Rural Support Trust

What Rural Support Trust does

Rural Support Trust is a New Zealand charitable organisation that delivers free, confidential wellbeing and support services to farmers, growers, and rural families. It is headquartered in Whangārei and operates through a National Council coordinating 14 regional trusts that together cover the entire country: Te Tai Tokerau, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Taranaki, Manawatu-Rangitikei, and Ruapehu-Whanganui in the North Island, and Top of the South, West Coast, North Canterbury, Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury, Otago, and Southland in the South Island. Service lines include mental health and wellbeing, financial pressure guidance, employer and employee support, animal welfare, biosecurity resources, and adverse events response and recovery. A team of more than 300 local staff and volunteers, many with lived farming backgrounds, is reachable via a national freephone (0800 787 254), regional coordinators, and community events such as Brunch on Us, Grow Us Well workshops, and the I'm good…are you? sessions.

The operating model is community-led and event-driven rather than technology-led. No proprietary technology platform underpins delivery; the closest digital surface is the Ignite Aotearoa referral portal (ruralsupport.ignite.org.nz) which routes clients to professional mental health practitioners, plus a website (rural-support.org.nz), Mailchimp newsletter, and the Courageous Conversations podcast co-produced with Fonterra and The Country. Internal practices comply with the Privacy Act 2020 and Health Information Privacy Code 2020. Recent product extensions include the Rural Connection Passport wellbeing initiative launched at Fieldays 2026.

Rural Support Trust is a non-profit; it does not charge end users for services. Funding flows from multi-year corporate sponsorship (five major banks — ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac, Rabobank — contributing NZ$150,000 plus GST annually through November 2027), foundation partners (Fonterra via Doing Good Together; Greenlea Foundation Trust), industry partners (DairyNZ, ANZCO Foods, Beef + Lamb New Zealand, Pacific Toyota, FMG), government partners (Ministry for Primary Industries, Te Whatu Ora), individual donations via Givealittle and direct bank transfer, the Farm Business Advice Fund (NZ$6,000 per farmer, fully bank-funded since MPI co-funding ended December 2024), and annual fundraising events — most notably the Rural Industry Leaders Dinner, Debate and Auction held during Fieldays, which raised NZ$300,000 in 2025 and NZ$400,000 in 2026.

Name

Rural Support Trust

Legal name

Rural Support Trust

Website

https://rural-support.org.nz

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rural Support Trust is a New Zealand charitable organisation that delivers free, confidential mental health, financial, and adverse-event support to farmers, growers, and rural families across 14 regional trusts nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Mental Health and Wellbeing Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Rural support services
• Mental wellbeing support
• Adverse events response
• Financial advice funding
• Community wellbeing programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Whangarei

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Sponsorship: Annual sponsorship from banking partners (ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac) and Rabobank totaling $150,000 (plus GST) per year, with a three-year agreement renewed through November 2027. Foundation partners like Fonterra provide project-specific funding.
2. Donations: The organization accepts donations through multiple channels: Givealittle online fundraising page, direct bank transfers to RST National Council (06 0145 0743411 00), and regional trust-specific accounts. Rabobank donated $20,000 to Otago and Southland trusts for adverse weather recovery.
3. Farm Business Advice Fund Management: The National Rural Support Trust manages the Farm Business Advice Fund, providing up to $6,000 for farmers in need to obtain financial or business advice from independent consultants. Banks fully fund this program, previously shared with MPI.
4. Event Fundraising: Annual Rural Industry Leaders Dinner, Debate and Auction event raises significant funds. The 2025 inaugural event raised $300,000 from 540+ attendees; the 2026 second event raised $400,000 with 600+ attendees and 32 event partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Rural Support Trust provides free, confidential support services to New Zealand's rural communities through a National Council and 14 regional trusts staffed by over 300 local rural people. Core offerings include mental health and wellbeing support, financial pressure assistance, employer and employee support, animal welfare guidance, biosecurity resources, and adverse events response and recovery. The organisation also manages the Farm Business Advice Fund (up to $6,000 per farmer) and provides referrals to professional mental health services through its ignite.org.nz partnership.

Product overview

Rural Support Trust is a charitable organization providing free, confidential support services to rural communities across New Zealand. The organization operates through a network of 14 regional trusts staffed by over 300 local rural people. Core services include mental health and wellbeing support, financial pressure assistance, employer and employee support, animal welfare guidance, biosecurity resources, and adverse events response and recovery. The organization partners with professional services like Ignite Aotearoa for specialized mental health referrals. Recent initiatives include the Rural Connection Passport wellbeing program at Fieldays and various community events such as Brunch on Us, Grow Us Well men's wellbeing workshops, and 'I'm good…are you?' sessions featuring Willie Apiata VC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rural Industry Leaders: An entity formed to support wellness and fundraising initiatives for Rural Support Trust, organizing annual dinner, debate and auction events.

