Swimming Fund

The unique thing about this fund is: it’s not named after its donors. We would have called it the Paul & Sarah Fund, except Paul and Sarah aren’t their real names. They prefer not to have their names mentioned because they don’t think it’s about them. Instead, Paul & Sarah are of the firm belief that it’s about the cause they’re giving towards — in this case, swimming.

For Paul and Sarah, swimming is more than a passion; it’s an integral part of who they are. They’ve been involved in swimming for most of their lives. As Paul says, “Swimming is not just a sport. It’s a life skill. By learning swimming, you develop so much more than just being capable in the water.”

When Timaru’s Century Pool was due for replacement in 2011, they weren’t content to sit back and watch developments. They got in behind the fundraising campaign for the new C-Bay Aquatic Centre — which is how they were introduced to the Aoraki Foundation.

Paul and Sarah had a figure in mind they wanted to donate towards the new complex. With the Aoraki Foundation running the fundraising efforts for C-Bay, Paul and Sarah worked with lead fundraiser Stacey Scott to find an appropriate level of giving. As a working couple, it was decided that instead of a one-off lump sum, their aim was best achieved by staging monthly payments over three years.

Paul & Sarah made a valuable contribution to our new community swimming complex, which is something we are grateful for… but that’s not where the story ends.

See, Paul and Sarah found the monthly donations were manageable with their finances even after that three years. To continue to give back, they asked the Foundation about starting an endowment fund. This is a unique sustainable giving model where the original gift is invested and grown over time, and the ongoing income is given to causes the donor is passionate about. It was no surprise to us at the Foundation that Paul and Sarah chose swimming in South Canterbury as the beneficiary!

They started the Swimming Fund in 2015 and have been making monthly payments ever since. With strategic investment from the Foundation, Paul and Sarah’s contributions have grown the fund to over $40,000. Once the fund gets over $50,000 it will start making annual distributions (payments) to the local swimming club - Swim Timaru.

As thrilled as they are with this progress, Paul and Sarah have a larger, long-term goal in mind. With the help of other donors, they would like to see the fund get up to $100,000. At that point, the annual distributions should cover the ongoing operating costs of the club. This would mean all the club’s fundraising activities could be channeled directly into helping support its swimmers compete at local, regional & national events.

“Swimming isn’t a big money sport with high participation numbers to help generate revenue” Paul explains. “Swimming is a small sport and we thought it was the right thing to do to assist the local club in supporting its members.”

Thank you Paul and Sarah’s this fund is going swimmingly!

To support this fund head to the dedicated page for the Swimming Fund