New name, tighter purse strings: Christchurch Foundation’s ‘fundamental shift’

Thursday, 27 November 2025

The Christchurch Foundation has a new name as it widens its focus and promises to be more accountable and sustainable.

It will now be known as Kura Tāwhiti - Canterbury Community Foundation and will serve the wider region, rather than just Christchurch.

The foundation’s performance and high operational costs have come under criticism in recent years, but the transformation, announced on Thursday, marks a fundamental shift in the organisation, board chairperson Dr Anake Goodall said.

The foundation was set up in 2017 by the Christchurch City Council to attract philanthropic money into the city. It has received $3.3 million in funding from the council over the past eight years and will receive another $220,000 next year.

Founding chief executive Amy Carter, who stepped down in May last year, was criticised for spending $100,000 on travel and organising expensive events that cost more to host than the foundation made.

Goodall said the foundation had heard the community’s concerns “loud and clear” and this transformation was about “accountability and sustainability”.

“We’ve rebuilt this organisation from the ground up with rigorous cost control, transparent governance, and an uncompromising focus on building endowment funds that will support the wider Canterbury region for generations to come.”

Operating costs have reduced through working remotely, managing IT and accounting costs better, and more than halving the number of staff to 2.4 full-time equivalent, Goodall said.

Chief executive Lynne Umbers, who joined the organisation in an interim capacity last year and became chief executive in July, said it had moved away from expensive events, merchandising, and pass-through funding and was focusing on building endowment funds that endured.

“This isn’t the same organisation. Every dollar donated now works harder and lasts longer. We’re lean, focused and delivering tangible benefits.”

The name, Kura Tāwhiti, was gifted at no cost by Ngāi Tahu leader Te Maire Tau and references Castle Hill, within the organisation’s new boundary.

When asked if the foundation would seek funding from the Selwyn and Waimakariri district councils, Umbers said they had met with representatives from both councils.

“We will continue to build relationships and explore opportunities to work with them.”

Umbers would not say how much the foundation spent on the rebranding, but said it had built up a strong working relationship and partnership with marketing firm Antony & Mates.

That agreement was commercially sensitive, but the rebranding work had been done “in kind with a cash component which was below market rates”, she said.

The organisation has more than $3.3m in managed funds, including $1.8m in the Our People, Our City Education Fund, which supports tertiary students affected by the March 15 terror attack.

It has a Plant a Tree for Canterbury campaign, which is growing the Green Philanthropy Fund while generating carbon credits for reinvestment. The Women Entrepreneurs Fund has recently distributed $50,000 to another five women, bringing the total distributed from that fund to more than $250,000 to 42 women.