New endowment fund with Sunrise to support local theatres

The War Memorial Theatre Gisborne Trust is the latest local charity to establish an endowment fund at The Sunrise Foundation.   

The Trust was established in 2012 with a goal of raising $5m toward renovations for the War Memorial Theatre. With the help of Trust Tairāwhiti and substantial donations from the philanthropic community of Gisborne, they were able to raise that and more, with an additional $1.5m raised for the renovations of Lawson Field Theatre.  

Pat Seymour, Trust Chairperson, says, “With both theatres now fully operational, we're looking to the future and have seeded the War Memorial Theatre and Lawson Field Theatre Endowment Fund with a focus on perpetuity.” 

“We were fortunate to receive large grants early on that have earned us a lot of interest. The $200k we’ve used to establish the endowment fund is due to prudent management and has accrued over time from investments.” 

Pat stresses that the fund with Sunrise will be used for all the “nice to have stuff” including sound technology, capital, and upgrades, whilst Gisborne District Council is responsible for repairs and maintenance.

Anne Muir, Trust Treasurer says, “We’ve always paid extra to make the theatres as high quality as possible and would like the fund to continue this for future years.”

“The level of support from the community when fundraising for renovations was incredible and we hope theatre patrons will show that same support for our Sunrise endowment fund.” 

All donations made to the new fund will be invested, protected, and grown to keep up with inflation. The surplus of the investment income will be available for the War Memorial Theatre and Lawson Field Theatre every year forever. To support the new fund, please visit the ‘Donate Now’ page on our website.

Read more here about our War Memorial Theatre & Lawson Field Theatre fund.