Acorn Foundation — Health Charity in Tauranga

Acorn Foundation is a Trust charity in the Health sector, based in Tauranga, Tauranga. This organisation also provides funding to other charities. CharityData rates this charity B- (71.8/100). Annual revenue: $41.7M NZD. 1 red flag detected. Financial data as at June 2025.

Mission: Our vision is to connect generous people who care with causes that matter - forever. Our mission is to make the Western BOP a better place to live, work and play. We accomplish our goals by encouraging people to leave a gift in their Will, to participate in living giving, or to give to the community through Workplace Giving, Giving Circles or regular gifts to Community Group Funds. The capital in the fund is invested in perpetuity, while annual distributions are made from individual's endowment funds to local causes. At the heart of everything we do is building strong communities.

Registration Number
CC10784
Charity Type
Trust
Registration Date
2007-08-06
Status
Active
CharityData Rating
B- (71.8/100)
Sector
Health
Location
Tauranga, Tauranga
Email
info@acornfoundation.org.nz
Funder Status
Grant-making charity (endowment)
Data as at
June 2025

Beneficiaries: Other charities

Financial Summary

Total Revenue
$41.7M NZD
Total Expenses
$5.5M NZD
Total Assets
$107.0M NZD
Net Assets
$106.6M NZD
Reserve Months
5.8 months of operating expenses
Staff Count
8
Volunteers
0
Financial Year End
2025-06-30

Financial History

YearRevenueExpensesNet Assets
2025$41.7M$5.5M$106.6M
2024$10.8M$3.9M$70.4M
2023$10.9M$3.8M$63.4M
2022$8.7M$5.9M$56.4M
2021$19.1M$1.8M$53.6M
2020$8.2M$1.8M$36.4M
2019$8.3M$1.4M$30.0M
2018$5.7M$1.3M$23.1M
2017$3.3M$0.8M$18.7M
2016$3.3M$0.8M$15.9M

CharityData Rating

Overall Grade
B-
Overall Score
71.8/100
Financial Score
89
Governance Score
65
Transparency Score
85

Red Flags

  • 2 trustees of this charity also sit on multiple other charity boards — concentrated trustee bandwidth may warrant board-skill-mix review.

Board Members and Officers

Current Officers (10)

NameRoleAppointed
Stephen NapierTrustee2025-05-19
Saima AnisTrustee2025-03-01
Ryan McFaddenTrustee2024-07-01
Keri WelhamTrustee2023-11-27
Elizabeth HolmTrustee2022-11-21
Marcia MurrayTrustee2021-07-26
Larry BilodeauTrustee2020-12-10
Michelle MalcolmTrustee2019-11-18
Patricia JonesTrustee2019-03-18
Lori LukeCEO2018-05-21

Former Officers (28)

  • Beppie Holm — Trustee (departed 2022-11-21)
  • Carlo Ellis — Trustee (departed 2023-09-11)
  • Brian Cloughley — Trustee (departed 2024-05-28)
  • Michael Attwood — Trustee (departed 2024-06-30)
  • Graeme Horsley — Trustee (departed 2021-02-02)
  • Anthony Ririnui — Trustee (departed 2021-02-16)
  • Lesley Jensen — Trustee (departed 2023-11-27)
  • Peter Tinholt — Trustee (departed 2022-11-21)
  • Jane Nees — Trustee (departed 2021-11-22)
  • Nancy Hogg — Trustee (departed 2019-02-18)
  • Andrew Cameron — Trustee (departed 2020-11-17)
  • John Calder — Trustee (departed 2015-05-05)
  • Glenn Keaney — Trustee (departed 2019-11-18)
  • Richard Cashmore — Trustee (departed 2013-03-17)
  • Matthew Tustin — Trustee (departed 2016-05-16)
  • Jan Hickson — Trustee (departed 2013-11-22)
  • Paul Washer — Trustee (departed 2010-04-19)
  • Ross Paterson — Trustee (departed 2012-10-15)
  • Carolyn Port — Trustee (departed 2015-05-18)
  • Tracey Leanne Rea — Trustee (departed 2014-11-17)

Executive Compensation

NameRoleCompensationYear
Lori LukeCEO$395,4332022
Trish JonesTrustee-2023
Brian CloughleyTrustee-2023
Rohario MurrayTrustee-2023
Trish JonesTrustee-2021
Brian CloughleyTrustee-2022
Sarah JohnsonOperations Coordinator-2021
Emily GouldingMarketing & Events Specialist-2022
Sarah JohnsonOperations Coordinator-2022
Rohario MurrayTrustee-2024
Jane NeesTrustee-2021
Lori LukeGeneral Manager-2021
Margot McCoolDonor & Community Engagement Manager-2021
Carlo EllisTrustee-2024
Keri WelhamTrustee-2024
Michael AttwoodTrustee-2024
Beppie HolmTrustee-2024
Michelle MalcolmChair-2024
Larry BilodeauTrustee-2022
Lesley JensenChair-2021
Carlo EllisTrustee-2023
Lesley JensenChair-2023
Larry BilodeauTrustee-2023
Michael AttwoodTrustee-2023
Beppie HolmTrustee-2023
Frances MoleFoundation Assistant-2022
Lesley JensenChair-2022
Jo WilsonCommunications & Events Coordinator-2021
Peter TinholtDeputy Chair-2021
Larry BilodeauTrustee-2021
Michael AttwoodTrustee-2022
Rohario MurrayTrustee-2022
Michael AttwoodTrustee-2021
Michelle MalcolmTrustee-2021
Jo WilsonDonor Relations & Scholarship Coordinator-2022
Trish JonesTrustee-2022
Michelle MalcolmDeputy Chair-2023
Larry BilodeauDeputy Chair-2024
Margot McCoolDonor & Community Engagement Manager-2022
Carlo EllisTrustee-2022
Brian CloughleyTrustee-2024
Trish JonesTrustee-2024
Lesley JensenTrustee-2024

Major Funders and Contracts (FY2022)

As disclosed in Acorn Foundation's annual report.

