Charitable Trust

The Dunedin Casinos Charitable Trust invites applications for grants from charitable organisations in the Dunedin and Otago region in November and May each year.

The objective of the Dunedin Casinos Charitable Trust is to assist charitable organisations in:

The relief of poverty
The advancement of education
The advancement of religion
The advancement of sports for the benefit of the wider community
Or any other charitable purpose deemed beneficial to the community by the Trustees

In order to meet the criteria, your organisation must be registered with the Charities Commission and be able to provide your registration number on the application form.

As a general rule, the Dunedin Casinos Charitable Trust is unable to make grants to individuals, for travel, for salaries and other administration costs.

The Dunedin Casinos Charitable Trust invites applications for grants from charitable organisations in the Dunedin and Otago region twice a year.

The May funding round is for a one-off large grant (in the vicinity of $50,000) followed by the scatter grant for several organisations in November.

Applications for donations are called for in April for the May funding round and October for the November funding round.

How to apply for funding from the Trust?

May Funding Round

This funding round is for major projects (project funding, not operating costs) with a significant process around applications. Supporting documents are to be limited so that the complete application is 20 pages maximum. For an application form please click here.

November Funding Round

This is the scatter grant where several organisations will be allocated smaller grants. Applications for donations must be made on the Trust's standard application form.

For more information on the activities of the Trust, or for an application form, please contact:
Jackie McBride, phone (03) 474-9714 or for an application form please click here.

The Trust is administered by Polson Higgs, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors, who controls the assets and carry out the administration functions of the Trust. Charitable Trustees are appointed to assist the administration trustee in setting donations criteria and to decide on the allocation of donations.

If you require any further details in regards to applying for a grant, information can be obtained from the Polson Higgs website www.ph.co.nz, emailing jackie.mcbride@ph.co.nz or by calling Jackie McBride at Polson Higgs (03) 474 9714.

Trustees

Stephen Brocklebank

Steve has an active role in the Dunedin community, and is currently Chairman of the Dunedin Casino Charitable Trust.

Steve is a retired Chartered Accountant from Dunedin. He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a Life Member of Business South (previously The Otago Chamber of Commerce and Industry), a member of the NZ Institute of Directors and the NZ Trustees Association. He has been the Chairman of St Clair Golf Club Board and the Otago Academy of Sport Board for over 12 years, recently stepping down from both roles and has served on the Boards of various sporting organisations in Dunedin.

In his earlier days he played rugby for the Southern Club and representative rugby for Otago and senior cricket for the Albion Club. He now enjoys golf, mountain biking and fishing for fitness, relaxation and to get into the outdoors.

Suzanne Kinnaird

Suzanne Kinnaird has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, having joined Forsyth Barr Dunedin in 1998.

Suzanne is registered as a financial adviser and is accredited as an NZX Adviser. She has a Bachelor of Science majoring in Mathematics and a Diploma for Graduates majoring in Finance, both from the University of Otago. Suzanne holds the NZX Diploma and has also completed the Introduction to Financial Planning through Adviserlink.

Suzanne is a Council Member for St Margaret’s College and a Trustee of the Dunedin Casino Charitable Trust.

Malcolm Wong

Malcolm is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and founding partner of Cook North & Wong Ltd, having been with the firm since its inception. In the 2022 New Year Honours Malcolm was awarded an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to the community and New Zealand - China relations.

Malcolm currently serves on the University of Otago Council as a ministerial appointment. He has been Chairman of the Dunedin Chinese Gardens Trust since 2008 and was Chairman of the Dunedin Shanghai Association for ten years. He also served on the Otago Community Trust (2018 -2023) and the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust (2018-2024) all of which were ministerial appointments.

He is married to Nicola, and they have two girls. He is heavily involved in community activities, Chinese matters, and Anglican Church affairs.

Carole Adair

Carole represents Polson Higgs as the administration trustee. Carole is a Partner at Polson Higgs, focusing primarily in the Business Advisory division, where she works with a wide range of clients in both the commercial and rural sectors.

Born and educated in Dunedin, Carole graduated from the University of Otago with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and is a member of the Institute of Directors. She is married with two adult children and keeps busy with house renovating, reading, walking and catching up with friends.