Central Lakes Trust
Central Lakes Trust is a charitable trust that funds nonprofits, schools, and students across Central Otago and the Queenstown Lakes District through grants, scholarships, and impact investments financed by an investment portfolio. Primary.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersBannockburn, New Zealand
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Central Lakes Trust does
Central Lakes Trust is a privately held, not-publicly-traded charitable trust established in 2000 following the 1998 Electricity Industry Reform Act. It serves nonprofit and community organizations, schools, and students in Central Otago and the Queenstown Lakes District by funding projects, services, facilities, education, and scholarships. Its Board comprises five community-elected and three appointed trustees and oversees investment assets that include Pioneer Energy and a Southern Cross Hospitals joint venture.\n\nCLT offers seven grant programmes: Project Grants, Programme Grants, Capability Grants, Operational Grants, the Central Lakes Art Support Scheme, the Scholarship Fund, and the Emergency Preparedness Kit Fund. These programs operate across Lifelong Learning, Community Wellbeing, Community Recreation, Arts and Culture, and Environment and Heritage. Applicants generally use Fluxx, beginning with a pre-application questionnaire and proceeding to a full application and Board assessment; CLT reports a two-month submission-to-decision timeline. Funding clinics, four community arts councils, and six partner schools supplement direct applications.\n\nCLT's grantmaking is financed by returns from a $495 million investment fund that includes Pioneer Energy, the 190 Waenga Drive property investment, and the Southern Cross Hospitals joint venture. The trust reports average annual disbursements of approximately $10 million and a record $16.3 million grants budget for 2026/27. It also states that it provides Social Impact Investments alongside grants, although no investment terms or performance data are disclosed. CLT is not a technology company: Fluxx is a third-party grant-management platform, and the trust has no public app, public or partner-facing API, or disclosed in-house technology capability. Primary.
Central Lakes Trust firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Central Lakes Trust
- Legal name
- Central Lakes Trust
- Website
- https://clt.net.nz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Central Lakes Trust is a charitable trust that funds nonprofits, schools, and students across Central Otago and the Queenstown Lakes District through grants, scholarships, and impact investments financed by an investment portfolio. Primary.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Central Lakes Trust industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Charitable Grants and Community Funding
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services (FSAAANAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Grantmaking Agencies & Education Program Grants Administration (EDADAHAD)
Keywords
Where Central Lakes Trust is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bannockburn
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Central Lakes Trust business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Investment Portfolio Returns: CLT generates returns from its investment portfolio including Pioneer Energy (generation business retained from OCEPT settlement), property investments (190 Waenga Drive, Cromwell), and joint ventures including Southern Cross Hospitals. These investments fund the grant distribution activities.
- Grant Disbursements: CLT distributes funds to charitable causes across the Central Lakes region through various grant types including project grants, programme grants, operational grants, capability grants, scholarships, and emergency preparedness kits. Average annual disbursements of approximately $10 million.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | Tertiary Education Scholarship |
| Other | Annual | Vocational Scholarship |
| Other | Annual | Science and Technology Scholarship (presented by Pioneer Energy) |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Capability Grant |
| Other | Annual | Central Lakes Art Support Scheme (CLASS) |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Emergency Preparedness Kit Fund |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Central Lakes Trust product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Central Lakes Trust is a charitable trust that distributes grants and scholarships to charitable organisations and students in the Central Lakes region of New Zealand. It administers seven grant programmes across five funding sectors, including project grants, programme grants, operational grants, capability grants, an art support scheme, tertiary scholarships, and an emergency preparedness kit fund. Applications are processed through the Fluxx grantee portal with board assessment and a 2-month decision timeline.
Product overview
Central Lakes Trust operates as a charitable grant-making organisation rather than a technology company. Its service portfolio consists of seven distinct grant programmes: Project Grants (one-off time-bound activities), Programme Grants (new services or event series), Capability Grant (up to $5,000 for organisational capacity building), Operational Grants (for social service delivery organisations), the Central Lakes Art Support Scheme (CLASS, administered through four community arts councils), the Scholarship Fund (68 annual tertiary scholarships at $2,500 each), and the Emergency Preparedness Kit Fund (covering up to 50% of emergency kit costs). These grants are distributed across five funding sectors: Lifelong Learning, Community Wellbeing, Community Recreation, Arts & Culture, and Environment & Heritage. The trust uses Fluxx as its online grant management portal for applications and grantee portal access.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Project Grants Time-bound, one-off grant activities with specific budgets that support events, facility improvements, equipment acquisition, and capacity building for charitable organisations in the Central Lakes region.
- Programme Grants Grants designed to kickstart new services or event series that form part of a charitable organisation's broader mission, with emphasis on lifelong learning and community development.
- Capability Grant Funding of up to $5,000 for training, professional development, and capability-building opportunities to strengthen community organisations, with two annual application rounds.
- Operational Grants Grants for organisations delivering social services directly to the community, covering basic operational costs to sustain vital services and programmes.
- Central Lakes Art Support Scheme (CLASS) Scheme allocating funding through four local community arts councils (Alexandra, Wānaka, Queenstown, and Cromwell), distributing up to $2,500 per applicant per year to grow arts participation across the Central Lakes region.
- Central Lakes Trust Scholarship Fund Tertiary scholarships for students commencing their first year of full-time study, with 68 scholarships valued at $2,500 each in categories including Tertiary Education, Vocational, and Science and Technology (presented by Pioneer Energy Limited).
