Governance
This section provides some details on the Marram Community Trust history and the way in which it operates.
Registered Charitable Trust
Marram Community Trust is a not-for-profit organisation and is governed by a Trust Deed and Board of Trustees. It is a registered charitable trust in terms of the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 but is not a registered charity in terms of the Charities Act 2005, so it does not qualify for tax exemptions.
Trust Board
The seven members of the Trust Board come from the ranks of the member organisations, as determined by the Trust Deed. Three of these Trustees are nominated and appointed by the three founding member organisations and three Trustees are appointed from the ranks of the other member organisations. The Chairperson of the Marram Community Trust Board is filled by the person in the head human resources role at Telecom.
Vacancies for Trustee roles are advertised when they become available. Nominations are placed before the Board to select and appoint new Trustees.
The Trustees meet six times a year in either Wellington or Auckland. They are responsible for ensuring that the Trust follows good governance. The Board also provides strategic input and approves the budget and business plan of the Marram Community Trust.
Behind Marram Community Trust
Our Roots
The predecessor to Marram Community Trust was the Post Office Welfare Trust. Established as a charitable trust in 1945, its purpose was to help employees of the Post Office and their families as they re-established themselves following the Second World War. The first holiday homes were converted army huts funded using money the Government had set aside from Government War Bonds. This funding was later replaced by voluntary contributions from employees. The homes were available for convalescence following illness and for family holidays at reasonable cost.
In the 1960's, a healthcare assistance programme was established to help working families with their healthcare expenses. Subsequently, the holiday home programme was extended to allow former employees access to the holiday homes but not to the healthcare benefits as they would no longer be making a financial contribution to the Trust.
In 1987, with the split of the Post Office into New Zealand Post, Telecom and the Post Office Savings Bank, the Trust expanded to include these three companies and their subsidiaries. All of our 'member organisations' can trace their roots back to the Post Office with the exception of a few associated to us through our charitable endeavours.
The focus of the Trust remains the same today as it was originally – to contribute to the wellbeing of our contributors, their families and the wider New Zealand community in a compassionate and meaningful way.
Funding
The initial funding to establish the holiday homes network came from war bond fees but when this option was depleted, additional funding came from the receipt of regular contributions from employees of the member organisations or from member organisations making contributions on behalf of their staff.
Today, Marram is funded by the holiday home rentals, contributions and income from investments. The funding provides money to pay healthcare medical expenses, heavily subsidise the rental cost of the holiday homes and maintain the homes from year to year. Most years this money is completely spent, but any excess is put back into the organisation.
Common misunderstandings surrounding how we are funded are:
- "Contributors built the homes" - originally these were funded by war bond fees. Although contributions during the early years did go toward some purchases, contributions have not paid for homes for decades.
- "The contributions cover all costs" - Holiday home rentals are not sufficient to cover costs and all rentals are subsidised to some degree by Marram Community Trust. A significant proportion of income is paid out in medical benefits through the healthcare product.
- "Past contributions should reflect in today's services" – all funds are used in the year they are contributed so if you don't make a claim this year, your subscriptions are helping out other people in our community.