Karori Sanctuary Trust — Environment Charity in Wellington
Karori Sanctuary Trust is a Charitable Trust charity in the Environment sector, based in Wellington, Wellington. CharityData rates this charity A (92.5/100). Annual revenue: $9.0M NZD. Financial data as at June 2026.
Mission: We operate as a not-for profit organisation, a social enterprise, seeking to do public good by operating in a way that follows sound commercial disciplines. As set out in our Trust Deed, the objects of the Trust are as follows: - To carry out education and research into all matters pertaining to the conservation and restoration of New Zealand’s natural heritage and in particular to restore representative examples of New Zealand’s natural heritage. - To establish and maintain a secure native wildlife sanctuary in the Karori Reservoir in the City of Wellington. - To restore the reservoir area ecosystem as closely as practicable to its presumed pre-human state but allowing for construction of specific habitats to enhance its diversity and conservation values. - To provide facilities for recreation and tourism activities. - To seek and foster community support and participation. - To manage and manipulate such ecosystems as may be necessary to maintain requisite populations.
- Registration Number
- CC21900
- Charity Type
- Charitable Trust
- Registration Date
- 2008-03-17
- Status
- Active
- CharityData Rating
- A (92.5/100)
- Sector
- Environment
- Location
- Wellington, Wellington
- info@visitzealandia.com
- Data as at
- June 2026
Beneficiaries: Animals, Children / young people, General public, Older people, People with disabilities, Voluntary bodies other than charities, Other - All
Financial Summary
- Total Revenue
- $9.0M NZD
- Total Expenses
- $9.0M NZD
- Total Assets
- $8.1M NZD
- Net Assets
- $6.9M NZD
- Reserve Months
- 9.7 months of operating expenses
- Staff Count
- 151
- Financial Year End
- 2026-06-30
Financial History
| Year | Revenue | Expenses | Net Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $9.0M | $9.0M | $6.9M |
| 2025 | $8.8M | $8.6M | $6.9M |
| 2024 | $8.3M | $7.3M | $6.7M |
| 2023 | $6.7M | $6.7M | $6.1M |
| 2022 | $5.3M | $5.6M | $6.0M |
| 2021 | $6.0M | $5.7M | $6.4M |
| 2020 | $6.4M | $5.5M | $6.1M |
| 2019 | $6.4M | $5.3M | $5.2M |
| 2018 | $5.2M | $5.0M | $4.0M |
| 2017 | $4.5M | $4.7M | $3.9M |
CharityData Rating
- Overall Grade
- A
- Overall Score
- 92.5/100
- Financial Score
- 100
- Governance Score
- 75
- Transparency Score
- 85
Board Members and Officers
Current Officers (7)
| Name | Role | Appointed |
|---|---|---|
| Rebecca Matthews | Trustee | 2025-12-10 |
| Martha Jeffries | Trustee | 2025-11-01 |
| Paul Atkins | Trustee | 2024-01-23 |
| Professor Margaret Hyland | Trustee | 2022-04-01 |
| Elizabeth Harrison | Trustee | 2019-01-01 |
| Josephine (Jo) Elizabeth Breese | Trustee | 2018-07-01 |
| Russell Spratt | Chair | 2016-04-01 |
Former Officers (25)
- Colin Rowsell — Trustee (departed 2025-11-01)
- Teri O'Neill — Trustee (departed 2025-10-11)
- Peter Monk — Trustee (departed 2024-12-31)
- David Bibbiy — Trustee (departed 2017-02-21)
- David Bibby — Trustee (departed 2022-12-31)
- Phillip Meyer — Board Chair (departed 2023-12-31)
- Denise Church — Board Chair (departed 2018-12-31)
- Steven Thompson — Trustee (departed 2018-06-30)
- Pam Fuller — Trustee (departed 2018-06-30)
- George Hickton — Trustee (departed 2014-11-21)
- Catherine Isaac — Trustee (chair) (departed 2014-11-21)
- Graeme Mitchell — Trustee (departed 2014-11-21)
- Donald Huse — Trustee (departed 2014-11-21)
- Paul Callaghan — Trustee (departed 2014-11-21)
- Russell Ballard — Trustee (departed 2014-11-21)
- Charles Daugherty — Trustee (departed 2015-12-31)
- Catherine Judd — Trustee (departed 2010-06-15)
- Andrew Foster — Trustee (departed 2009-06-29)
- Peter Allport — Trustee (departed 2010-06-30)
- Stephen Fuller — Trustee (departed 2009-06-24)
Disclosed Pay and Fees
| Name | Role | Role type | Compensation | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key Management Personnel (aggregate) | Chief Executive and Strategic Leadership Team | Group total | $831,051 | - |
| Key Management Personnel (aggregate) | Chief Executive and Strategic Leadership Team | Group total | $831,051 | 2025 |
| Board/Trustees (aggregate) | Trustee | Group total | $120,500 | - |
| Board/Trustees (aggregate) | Trustee | Group total | $120,500 | 2025 |
| Sarah Turner | Auditor | Role not classified | - | 2025 |
Major Funders and Contracts (FY2025)
As disclosed in Karori Sanctuary Trust's annual report.
- Wellington City Council — $1,570,246 — Operating and capital grants
Service Providers
- PwC
- GHD
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Karori Sanctuary Trust
Financial data as at June 2026. Sourced from Charities Services register.
Reasons to look carefully (1)
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.
- Same audit firm for many yearsSame audit firm (PricewaterhouseCoopers) for 10 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.
$9.0M
$9.0M
$8.1M
151
Financial data from Charities Services annual return (FY2026). Ratings calculated using CharityData v3.1.1 methodology.
About
We operate as a not-for profit organisation, a social enterprise, seeking to do public good by operating in a way that follows sound commercial disciplines. As set out in our Trust Deed, the objects of the Trust are as follows: - To carry out education and research into all matters pertaining to the conservation and restoration of New Zealand’s natural heritage and in particular to restore representative examples of New Zealand’s natural heritage. - To establish and maintain a secure native wildlife sanctuary in the Karori Reservoir in the City of Wellington. - To restore the reservoir area ecosystem as closely as practicable to its presumed pre-human state but allowing for construction of specific habitats to enhance its diversity and conservation values. - To provide facilities for recreation and tourism activities. - To seek and foster community support and participation. - To manage and manipulate such ecosystems as may be necessary to maintain requisite populations.
Who We Serve
Key Statistics
Financial Trends
Financial Trends (18 Years)
Revenue Breakdown
Expense Breakdown
API DataBased on annual return data. Detailed program/admin breakdown not available.
Financial Health Dashboard
Based on latest annual return data. Metrics are calculated from reported financial data and may not reflect the full picture. View methodology
Revenue Diversification
HHI (Herfindahl–Hirschman Index) measures concentration across 6 income categories. Lower HHI = more diversified. Score above 60 indicates healthy diversification.
Peer Comparison
Ranked against 56 peers · Environment · $1M – $10M
Top Peers in Group
Peers are charities in the same sector and revenue size band. Rankings are based on the latest available data.
Rating
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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.
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