Empowering communities through key partnerships

Community Foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand (CFANZ) is proud of its sector partnerships which have been developing over many years, in particular our relationship with long standing partners The Tindall Foundation and Craigs Investment Partners, both key partners in helping us to develop the infrastructure for building community philanthropy.

Craigs Investment Partners has been supporting the growth of community philanthropy for over 20 years, first supporting the establishment and growth of the Acorn Foundation in the Western Bay of Plenty, and in later years supporting the establishment and ongoing operations of CFANZ. Neil Craig himself has led this commitment to local communities, and this has built a culture at Craigs as company that cares about the future of the communities in which it operates.

Craigs has also provided funding for a number of other community foundations throughout the years to establish and grow, alongside building a culture of philanthropy from within. This has taken the form of structuring endowment funds where the income stream off the capital can fund donations to charitable causes in perpetuity and developing workplace giving programmes where they match staff donations and utilise the insight of local community foundations to get funding to where it is needed each Christmas. This collective giving model has replaced the corporate Christmas gifts of years gone by, acknowledging that Craigs people, clients and community value corporate purpose and community building initiatives.

What strikes us at CFANZ through our partnership with Craigs is their deep commitment to the communities in which they live and work, and that they value purpose alongside shareholder value. This was evidenced further at Craigs recent Professional Advisor Academies where the topic of philanthropy in client conversations was encouraged, powering up a win/win scenario for clients and for communities.

For over half of its 40 years Craigs has been proactive in building the community philanthropy ecosystem in Aotearoa NZ and this shows no sign of abating, with their commitment to our network stronger than ever. Here at CFANZ we would like to say a huge congratulations Craigs on the occasion of your ruby anniversary and ngā mihi nui for your tangible and authentic long-term support for giving thoughtfully and giving well into local communities across Aotearoa NZ.