will work with you to design your unique fund.
Our model invests and grows all donations so even a small gift can make a lasting impact. Moreover, the real value of your gift will be protected over time.
We are designed to exist in perpetuity, so even in 50, 100 or 150 years, your gift will continue to give back to our communities.
For larger gifts, Nikau provides a stress-free giving option. Rather than setting up another entity, such as a charitable trust or foundation, Nikau will take care of all the practical nuts and bolts (including reporting, compliance and administration, marketing etc) while honoring your charitable wishes through grant-making.
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Although charitable trusts and Nikau Foundation endowment funds are established for very similar purposes and can give back to the community in similar ways, they have slightly different structures. As a charitable trust is a separate entity, it requires its own reporting, compliance, financial management, administration, community engagement and activities such as trustee recruitment, grant-making etc - all of which can be costly and time consuming, as well as requiring in-depth knowledge and expertise in multiple areas.
However, as your endowment fund will be established within Nikau Foundation’s existing structure, we will take care of all these activities for you. There are many advantages to this, including the enduring trusteeship provided by Nikau Foundation’s volunteer board of trustees and tapping into the knowledge and expertise of our office team.
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We apply a 1.7% fee to our endowment funds balance.
This fee covers all aspects of managing the fund including professional investment management, compliance and governance, administration and finance, promotion and grant-making, as well as reporting back to our donors and other stakeholders.
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Absolutely! If you’d rather not establish your own fund, we also have a range of funds you can leave a gift in your will to, which you can read more about here.
Each with their own focuses, these funds give back to the people and places of Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Maui, the Greater Wellington region in their own unique ways.
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Absolutely!
It is your fund, and your choice, so you can name specific organisations and/or charitable causes.
We would just recommend that you avoid making the focus of your fund too narrow, so it continues to make a meaningful and relevant impact for many years to come.
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Yes! As Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Maui, the Greater Wellington region’s community foundation, we have deep connections to our communities, working alongside hundreds of not-for-profits in a range of areas. When we first connect, we will discuss your giving goals, the impact you’d like to see in our communities and priority funding areas so that we can design and tailor your fund to give back in powerful and meaningful ways.
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Yes, of course! We understand that you may wish to add organisations as fund beneficiaries or change the charitable focus of your fund.
Just get in touch and we can work with you to make the change.
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It’s completely up to you! If you’d like us to consult with a friend or family member, we are more than happy to do so. In this case, we will share projects and organisations matching your fund’s purpose with them every year during our grants round in a bespoke proposal.
Either way, we will ensure that your vision for our communities is honoured through your fund’s grant-making, forever.
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It’s your fund, and completely up to you. While some donors are comfortable putting their name to a fund, others wish to name their fund in honour of a loved one or after the cause to which they wish to give. We will work with you to find a name that you love.
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Absolutely, many of our donors wish to remain anonymous in different ways. For some, this means that while the name of their fund is public, their name will remain private. For others, this means that their fund will always give anonymously, or give anonymously to certain organisations. You can also choose to remain anonymous until you pass away.
We will work with you to establish these parameters.
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There are several options for leaving a gift to a Nikau Foundation fund, some of which are below:
A percentage of your estate
A sum of money.
Other assets (please note that all assets will be sold, with the proceeds invested in Nikau’s managed funds in line with our Statement of Investment Principles and Objectives).
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There is no minimum donation and all gifts, however big or small, have the capacity to make a lasting difference in our communities.
However, to ensure that we are making meaningful grants, a fund will only grant once it reaches the balance of $75,000.
You can choose to establish a fund if your gift is above this amount or choose to give a smaller amount to one of the existing funds.
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No, there is no fee associated with establishing a fund with Nikau Foundation. However, as it takes a lot of time, expertise and knowledge to establish a fund, we encourage a donation to support Nikau’s operating expenses.
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If you’re establishing your own fund with Nikau Foundation..
If you would like to establish your own fund, you will need to complete a fund establishment form. This is designed to give us a better understanding of what causes you’d like to support so we can honor your wishes long-term. It also gives you a better understanding of how Nikau works and how the fund will be administered and the grants made.
Once your fund establishment form is complete, you (or your lawyer) will need to add the below statement to your will:
To transfer (x% of the residue of my/our estate or whatever sum you wish to leave) to the Nikau Foundation (CC24793) to be paid into the “XYZ Endowment Fund” which I/we have established to be dealt with by the trustees of the Foundation in accordance with the terms of that Fund.
If you’re leaving a gift to an existing Nikau Foundation fund:
We would love to connect with you to confirm the fund to which you’d like to leave a gift, and to make sure we have a good handle on how you’d like to support our communities.
Once we have connected, you (or your lawyer) will need to add the below statement to your will:
To transfer (x% of the residue of my/our estate or whatever sum you wish to leave) to the Nikau Foundation (CC24793) to be paid into the “XYZ Fund” to be dealt with by the trustees of the Foundation in accordance with the terms of that Fund.
For either option, please get in touch with us so we can start the conversation via info@nikaufoundation.nz
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We would love to connect with you to discuss your giving goals and vision for our communities. To start the conversation, you are welcome to get in touch via info@nikaufoundation.nz or to give us a call via 04 381 2224.
Discover other ways to give.
There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to giving through Nikau Foundation. While some choose to establish an individual fund based on their interests, others choose to give as a family, leave a gift in their will or give monthly online.
Connect with us
We would be delighted to discuss your giving goals or how we can support you to give in a practical, meaningful and sustainable way.
To have a chat, please get in touch by clicking below.
