Five finalists have been announced for this year’s Impact100 Wakatipu grants, totalling almost $170,000.
In its third year, chair Clare Irons (pictured) says it’s been challenging for the grant committee to narrow down the applicants to the ‘‘final five’’, any of which would be a worthy winner.
Grant committee chair Joan Kiernan says she always enjoys getting to know charities in the area through the grants process, ‘‘and it’s so
inspiring to see the work they are doing up close’’.
This year’s finalists are Youth Search and Rescue Trust, to establish a Youth SAR branch in the Whakatipu, Life Education Trust Heartland Otago Southland, to establish a new mobile classroom here so Whakatipu children are visited by the programme every year, rather than
every second year, the Turn Up The Music Trust, to establish a music programme in early childhood education centres across the Basin, the Order of St John Wakatipu Area committee, to fund the health shuttle replacement and enable the weekend ‘befriending’ programme, and
Te Atamira Whakatipu Community Trust, to establish an ‘Arts for All’ programme.
They are all vying for a $148,000 grant, however, all four runners-up will win $5000.
First established in Queenstown in 2020, Impact100’s a non-profit women’s philanthropic effort dedicated to supporting worthwhile local charities with at least one annual $100,000 grant in arts and culture, lifewide learning, community health and wellbeing, community recreation, or heritage and environment.
Last year’s winners were Pivotal Point Charitable Trust, which received $100,000 to establish a neurodiversity screening programme for kids and provide professional development for teachers, and the Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust, which received $85,000 for technology-based feral cat trapping in the Dart/Rees.
The Impact100 members will vote for their preferred recipient for this year’s major grant at a presentation and awards dinner on October 27.
