■ This June, I will complete my eighth and final year as a trustee of BayTrust, the Bay of Plenty Community Trust. It marks the end of two terms of service, most of it spent on the Investment Committee, with time also on the Audit and Risk Committee. It is a milestone I approach with deep gratitude and, I hope, with some useful perspective on what this organisation has become, writes Dr Mawera Karetai.

When I joined the board, BayTrust was a solid and well-regarded institution. When I leave it, it will be something more: a genuinely transformative force in the Bay of Plenty, one that has grown in scale, ambition, and philosophical depth.

That transformation has not happened by accident. It has been driven by a sustained and collective commitment to impact over incrementalism, and the commitment of a dedicated team of professionals to drive the change.

The financial growth over these eight years is striking.

BayTrust’s fund now stands at approximately $290 million as of today, invested in a carefully diversified way both locally and globally.

That represents a remarkable expansion in the trust’s capacity to serve the region. When I joined the board, the portfolio was operating at around $215 million. The journey from there to here reflects deliberate and disciplined stewardship of community assets.

The growth in granting capacity has been equally significant.

In 2021, a record surplus of $42 million gave the board the confidence to commit to more than $25 million in granting over the following three years, a level that would have seemed ambitious in the early years of my tenure.

The trust aims to distribute just over 3 percent of its capital base per year, reinvesting enough income each year to cover inflation and some population growth, while also setting funds aside to cover grants in leaner years.

That discipline is what protects the trust’s capacity to give, year after year, long into the future.

Perhaps the most meaningful transformation I have witnessed from within the board is the evolution in how BayTrust thinks about its role.

The trust’s kaupapa, to “accelerate bold and meaningful change, assisting BOP communities and our environment to flourish”, has shaped a significant shift from traditional philanthropic grant-making toward a broader conception of what a community trust can do.

BayTrust has allocated up to 15 percent of its total investment base to impact investing, with around $36 million allocated and approximately $25 million already committed to investments providing impact within the Bay of Plenty.

That is not money given away. It is patient capital, working in the community in ways that grants alone cannot achieve.

Affordable housing, social enterprise, and shared equity schemes represent a new chapter in how the trust leverages its assets for community benefit.

Commitments to the Tauranga Community Housing Trust and to the YouOwn shared equity scheme are concrete examples of that philosophy in practice.

The trust has also committed to achieving a fully sustainable and carbon neutral investment portfolio by 2050 or earlier, a bold stance that aligns financial responsibility with environmental kaitiakitanga.

That commitment reflects a board willing to think beyond the immediate grant cycle and toward the world future generations will inhabit.

My time on the Investment Committee has been among the most formative experiences of my governance career.

Overseeing a globally diversified portfolio on behalf of a community is a particular kind of responsibility. Every decision at the committee table, whether about asset allocation, impact investment thresholds, or sustainability mandates, carries the weight of what those funds mean to families and organisations across the Bay of Plenty. It is never abstract.

The audit and risk committee work, while less visible, was equally important.

Good governance requires that the trust account for itself rigorously and transparently, and I am proud of the culture of scrutiny and integrity that underpins how BayTrust operates.

Serving our community through BayTrust has been a privilege I do not take lightly.

I think of the many organisations that we have supported to deliver impactful programmes in our community, the housing ventures given a foothold, the social enterprises backed at a critical moment.

The work of the trust touches lives in ways that don’t always make headlines, but that always matter.

From a personal perspective, my time on BayTrust has grown me to being a capable and effective governor, clear on my role and responsibilities, and using my skills across the community.

BayTrust provided me with opportunities to grow as a practitioner, and as a person generally.

I leave feeling sad, but also happy, knowing the organisation is in strong hands, with a clear kaupapa, a growing fund, and a board and staff who understand that the real work is impact, not outputs.

The next eight years will bring challenges we can only imagine, in this complex geopolitical times.

But the foundation is sound, and I am proud to have played a part in strengthening it for the all the beneficiaries of the Bay of Plenty.