Perpetual Guardian says donations rise sharply despite sluggish economy

Perpetual Guardian says many philanthropic clients are passionate about education and help fund a variety of scholarships. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Despite a lacklustre economy and challenges in the charity and voluntary sectors, donations and average grants were well up in Perpetual Guardian’s latest year.

Perpetual Guardian, the biggest steward of philanthropic funds in the country, said in its latest annual report total giving was up 30.2% to $30.6 million.

It said the average grant value in the latest financial year was $16,729, up 42.9% from $11,705 the year before.

Many donors favoured environmental causes, with grants there surging from $600,000 to $4m.

Education-focused grants, too, more than doubled, from $1.5 to $3.7m.

Giving to the arts was also up, from $1.26m to $2m.

Perpetual Guardian said grant support for social services rose from $8.2m to $10m.

Perpetual Guardian head of philanthropy Kirsten Kilian-Taylor said the increases were heartening, especially at a time of major economic pressures.

“When there’s not enough money around, people need to get really strategic.”

She told the Herald a smaller number of large donations and a big boost to educational grants were among key trends this year.

“Rather than giving everybody $5, it’s being a little bit more discerning.”

Kirsten Kilian-Taylor, head of philanthropy at Perpetual Guardian. Photo / Supplied

People traditionally donated to their alma mater, she said. But in recent months some were also giving more to alternative educational initiatives.

Kilian-Taylor said this might be due to people worried the education system wasn’t meeting the full spectrum of needs people had.

She said New Zealanders were among the most generous people per capita in the world.

“A lot of philanthropic work is quiet, even humble, with donors preferring to remain anonymous.”

Perpetual Guardian used exchange-traded funds (ETFs) allowing people to invest in climate-friendly companies, she said.

“They’re not investing in the nasties and they’re giving as well.”

Donations are not only from bequests or wills. People can donate when still alive and Kilian-Taylor said more people were choosing to do so.

“And they’re becoming far more popular because people want to be part of their giving story,” she said.

Perpetual Guardian said group philanthropic assets under management grew from $849m to $936m.

“The sizeable increase in overall giving is attributable in part to rebounding investment markets ... and to a pool of new donors who began their philanthropic journey during the year,” the group said.

“Sometimes, when we look around the world and see struggle and strife it is hard to see where change can happen,” Perpetual Guardian Group CEO Patrick Gamble said.

“But we hope this year’s report can be read as proof of how readily New Zealanders help others and create opportunities for the generations to come through their intentions and planning.”

Perpetual Guardian founder Andrew Barnes said one of the donors was Shirley Cooper, an Aucklander who left a legacy for medical research.

Some of the money Cooper donated was being used for the University of Otago to progress a treatment for a rare and fatal genetic brain disease known as Batten disease, which typically begins in children aged 5-10.

“Shirley’s legacy is reaching countless people and putting more power to help in the hands of researchers and clinicians,” Barnes said.

Some of the funds have been managed for decades.

John McGregor McGillvray died in 1960 and Perpetual Guardian established the McGillvray Brothers Fund that year.

The fund was created with the intention of supporting the University of Otago and advancing medical research, and each year it funded about 20 summer research projects related to human health, including biomedical sciences and public health.

Community leader Dave Letele's recent struggles funding his foodbank have highlighted pressures on the voluntary and charitable sectors. Photo / Dean Purcell

Another recipient of funding was Leesuk Isaac Kim who received a $6000 education scholarship to support a research project focused on using synthetic nanobodies to block migraine signalling.

The McGillvray Brothers Fund provided at least one scholarship annually.

Other beneficiaries included the Kathleen Spragg Charitable Trust for agricultural research that fostered research and development in soils, plants and animals.

The annual report emerged soon after community advocate Dave Letele said he would close his South Auckland foodbank due to high running costs and a shortage of Government support.

In August, Oranga Tamariki discontinued more than 330 service contracts after a review of contracted provider funding.

Perpetual Guardian is the trading name of Perpetual Trust Limited, which traced its trustee and fiduciary origins to 1882.