Church donations close to $6m a year

Destiny Church organisations have received $300,000 of taxpayer money, get donations of almost $6 million a year and have more than $12m in assets.

Under new charity rules the churches and associated trusts have submitted their financial records to the Charities Commission and set out the value of donations for the past financial year.

Donations were recorded as totalling $5,789,868. The figures are a year old, but have only just been filed.

The Destiny School and preschool in Auckland receive more than $300,000 a year in Ministry of Education bulk funding and operations grants. The preschool, Te Roto Taone Nui Trust, also received $90,000 in Work and Income subsidies in 2008.

At least one other Destiny-associated trust and a holding company, Simpatico Holdings, have filed financial statements. Records show Simpatico Holdings has assets of $12.8m including more than $10m in "property, plant and equipment".

Destiny said Simpatico, a charitable company, was set up to satisfy the bank lending conditions when the church bought its headquarters.