  • St John Ambulance Te Puke — Replacement ambulance fund distribution

Service Providers

  • Lellman Wearne Limited
  • William Buck
  • William Buck Audit (NZ) Limited
  • Bank of New Zealand Limited
  • Bank of New Zealand Limited
  • ASB
  • Bank of New Zealand
  • Bank of New Zealand
  • Lellman Wearne Limited
  • Craigs Investment Partners
  • Craigs Investment Partners
  • Burley Castle Hawkins
  • Burley Castle Hawkins

Similar Charities in Health

FunderHealthTrustEndowment

Acorn Foundation

CC10784Tauranga, TaurangaRegistered 6 Aug 2007
Data updated: 5 days ago
Financials30 Jun 2025Rating2d ago

Financial data as at June 2025. Sourced from Charities Services register.

B-
72/100
Financial
89
Governance
65
Transparency
85

Reasons to look carefully (2)

These structural observations are drawn from public data and are worth considering before a donation. They are not allegations of wrongdoing, and they don’t affect the charity’s letter grade.

  • No chair recorded on the register
    No chair or presiding role is recorded in the register for this board of 10. The Charities Register does not require one to be identified, so this is a gap in the public record rather than a finding about the board.
  • Same audit firm for many years
    Same audit firm (William Buck Audit (NZ) Limited) for 5 consecutive years — best practice rotates audit firms periodically to refresh independent oversight

Each signal is a data-driven observation, not a judgement. They fire automatically from the figures filed with Charities Services. A charity can address any of these by filing fuller disclosure or updating its officer register. Methodology: /about/methodology/concern-signals.

Revenue

$41.7M

Expenses

$5.5M

Assets

$107.0M

Staff

8

Financial data from Charities Services annual return (FY2025). Ratings calculated using CharityData v3.1.1 methodology.

1 red flag identified- Review the Rating tab for details

Endowment Foundation

Special Entity Type

This is an endowment foundation that holds investments and provides grants. High reserves are expected and appropriate - this is not an operating charity.

Rating Note: Endowment foundations are rated using specialized criteria that recognize high reserves as appropriate. Metrics like grant distribution rate and investment returns are prioritized over program spending ratios.

Funder Profile

Grantmaker

This organisation makes grants or donations to other charities and organisations.

Funding Sectors
Arts & CultureCommunity Development
Beneficiaries
General Public
Geographic Focus
Bay of Plenty

About

Mission

Our vision is to connect generous people who care with causes that matter - forever. Our mission is to make the Western BOP a better place to live, work and play. We accomplish our goals by encouraging people to leave a gift in their Will, to participate in living giving, or to give to the community through Workplace Giving, Giving Circles or regular gifts to Community Group Funds. The capital in the fund is invested in perpetuity, while annual distributions are made from individual's endowment funds to local causes. At the heart of everything we do is building strong communities.

Who We Serve

Beneficiaries
Other charities

Key Statistics

Annual Revenue
$41.7M
Total Expenses
$5.5M
Net Assets
$106.6M
Staff
8
employees
Volunteers
0

Financial Trends

Financial Trends (18 Years)

Revenue Breakdown

Expense Breakdown

API Data

Based on annual return data. Detailed program/admin breakdown not available.

Financial Health Dashboard

Cents to the Cause
100c
For every $1 spent, 100c reaches programs
Strong
Sustainability
5.8mo
Could operate 5.8 months with zero revenue
Low reserves
Fundraising Cost
-
No fundraising data
No data

Based on latest annual return data. Metrics are calculated from reported financial data and may not reflect the full picture. View methodology

Revenue Diversification

30
Score /100
Concentrated
HHI: 6,972
High Concentration: 81% of revenue from Donations
Donations81.4%
Investment Income18.6%

HHI (Herfindahl–Hirschman Index) measures concentration across 6 income categories. Lower HHI = more diversified. Score above 60 indicates healthy diversification.

Peer Comparison

Ranked against 10 peers · Health · $10M – $50M

Rating Score
72
#7/11
Revenue
$41.7M
#1/11
Reserve Months
5.8
#1/11
Surplus
$36.2M
#1/11
Staff Cost %
12%
#11/11

Peers are charities in the same sector and revenue size band. Rankings are based on the latest available data.

Rating

B-
Score: 71.8/100
Financial
89
Governance
65
Transparency
85
Why this grade: Financial 89 × 40% + Governance 65 × 60% = 75 → 72 after red-flag penalties → B-.
View Full Score Breakdown

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Contact Details

Address
Tauranga, Tauranga

Registration

Registration NumberCC10784
Entity TypeTrust
Registered6 Aug 2007
StatusRegistered

Companies Office

StatusRegistered

Sector & Activities

Primary Sector
Health
Activities
Acts as an umbrella / resource bodyMakes grants to organisations (including schools or other charities)

Data sourced from Charities Services register and publicly available annual returns. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. Scores are calculated using disclosed methodology and are analytical tools, not investment ratings or recommendations. If you believe any data on this page is incorrect, please contact us at hello@charitydata.co.nz. For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Last updated: 28 September 2026.