Brent Eastwood, the chief executive, isn't afraid to practise what he preaches, bequeathing $25,000 to the Kauri Sport Fund. Photo / Tania Whyte
Brent Eastwood, the chief executive, isn't afraid to practise what he preaches, bequeathing $25,000 to the Kauri Sport Fund. Photo / Tania Whyte
The head honcho at Sport Northland has put his money where his mouth is in a substantial commitment to youth sport in the region.
Chief executive Brent Eastwood, 56, has pledged to give $25,000 through his will to the Kauri Club Fund, which was created with the Northland Community Foundationto financially support talented sportspeople in Northland.
The Northland Community Foundation (NCF), of which Eastwood is the deputy chairperson, is one of 17 regional community foundations in New Zealand and invests funds on behalf of people, charities or businesses which want to donate to worthy Northland causes in all areas of society.
Three years ago, NCF partnered with Sport Northland to form the Northland Sport Fund in order to secure long-term funding for the sport and recreation sector in Northland. The Kauri Club Fund is the first named fund underneath the umbrella of the Northland Sports Fund.
Eastwood hoped his contribution would help the region's young, talented sportspeople. Photo / Tania Whyte
The NCF invests the funds which are donated or bequeathed through local firm Craigs Investments Partners and then delivers the interest back in the form of grants. In the case of the Kauri Club Fund, the interest is given back to Sport Northland, which then uses an independent panel to distribute the money to local sportspeople.
Northland squash prodigy Riley-Jack Vette-Blomquist, who represented New Zealand in July, recently received a $500 contribution towards his travel and training from the Kauri Club Fund.
"My passion for sport has made me decide to give back to my community, it's where my heart is," Eastwood said.
"I know how difficult it is in Northland to get sports funding and I want to help more young athletes have that access in the future."
Once realised, the $25,000 bequest was projected to grow to $43,971 in 30 years and could gift as much as $14,977 to talented young athletes. In 100 years, the original gift could grow to $164,194 and gift $109,890 between 220 Northland athletes.
Eastwood said he first considered leaving money to the NCF back in 2010 when the foundation was campaigning for funding for the Jim Carney Cancer Treatment Centre to be built in Whangārei.
"The guy who was leading the fundraising strategy for us at the time said to the board, 'you are all trustees of this organisation, so for you to be asking someone else about bequeathing, you've got to have already committed to it yourself'," Eastwood said.
"It kind of got me thinking, 'he's absolutely right', so I did and now that the cancer centre has been completed, I have transferred the bequest to where my passion lies."
The Jim Carney Cancer Treatment Centre was integral to NCF's growth in the region. Photo / Michael Cunningham
While bequeathing money with the NCF was always reviewable, Eastwood hoped he would be able to increase his contribution in the future. Eastwood said the benefit of donating to the NCF was knowing funds would go straight back into the region, unlike many national charities.
In the last financial year, the NCF distributed $214,186 back into Northland through various causes, decided by a locally elected, six-person panel. Currently, the NCF had approximately $1.5 million in managed/invested funds, a total which had been gifted in the past seven years.
The funds waiting to be realised through bequests to the NCF totalled $11.7m. The foundation's last portfolio performance review on June 30 found the NCF had delivered an 8.74 per cent return on average, above the predicted average return of 5.4 per cent.
In addition to his bequest, Eastwood had also taken the opportunity to give to the fund through payroll giving, contributing a fortnightly sum.
Eastwood said it was surprising how many people had money and other assets to give and he hoped they would consider the NFC as a viable option.
"The way I see it, the foundation is the connector for people who want a vehicle to be able to give to these good causes that actually need money," he said.
"For the cost of just one coffee each week, you get that great feeling that you're contributing to something that you're really passionate about."
Payroll giving, often referred to as "living giving", can be set up through most employers as a way of contributing during your lifetime to your favourite cause.
