Applying for assistance

Donations

Newmont Waihi Gold makes donations to local charities. Charitable community groups should register with the Charities Commission. Registration will allow charities to maintain a tax-exempt status and will also prevent the benefactor from becoming subject to gift duty on donations it provides.

Not all non-profit organisations are considered by the Charities Commission to have charitable status. Sport and recreational clubs, for instance, are unlikely to be able to register with the Charities Commission. The Charities Commission can confirm the status of your organisation or club.

Schools are treated in a similar manner as charitable organisations and maintain their tax-exempt status.

Sponsorships

Organisations that do not qualify for donations as a charitable organisation can still apply to Newmont Waihi Gold for assistance in the form of sponsorships. Assistance provided may be financial assistance or in-kind assistance. A sponsorship agreement requires the recipient to provide something to the sponsor in return for the assistance provided. For example, a recipient might display our signage at an event or give the company the naming rights for a tournament.

How to apply for assistance

Applicants are asked to write a brief letter outlining:

• the project for which funding is required
• the $ amount or a description of the in-kind support being sought
• who will benefit, how many will benefit, how they will benefit
• bank details on letterhead or a bank deposit slip
• GST registration number if applicable
• if applicant is registered with the Charities Commission this should be stated.

How we allocate the funds

The community investment team meets in the first half of each month to consider the written requests that have been received since the last meeting. The team works within a budget and uses the following guidelines when considering the allocation of funds:

• the recipient’s project principles must be consistent with Newmont values
• support is primarily for community activities that take place within Waihi
• projects should demonstrate sustainable benefit
• projects with the potential to enhance suitable educational services or opportunities have preference
• recipients should have demonstrated an ability to help themselves
• provision is made to assist individuals or groups who represent their community or region at recognised national or international events or competitions.

After the funding allocation meeting each applicant is informed of the outcome of the request. Successful applicants for financial assistance are required to provide bank details to enable us to deposit funds directly into the recipient’s bank account.

Our community investment team then initiates procedures to requisition payments or arrange in-kind support. Reply letters are mailed out and a feedback form and self addressed envelope are enclosed so recipients have the opportunity to rate our performance, make any comments and consider ways they might acknowledge the assistance we have provided.

Acknowledging the support

If Newmont’s assistance is classified as a sponsorship arrangement, appropriate public acknowledgment in return for this support is required. We have promotional flags and banners. Recipients can collect these from us to display at the venue of the event or project for which assistance was provided. The Newmont logo can be supplied for inclusion in programmes, advertising or other written material. You may wish to provide a story to the media or suggest other ways you could acknowledge our support.

2011 Review

During 2011 we will be reviewing our community investment programme to assess the economic and social benefits it provides across the board. We will be looking to offer support as a partner with the recipient rather than as sole provider of funding in many of the projects we support. We will also be looking to better define our criteria to make it clear what we will and won’t support. Our review will also look at ways to ensure that we are funding projects, activities and organisations in a way that is sustainable.