In the past couple of months, The Gift Trust was sad to farewell our two longest-serving board members – chair Phil McKinstry and trustee Anake Goodall. Our current trustee John Prendergast is taking up the reins as chair.
Phil McKinstry was a part of The Gift Trust’s story from the very beginning. Prior to his ten years on our board (including two as chair), he was the CEO of Prometheus Finance, which served as our incubator during our early years. His long career in financial services has recently seen him come out of retirement to work with Palliser Insolvency, a boutique Wellington-based firm. Our whole team is incredibly grateful to Phil for his work and inspiration over the years. With his newfound spare time, he plans to spend more time with his new grandson in Melbourne – happy grandparenting, Phil!
Anake Goodall is also leaving our board after more than six years in post. A mainstay of the social impact scene in Aotearoa, Anake not only remains a Gift Account holder through his Seed the Change | He Kākano Hāpai change-making initiative, but remains in the donor-advised giving space in his role as chair of the Christchurch Foundation. He nui ā mātou mihi ki a Anake mō āna koha whakaaro, koha aroha, koha mana hoki ki ā mātou kaupapa.
Stepping into the chair role is our current trustee John Prendergast. John has served on our board since 2021, and is a well-known name in the philanthropic sector nationwide. We’re lucky to have him! Currently the CEO of Trust House, John previously led the Community Trust of Southland for two decades. He was the recipient of a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2015, through which he researched philanthropic leadership and social impact investment.
A huge thank you to Phil and Anake for their service, their enthusiasm for The Gift Trust and for being such fun people to work with! We welcome John to his new role and look forward to a new phase on The Gift Trust’s board. We are looking to recruit two new board members soon and are seeking a wider representation of the communities that we support. Watch this space for more news.
