22 Years Later, $25 Million of Local Impact - and Counting
Thanks to the generosity of more than 500+ donor funds, Acorn Foundation has gifted over $25 million since 2003 to hundreds of local community organisations and scholarship programmes.
Join us at one of our 2025 Distributions events in Tauranga, Te Puke & Katikati
Make a gift that keeps on giving
Unlike a one-off donation to a specific charity, gifts given through the Acorn Foundation’s Smarter Giving Model are invested in perpetuity, generating income that is distributed annually to community organisations in the Western Bay of Plenty. This means that a gift from a generous donor will continue to give back to causes close to their heart, for many years to come.
“I’ve always been community-minded so it seemed logical to set up a fund with Acorn. The fund keeps on earning interest, so you’re getting maximum value from one amount of money.”
– Ann Owen, Acorn donor
“The Acorn Foundation is a standout for its local focus on the special needs of our community, identifying individuals and truly worthwhile organisations that may deserve but otherwise never receive support. We’ve already seen some of the results of its work. Acorn will make this region a better place.”
– Gay & Murray Read-Smith, Acorn donors
“Giving through the Acorn Foundation is a wonderful way to help. Acorn ‘keeps its ear to the ground’ which we think is very important as we don’t really know who needs money the most. We have been happy in New Zealand and want to give something back.”
– Mary McGowan with husband, Roy, Acorn donors
Learn more about our Smarter Giving Model
Find out how to make your charitable giving go further.
News and updates
Wills Month: How Edna Brown Planted the First Acorn and Grew a Lasting Legacy
How a quiet bequest from Tauranga resident Edna Brown became the very first Acorn Foundation fund, sparking more than $84k in grants (and counting) for medical charities while her original gift keeps…
Wills Month – A Beginner’s Guide to Endowment Giving
Discover how an Acorn Foundation endowment fund can turn one gift in your will into lasting support for your community, year after year.
Wills Month: The Shaw Family Legacy That Continues to Give
From humble beginnings to a lasting legacy, discover how the Shaw Family Endowment continues Jack and Aileen’s quiet generosity in the Western Bay.