24 Oct 2023
The Annual Impact100 Gala Awards last night was a celebration of giving and community.
After hearing from each of the 5 charities at last nights Gala Awards Dinner, the 208 members of Impact100 voted on their preferred charities.
Top honors went to Kiwiharvest and The Lakes District Museum who both receive $100,000 each.
Kiwi Harvest will use the funds to purchase a new refrigerated truck which is essential in the rescue of perishable food, preventing this food from going to landfill, and redistributing it as fresh healthy meals to families in need. Kiwi Harvest currently collects 131 tons of food annually which is then redistributed to local charities such as Baskets of Blessing and the Salvation Army who support approximately 765 people a week with meals.
The Lakes District Museum received the other $100,000 grant for their Digitising the Past - Inspiring the Future project. The digital project will ensure precious historical and recent records are preserved and protected, and being available in digital format will increase accessibility and inclusivity for all.
The balance of the $10,500 was shared between The LightFoot Initiative, Southern Lakes Sanctuary and Queenstown Trails with $3500 going to each of the three organisations.
Chair of Impact100 Wakatipu, Clare Irons said, “It was an amazing evening where we celebrate community and giving, and to see these two projects get the green light is fantastic. Our total giving over four years is now just shy of $700,000 and we are so looking forward to celebrating our fifth birthday in 2024.”
“Any of our five finalists would have been worthy winners, and it will be exciting to see the impact the grants have on both Kiwiharvest and The Lakes District Museum.”
Jennifer Belmont of the Wakatipu Community Foundation added, “the Community Foundation is delighted to have Impact100 be a part of our growing family of initiatives designed to grow local philanthropy and foster a spirit of community giving. We look forward to working with the winning projects and their impactful work in the Whakatipu.”
The next call for applications from local charities will be in May 2024. The opportunity for women to join and be part of the group closes on April 30th, after which the money available to be granted is determined. “Our events team have already organised a number of events over the next six months for people to come and find out more, and we welcome all women to come along and hear from our growing list of grant recipients.”