Responding To Communities
Sir John McKenzie, who set up the J R McKenzie Trust in 1940, wanted to improve the quality of life of New Zealanders. This purpose, insightful for its time and set out in its Trust Deed, allows the Trust Board to make donations for any charitable or educational purposes it wishes to select.
Over time the focus and the language of the Trust has expanded and changed, but the current vision “a socially just and inclusive Aotearoa New Zealand” is still aligned with Sir John’s and later Sir Roy McKenzie’s original purpose.
Today, our overall priority is “advancing equity”. This means addressing underlying causes of inequity and exclusion. It means shifting the conditions that hold inequities in place, that prevent people from fulfilling their potential.