- Emergency Preparedness Kit Fund Fund supporting installation of emergency preparedness kits (generators, heaters, communications devices) in local community halls and emergency centres, covering up to 50% of costs up to $5,000, with an annual cap of $50,000.
Quantifiable outcome
- 3,500+ grants approved since 2000
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Central Lakes Trust
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Central Lakes Trust technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Central Lakes Trust partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.
- Molyneux Turf Incorporated (MTI)majorMTI received $520,630 towards development of a multi-purpose artificial sports surface at Dunstan High School in Alexandra. Represents significant investment in community sports infrastructure.
- Breen Construction and Building and Construction Industry Training OrganisationminorPartnership for TradeBase vocational training programme enabling secondary students to undertake Building, Construction and Allied Trades courses.
- Three Lakes Cultural TrustminorCLT's Chief Operating Officer Samantha Kirk speaks at CLT's Annual Public Meeting about arts and culture impact in the community.
- Central Otago Principals Association School Referral Programme (COPA)majorCLT approved $765,180 over three years to support schools in providing targeted interventions for students with complex learning, behavioural, and mental health needs. Partner schools include Cromwell College, Dunstan High School, Te Kura O Tititea Mount Aspiring College, Roxburgh Area School, and Wakatipu High School.
- Southern Cross HospitalsmajorJoint venture investment announced in October 2019 for a new surgical hospital to be located in Queenstown. Part of CLT's strategic investment in regional healthcare infrastructure.
- Pioneer Energy LimitedcorePioneer Energy is the generation business retained from the OCEPT settlement that created CLT. It forms part of CLT's investment portfolio and co-presents the Science and Technology Scholarship. CLT oversees investment and shareholder responsibilities in Pioneer Energy.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Central Lakes Trust competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Foundation North: Large Auckland-based community trust (formerly ASB Community Trust) managing a multi-hundred-million-dollar investment fund and distributing grants across education, arts, environment, and community wellbeing. Direct peer in mission, scale, and operational model.
- Trust Waikato: New Zealand community trust established through electricity reform settlements, distributing grants across the Waikato region. Highly comparable to CLT in structure, funding model, and regional focus as a charitable trust with a perpetual capital base derived from energy sector assets.
- Wellington Community Trust: Wellington-region NZ community trust providing grants to community groups. Direct peer in mission and operational model of regional grantmaking from a perpetual investment corpus.
- Acorn Foundation: Tauranga/Western Bay of Plenty community foundation distributing grants to local causes via an endowment and donor-advised funds. Comparable in regional grantmaking model with a community foundation structure.
- Community Trust of Southland: Southland-based NZ community trust distributing grants to community organisations in a defined regional catchment. Comparable in structure, mission, and the electricity-reform-origin charitable trust model that CLT also uses.
- Pub Charity: NZ charitable trust distributing grants from gaming machine proceeds to community organisations nationwide. Direct peer in NZ community grantmaking model and beneficiary profile.
- Lion Foundation: Major NZ grantmaking trust distributing tens of millions of dollars annually to community, sporting, education, and cultural causes nationwide. Direct peer in grantmaking volume, beneficiary profile, and trust structure.
- Christchurch Foundation: Canterbury-based community foundation managing endowment funds and distributing grants to local causes. Direct peer in regional NZ community foundation/grantmaking model with similar mission areas.
- JR McKenzie Trust: NZ philanthropic trust focused on community development, with grants spanning education, environment, and social services. Direct peer in charitable mission and NZ grantmaking scale.
- Lottery Grants Board: NZ statutory body distributing Lottery Profits proceeds to community, arts, sport, environment, and heritage causes. Direct peer in NZ grantmaking mission and beneficiary overlap with CLT's five funding sectors.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Central Lakes Trust social profiles
Digital presenceCentral Lakes Trust financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Central Lakes Trust leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Central Lakes Trust subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Central Lakes Trust funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Central Lakes Trust M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Central Lakes Trust
What does Central Lakes Trust do?
Central Lakes Trust is a charitable trust that distributes grants and scholarships to charitable organisations and students in the Central Lakes region of New Zealand. It administers seven grant programmes across five funding sectors, including project grants, programme grants, operational grants, capability grants, an art support scheme, tertiary scholarships, and an emergency preparedness kit fund. Applications are processed through the Fluxx grantee portal with board assessment and a 2-month decision timeline.
Is Central Lakes Trust a public or private company?
Central Lakes Trust is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Central Lakes Trust founded?
Central Lakes Trust was founded in 2000. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Central Lakes Trust based?
Central Lakes Trust is headquartered in Bannockburn, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Central Lakes Trust make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Investment Portfolio Returns are the primary driver. The others are grant Disbursements.
Who are Central Lakes Trust's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Foundation North, Trust Waikato, Wellington Community Trust, Acorn Foundation, Community Trust of Southland, Pub Charity, Lion Foundation, Christchurch Foundation, JR McKenzie Trust and Lottery Grants Board.
Does Central Lakes Trust have an API?
No public API is recorded for Central Lakes Trust.
What industry is Central Lakes Trust in?
Central Lakes Trust's product category is Charitable Grants and Community Funding. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAAANAI, Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services, with a secondary code of EDADAHAC, Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts. Its NAICS code is 81321.