Products and services

• Rural Support Trust Core Support Services Free, confidential support services for rural farmers and growers across New Zealand, covering mental health and wellbeing support, financial pressure assistance, employer and employee support, animal welfare guidance, biosecurity resources, and adverse events response and recovery.
• Regional Rural Support Trusts Fourteen regional trusts operating across New Zealand (Te Tai Tokerau, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Taranaki, Manawatu-Rangitikei, Ruapehu-Whanganui, Top of the South, West Coast, North Canterbury, Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury, Otago, Southland) providing locally-based support through teams of over 300 staff and volunteers.
• Ignite Aotearoa Professional Mental Health Support Referral Professional help referral service that connects rural individuals with professional mental health support through the ignite.org.nz platform, provided as a wellbeing partner to Rural Support Trust.
• Farm Business Advice Fund Management Managed fund providing up to $6,000 per farmer in need to obtain financial or business advice from independent consultants, fully funded by the five banking partner sponsors (ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac, Rabobank).

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% of engaged clients felt less stress
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Rural Industry LeadersmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerOrganizing entity for annual Rural Industry Leaders Dinner, Debate and Auction event held during Fieldays. Raised $300,000 in 2025 and $400,000 in 2026 for Rural Support Trust. Includes partners: Fieldays, ANZ, ASB, Westpac, BNZ, Gallagher, Ballance, Lion NZ, Property Brokers, PGG Wrightson, FMG, Bettle-Associates, Open Country, J Swap.
• Upper Mataura Fishing Connect GroupminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Southland Rural Support Trust to coordinate Fishing for Farmers events combining fishing activities with rural community connection.
• The CountrymajorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner with Rural Support Trust and Fonterra for the Courageous Conversations podcast series covering rural mental health and wellbeing.
• Beef + Lamb New ZealandmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndustry organization backing Brunch on Us events in Te Tai Tokerau region, providing support for farmer and rural community connection events.
• ignitemajorGTM or Marketing PartnerWellbeing partner providing professional mental health support referral services. Referrals made through ruralsupport.ignite.org.nz for those seeking professional help.
• Farm Source NorthlandminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDairy company providing support for Te Tai Tokerau Brunch on Us events in Northland.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Farming Community Network (FCN): UK charity providing pastoral and practical support to farming families during difficult times. Closely analogous volunteer-driven regional trust model serving agricultural communities.
• Rural Aid: Australia's leading rural charity supporting farmers with wellbeing, financial, and disaster recovery assistance. Direct peer operating the same community-led rural mental health and adverse-event response model across the Tasman.
• Farm Strong: NZ-based farmer wellbeing initiative promoting mental and physical health across rural communities. Directly comparable target population (NZ farmers) and wellbeing-first mission with strong corporate sponsorship model.
• Surfing for Farmers: NZ initiative offering free surfing events to farmers as a mental wellbeing outlet. Comparable community-led peer-support model targeting the same rural population and overlapping with several Rural Support Trust partners and trustees.
• Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health: Australian research and service delivery organization focused on mental health in rural and remote communities. Comparable rural mental health mission with policy and government engagement model.

Broad incumbents

• Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand: National charity working across all New Zealanders on mental health promotion. Broader scope than RST but overlapping mission on mental wellbeing and similar funding mix (grants, donations, partnerships).
• Royal Flying Doctor Service (Rural Mental Health): Australia's remote and rural health service provider including mental health outreach. Comparable in addressing rural mental health and wellbeing at scale with government and corporate funding.
• Lifeline New Zealand: National 24/7 crisis helpline and suicide prevention charity. Provides overlapping crisis-support services to rural NZ and shares the confidential free-of-charge delivery model.

Regional players

• Youthline New Zealand: NZ youth-focused wellbeing and crisis support charity. Shares the helpline + community support model and partial target demographic overlap with rural youth.

Others

• DairyNZ (Wellbeing Programs): Industry body for NZ dairy farmers and a core partner of Rural Support Trust. Provides farmer wellbeing resources and is a strategic ally rather than competitor, but operates adjacent wellbeing programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rstnorthland
• Facebookfacebook.com/ruralsupportwaikato
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/new-zealand-rural-support-trust

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rural Support Trust