Community Trust South has posted a $7.74 million deficit as Covid-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine continue to destabilise global financial markets.

Te Pou Arataki Pounamu o Murihiku actually managed a positive 0.4% return on its investments. But once grants and running costs were deducted, the financial results showed a deficit.

Its net assets have shrunk to $248 million, from $256m in 2021.

"While there continues to be significant uncertainty in investment markets the Trust has a long term perpetual investment fund and so we focus on investment performance over the long term," says Investment Committee Chair David Goble.

"In the short term we can expect to see a negative return one year in every five on average."

The Trust has achieved an average investment return of 7.27% over the past 10 years. In 2021, it had a return of 20.8% on its investments, and a surplus after grants of $38.52m.

The community-owned grant making organisation created in 1988 from the community’s former ownership of Trust Bank Southland. The sale of shareholdings in the Bank in 1996 formed the basis of the Trust’s investment funds, with income generated from these funds continuing to be distributed through grants and scholarships, for the benefit of communities.

The funding area is the Southland province and the Queenstown, Glenorchy, Arrowtown, Tapanui and Heriot areas.

The Trust paid out $7.82m in grants in 2021/22FY and expenses were $1.2m, compared with $5.42m and $1.15m the previous years.

The 2022 figures include a major grants round, with $1.15 million approved towards six major projects across the community.

Despite the challenging environment, a grants budget of $7.5m has been approved for this financial year, ending March 2023.

This increases the base grants budget, enable the Trust to increase some of its core grants to help organisations facing cost pressures due to inflation.

That means there'll not be a major grants round this year, with applications limited to below $75k each.

Kaiwhakahaere/Chair, Mata Cherrington, says: "While this has been a challenging year Community Trust South is still in the privileged position of having the highest per capita trust capital of all the Community Trusts in Aotearoa/New Zealand, allowing strong support to continue to be provided across our rohe.

"We continue to take a long term approach, balancing support to our community and the rebuild of capital over time.”

Full details of the year end 31 March 2022 financial statements are available on the Trust website.

Community Trust South will hold its Annual Public Meeting to formally present the Annual Report including details of its activities over the year and the financial results at 5.30pm on Wednesday, 28 September 2022 at Southland Softball Association Clubrooms at ILT Ballpark, 36 Surrey Park Road, Glengarry, Invercargill.

Members of the public are welcome to attend.