Milford Asset Management’s founders believed business success should also benefit the communities in which it operates.
In 2020, the Milford Foundation was established to put that belief into practice. Backed by Milford, which has been supported by New Zealanders for more than 23 years, the Foundation gives back to communities and works to create lasting systemic change across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Since launching in 2020, we’ve supported a wide range of charitable initiatives, from education and environmental projects to disaster recovery and community wellbeing.
The Foundation now focuses on supporting young people and the organisations working alongside them across Aotearoa New Zealand.
We balance support for today’s needs with a commitment to future generations.
Half of every donation supports current grants, while half is invested for future impact using Milford’s investment rigor to grow funding for further impact.
Milford Asset Management covers our operating costs, allowing all donations to be directed to charitable programmes.
We share our time, expertise and networks to help our charity partners create greater impact.
Our purpose is to back young people at the moments that shape their future, investing in the opportunities, skills and support they need to build secure, resilient and fulfilling lives.
Our vision is that every young person in Aotearoa reaches their potential, whatever their starting point.
Over our first five years, Milford Foundation supported a range of causes spanning youth, education, environmental initiatives and community disaster response.
Our funding supported the COVID-19 food security response, place-based environmental regeneration through the Puhinui Regeneration Project partnership and recovery following Cyclone Gabrielle.
During this time, we also launched the Milford Foundation Scholarship Programme, expanded employee volunteering with charity partners and established the Brian Gaynor Initiatives.
These experiences, together with insights from our partners and communities, shaped our decision to focus our long-term funding on supporting young New Zealanders to thrive.
Today, our focus is on backing young New Zealanders to reach their potential, whatever their starting point. The future of Aotearoa New Zealand is with the youth of today and we are committed to removing as many barriers as possible to achieve that.
We invest in programmes aligned with our funding priorities, partnering with organisations that have deep community connections and a proven, measurable ability to create positive outcomes for young people.
While our primary focus is long-term systemic impact, we recognise that significant events can have a profound effect on young people and their communities. In these circumstances, we may provide targeted funding to support trusted organisations delivering response and recovery efforts on the ground.
Raipoia Brightwell
Mareikura Waka Ama Club
Brian Gaynor co-founded Milford Asset Management and helped shape its commitment to independent thinking, evidence and public accountability.
He was a strong advocate for independent business journalism and was known for rigorous analysis of financial markets.
The Brian Gaynor Initiatives were established by his wife, Anna Gibbons, to honour his legacy. They support high-quality, independent business journalism in New Zealand and improve opportunities for aspiring journalists.
“Brian believed deeply in how important it is for investors to have trust in their financial markets, and in the power of high-quality analysis and news coverage of business affairs in keeping the markets honest.”
Anna Gibbons
Milford Foundation administers the Initiatives and distributes the fund’s earnings.
