Donor Story: St. Andrews Youth Endowment

A decision in 1974 to start a golf course has lead to a hole in one for the young people of St. Andrews. Almost fifty years ago a group of keen golfers got together with the vision of starting a local golf course at St. Andrews. Through community fundraising and old fashioned hard work the golf course was up and running by 1975. It quickly became an integral part of the community in this small rural town south of Timaru.

Unfortunately after decades of success the club was faced with the tough decision to close down as membership numbers had significantly dropped. The sale of the golf course in 2018 left the committee with a large capital sum and an equally big decision. They wanted to make sure the money would do some good and that it would stay in the local area. They were also very conscious that it wasn't just the current members that would miss ou, with the closure of the golf club, but future generations. With this is mind they favoured the idea of giving back to young people in the area.

"We wanted to support young people from St. Andrews to reach excellence in their pursuits." - Graham Cadiagn, committee member

The challenge was finding the most efficient way to fulfill this purpose. It was at this time that they reached out to the Aoraki Foundation to investigate the option of setting up an endowment fund.

"What we liked so much about starting a fund with the Aoraki Foundation was it would keep giving long after we are gone and in a way that was carrying on the legacy of the club." - Graham

In July 2020 the St. Andrews Youth Endowment was established to assist under 18’s from the St. Andrews area to follow their dreams in sporting, cultural or academic excellence.

in 2022 the fund was in a position to open the inaugural scholarship round. The Aoraki Foundation received a total of eight applications and awarded four scholarships. St. Andrews Golf Club Life member Lois Beattie was available to help present the awards which even included one to her very own granddaughter Ella Beattie.