Impact100 Whakatipu

08/10/2026

Finalist Spotlight: Te Atamira Whakatipu Community Trust 🎨

Creative connection and belonging should be accessible to everyone.

Te Atamira’s Creative Accessibility Programme aims to remove barriers to participation in the arts for people with access needs — including disabled and neurodivergent people, Māori and Pacific communities, older adults and rangatahi.

With Impact100 support, Te Atamira can expand sensory-friendly programmes, accessibility resources, partnerships and travel support, creating more opportunities for people to create, connect and belong.

From Sensory Groove and Creative Minds to accessible experiences with Rodney Bell and JOLT Dance, the programme has the potential to open doors to creative experiences for many more people across our community.

We’re delighted to have Te Atamira Whakatipu Community Trust as a 2026 Finalist.

04/10/2026

Finalist Spotlight: Queenstown Electrification Accelerator ⚡

What if more households could have warmer, healthier homes, lower energy bills and greater energy resilience?

That’s the vision behind Queenstown Electrification Accelerator (QEA).

With Impact100 support, QEA plans to take practical, trusted energy advice deeper into our community — helping households understand and access solutions such as efficient heating, hot water, solar, batteries and electric transport.

The potential reach is significant: more than 2,000 people engaged, direct support for 100+ households and over 5,000 people reached through online resources.

It’s about making a cleaner, more affordable and resilient energy future accessible to more of our community.

We’re proud to welcome QEA as a 2026 Finalist.

01/10/2026

Finalist Spotlight: Life Education Trust Heartland Otago Southland 🦒

Harold is a familiar face in schools across our region — but behind the famous giraffe is an important mission: helping tamariki build the knowledge, confidence and resilience to make good choices.

Life Education Trust is seeking Impact100 support for its Harold’s Southern Lakes Upgrade, including a new wheelchair hoist, a refreshed mobile classroom, a new Big Harold mascot and an upgraded hybrid vehicle.

These upgrades will help make their programmes more accessible, inclusive and sustainable, ensuring more local tamariki can continue to learn, connect and thrive.

We’re delighted to have Life Education Trust Heartland Otago Southland as one of our 2026 Finalists.

27/09/2026

Finalist Spotlight: Baskets of Blessing 💛

Every week, Baskets of Blessing turns rescued food and the generosity of volunteers into practical support for people in our community.

Their vision is to bring their food rescue, meal production, food storage, basket preparation and distribution operations together under one roof — creating greater capacity to support more people, more efficiently and sustainably.

An Impact100 grant would help Baskets take the next step towards their new Operations & Distribution Centre, improving food safety, supporting volunteers and, most importantly, freeing up more time and capacity to get food where it’s needed.

More capacity. More connection. More support for our community.

We’re proud to have Baskets of Blessing among our 2026 Finalists.

16/09/2026

Woohoo, what a night! Thanks to all those who braved the snow and rain at the amazing Gibbston Valley Golf Club venue.

We are beyond happy to announce our Finalist charities for 2026 as:

✨Baskets of Blessing
✨Life Education Trust - Heartland Otago Southland
✨Te Atamira
✨Queenstown Electrification Accelerator

We can’t wait to share the projects and vision of these charities across the next month. All before the winner of the $100,000 and $85,000 grants are announced at our Gala on Thursday 29 October.

09/09/2026

What can $100,000 achieve?

Over the years, we’ve seen the answer through the incredible charities Impact100 and our supporters has enabled.

$100,000 is more than a grant. It’s an opportunity to enable scale, accelerate change and turn ambitious ideas into lasting impact.

It’s the collective strength of our members coming together to make a meaningful difference and the ripple effect of that generosity continues long after the grant is awarded.

And now, we’re getting ready to reveal this year’s Finalist charities!

We can’t wait to share them with you at our event next Wednesday night. Details and event information are on our website.

Thanks to Jill Brinsdon and Jonny James for bringing their creative talent to this project.

MakingADifference

Southern Lakes Sanctuary Whakatipu Rowing Club KiwiHarvest Queenstown & Central Lakes KiwiHarvest

07/09/2026

Supporters, please RSVP for our Finalist Event on Wednesday 16 September. Here we will hear about the projects and passion from this year’s charities and this is always an exciting night.

Thanks also to Gibbston Valley Golf Club for their kind donation of w**e and venue to support our event. Please RSVP on our website.

14/08/2026

From New York to Alexandra, Olivia Wildey has been there, done that, and now heads up Living Options, creating opportunities for people with disabilities to live full and fulfilling lives.

And there are perhaps more parallels between a career in the beauty industry and working alongside people with disabilities than you might think. For Olivia, it’s about helping people be seen.

As a teenager growing up in Alexandra, a 1976 issue of Vogue fuelled her dreams of a career in fashion and beauty. Those dreams took her all the way to NZ fashion week, work in the NZ film and music scene, and to New York, working for Bobbi Brown.

Olivia credits much of her success to never turning down an opportunity, and today she brings that same “let’s make your dream come true” approach to the people Living Options supports.

So what made her give up the high-flying, glamorous roles?
A work trip to Dunedin, when all she wanted to do was turn left and keep driving towards Central Otago. The call of home. Of family, of opportunities of a different kind, and of belonging.

Thank you, Olivia Wild for sharing your story; Jane Guy for supporting Olivia in the hot seat; and Mountain Club for generously hosting us once again.

We have more Untold Stories coming your way - stay tuned for the next one.

14/08/2026

Impact100 Whakatipu is chock full of women and organisations doing great things in our community! Take 5 minutes to nominate someone for a Spirit of the Wakatipu Awards which will be awarded at the Gala in October 💜

Community Foundations provide a smarter way to give to the community you love. We can invest and grow your donations so the income they earn can benefit your chosen local causes year on year, forever.