The Going West Trust — Arts & Culture Charity in Auckland
The Going West Trust is a Charitable Trust charity in the Arts & Culture sector, based in Auckland, Auckland. Annual revenue: $0.2M NZD. Financial data as at March 2026.
Mission: The Trust was established in 2006 as the guardian of the Going West Books and Writers Festival (originally established in 1996). It has the following main purposes: 1) To celebrate, support, and promote the literary arts by bringing together the best of NZ's writers, performers and cultural commentators. 2) To provide a mix of free and low cost events to enable participation by a wide cross section of the community. 3) To preserve the Festival's substantial archival material for public benefit. 4) To encourage and support Maori, Pacifica and other cultural writers. The Trust celebrates and supports all literary arts and encourages Maori, Pacifica and migrant writing by bringing together writers, performers and cultural commentators to provide a mix of free and low cost events to enable participation by a wide cross section of the community. The Trust preserves the Festival's archival material for public benefit and supports other projects that promote literary arts.
- Registration Number
- CC29587
- Charity Type
- Charitable Trust
- Registration Date
- 2008-06-30
- Status
- Active
- Sector
- Arts & Culture
- Location
- Auckland, Auckland
- Website
- https://goingwestfest.co.nz
- jan@goingwestfest.co.nz
- Data as at
- March 2026
Beneficiaries: Children / young people, Family / whanau, General public, Older people, People of a certain ethnic / racial origin
Financial Summary
- Total Revenue
- $0.2M NZD
- Total Expenses
- $0.2M NZD
- Total Assets
- $0.2M NZD
- Net Assets
- $0.1M NZD
- Reserve Months
- 0.0 months of operating expenses
- Staff Count
- 1
- Financial Year End
- 2026-03-31
Financial History
| Year | Revenue | Expenses | Net Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $0.2M | $0.2M | $0.1M |
| 2025 | $0.1M | $0.1M | $0.1M |
| 2024 | $0.1M | $0.1M | $0.1M |
| 2023 | $0.2M | $0.2M | $0.1M |
| 2022 | $0.2M | $0.3M | $0.1M |
| 2021 | $0.2M | $0.2M | $0.1M |
| 2020 | $0.2M | $0.3M | $0.1M |
| 2019 | $0.2M | $0.2M | $0.1M |
| 2018 | $0.3M | $0.3M | $0.1M |
| 2017 | $0.2M | $0.2M | $0.1M |
Board Members and Officers
Current Officers (9)
| Name | Role | Appointed |
|---|---|---|
| Anne Kennedy | Trustee | 2026-03-25 |
| Jacqueline Bunyan | Trustee | 2026-01-28 |
| Diane Blomfield | Trustee | 2024-02-28 |
| Tammas Alexander | Treasurer/trustee | 2023-06-28 |
| Nicola Strawbridge | Trustee | 2022-09-28 |
| Tracey Sharp | Trustee | 2022-09-28 |
| Mark Easterbrook | Trustee | 2016-05-09 |
| Maureen McCleary | Chair | 2016-05-03 |
| Janet Coates | Secretary/trustee | 2016-05-03 |
Former Officers (16)
- Rosetta Allan — Trustee (departed 2023-10-02)
- Jade Reidy — Chair/trustee (departed 2023-09-05)
- Graeme Heap — Treasurer and Trustee (departed 2023-07-26)
- James Littlewood — Ex-Officio:-Festival-Director (departed 2023-07-26)
- Gary Henderson — Chairperson/trustee (departed 2022-12-31)
- Anna Fomison — Trustee (departed 2023-11-07)
- Helen Brodie — Trustee (departed 2012-08-29)
- Andrew Jull — Trustee (departed 2016-05-08)
- Bee Murch — Trustee (departed 2011-07-29)
- Michael Sinclair — Trustee (departed 2022-05-23)
- Peter Simpson — Trustee (departed 2009-08-31)
- Bruce Bryant — Treasurer (departed 2016-05-08)
- Murray Gray — Trustee (departed 2016-05-08)
- Rosemary Yukich — Trustee (departed 2023-07-10)
- Bernard Holibar — Trustee (departed 2016-05-08)
- Cherie Bartford — Chair (departed 2016-05-08)
Funding Sources
- Foundation North — $15,000
- The Trusts Community Foundation — $12,000
- Foundation North — $10,000
- Foundation North — $8,000
Similar Charities in Arts & Culture
- Atiawa Ki Whakarongotai Charitable Trust Board — Arts & Culture
- Marlborough Civic Theatre Trust — Arts & Culture
- Kati Huirapa Runaka Ki Puketeraki Incorporated — Arts & Culture
- Maoriland Charitable Trust — Arts & Culture
- The Tauranga Art Gallery Trust — Arts & Culture
The Going West Trust
Financial data as at March 2026. Sourced from Charities Services register.
XRB Tier 3 lets smaller charities (total expenses of $5M or less; $2M for periods ending before 28 March 2024) file a simple-format performance report instead of full PBE standards. The return reports totals but not the program/administration split or the line-item detail our template needs. No red flags were detected in what was filed, and revenue is below our $2M rating threshold. (Whether the accounts must be audited is a separate Charities Act test: audit from $1.1M of operating expenditure, review from $550K.) A letter grade is withheld rather than assigning one that would be driven by the template-fit, not the charity's operations. The charity's filed figures are shown above, and any structural concerns a donor would want to look at are surfaced separately. (v3.3 — set at the pre-2024 Tier 3 ceiling; matches Charity Navigator and CharityWatch US practice.)
How ratings work →$234.9K
$228.4K
$191.2K
1
Financial data from Charities Services annual return (FY2026). Ratings calculated using CharityData v3.1.1 methodology.
Funded By
Registered charities that have funded this organisation.
About
The Trust was established in 2006 as the guardian of the Going West Books and Writers Festival (originally established in 1996). It has the following main purposes: 1) To celebrate, support, and promote the literary arts by bringing together the best of NZ's writers, performers and cultural commentators. 2) To provide a mix of free and low cost events to enable participation by a wide cross section of the community. 3) To preserve the Festival's substantial archival material for public benefit. 4) To encourage and support Maori, Pacifica and other cultural writers. The Trust celebrates and supports all literary arts and encourages Maori, Pacifica and migrant writing by bringing together writers, performers and cultural commentators to provide a mix of free and low cost events to enable participation by a wide cross section of the community. The Trust preserves the Festival's archival material for public benefit and supports other projects that promote literary arts.
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 109 peers · Arts & Culture · $100K – $1M
Top Peers in Group
Peers are charities in the same sector and revenue size band. Rankings are based on the latest available data.
Rating History
Is this your charity?
Claim your profile to view analytics, submit corrections, and improve your rating.
Claim This ProfileLatest Audit
FY2024Contact Details
Registration
Companies Office
Sector & Activities
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.
Similar Charities in Arts & Culture
Other Arts & Culture charities ranked by overall score