Wealth manager Guardian Trust is today starting an initiative aimed at linking philanthropists with charities at the coalface.
Guardian manages more than 450 charitable trusts which disburse $26 million each year.
It says its new Centre for Philanthropy will better serve clients by helping them to identify charitiesthat meet their aims. It has invited charities to sign up to its "knowledge base"- a detailed database of charities that explains their strategies, the programmes that support them, and their financial situation.
Mark Cassidy, its national manager for philanthropy, said this would then help Guardian's philanthropic clients to better direct their efforts. "I often have conversations with people who've obviously been successful and they want to put something back into the community, but they're not sure how to."
Cassidy said that sometimes philanthropists had ideas for charitable programmes, but they did not necessarily meet the needs of the community.
On the flip side the Centre for Philanthropy could help charities to continue their programmes in a financially sustainable way by matching them with long-term funders.
"What we're really looking to do is to develop a great partnership between those who want to fund and those who are out there delivering into the community."
He said Guardian had managed trust and client grants to 530 charities over the past three years.
A BERL study in 2007 showed New Zealanders donate $1.4 billion a year, via trust and foundation giving, personal donations, and business and corporate giving.
The Centre for Philanthropy will be launched at at the Auckland War Memorial Museum tonight.
