Trust Horizon celebrates 30 years with $50 million milestone

In 1994, the Bay of Plenty Consumer Trust was established with the goal of retaining a portion of the local electricity company under community ownership. 30 years later, the registered charity – now named Trust Horizon – is celebrating three decades of transformational change in the Eastern Bay with a special 30th Anniversary Community Update. 

Trust Horizon’s 30th has been a record year for community grants. With $3.4 million invested in local organisations – a year-on-year increase of $1 million – the Trust is on track this calendar year to reach a new milestone of over $50 million granted since inception.

This year’s community grants have been wide-ranging. From $280,000 to contribute to Ōmaiō Marae’s new wharekai, to $178,365 to power 15 new affordable homes with Ngāti Awa Social & Health Services Trust – through to lighting and sound upgrades for Ōpōtiki’s iconic De Luxe Theatre, and bringing new STEM initiatives to Eastern Bay schools. 

Kawerau Golf & Squash Club was another organisation to receive funding from Trust Horizon. The support saw the club able to upgrade its 1980s era lighting with all-new energy-efficient LEDs. “Especially as the Club is a non-profit volunteer-run organisation, grants like this make such a massive difference,” says Willie Copeland, Kawerau Golf & Squash Club President.

These projects are a selection of the 14 total showcased in Trust Horizon’s celebratory Anniversary Community Update – alongside the Chairperson and Chief Executive’s report, key financial information, and an update from Horizon Energy Group. This special edition also includes a celebratory retrospective on the Trust’s last 30 years of community transformation and investment. 

Together with community grants, Trust Horizon continues to focus on its strategy of transformational investments that bring lasting change to the region. This year’s update highlights two such investments; a $5 million commitment to the BOP Housing Equity Fund, and $5.5 million investment into Lodestone Energy who are developing two solar farms locally.

“This 30th anniversary update has been a great time to reflect on the remarkable people involved in organisations, charities, schools, marae, businesses, and initiatives that Trust Horizon has been privileged enough to support across the decades,” says Derek Caudwell, Trust Horizon Chief Executive. “It also marks an opportunity to thank past and present trustees and staff who’ve shaped the Trust into what it is today.”

“On behalf of Trust Horizon, we’d also like to extend our deepest thanks to every member of the community working tirelessly to make the Eastern Bay the brilliant community we know and love,” says David Glover, Trust Horizon Chair. “We look forward to seeing what the next 30 years of positive change will bring.”

This year’s Public Meeting will take place on 31st October from 11.30am. Open to the general public, the meeting is an opportunity to provide Trust Horizon with feedback on business plans, audited accounts, annual reports, and more. If you wish to attend or speak at this year’s meeting, please email reception@trusthorizon.org.nz.

Trust Horizon’s Anniversary Community Update is now available to download via trusthorizon.org.nz. It is also scheduled to be distributed in the Beacon on 25th September and Ōpōtiki News on 26th September.

Find out how we’ve brought positive change over the last 30 years to the communities we know and love here.