Kendons Community Commitment

Many of the Kendons team volunteer as treasurers or give pro-bono financial advice to not-for-profits and community organisations.

Kendons encourages team members to share their expertise, and volunteer their services to the community, making 2 hours a month available to team members for community projects, during work time. We also provide discounted access to accounting tools like Xero, Futrli, and Hubdoc. And we provide a special not-for-profit rate on services like Annual Accounts to community organisations.

We asked some of our team to tell us about their voluntary work and why supporting the Canterbury community matters to them.

Enriching our city with Life in Vacant Spaces

Kendons Associate, Bridget Beck has been Treasurer and Trustee for not-for-profit Life in Vacant Spaces since its inception after the Christchurch quakes. Life in Vacant Spaces (LiVS) activates Christchurch’s empty sites and spaces with temporary projects. They matchmake people with great ideas with landowners. LiVS has been responsible for 74 audacious collaborations that have brought colour, life and fun to our city. Many of these activations have seeded permanent businesses or projects.

Better financial planning for bigger community impact

Bridget explains her involvement with LiVS. “In the early days, I did the bookkeeping and helped with cash flow planning. They have very tight budgets, especially around the end of the financial year, so managing cash flow is critical. I also supported applying for grants. “When I became a trustee, I transitioned the hands-on financial admin to an employee. I’m there for support, but I’m now more involved in financial planning and budgets, as well as guiding the strategic direction of the organisation.

“It’s very satisfying to know I’ve helped LiVS manage their money and access funds so they can have more impact. And I’ve also given them peace of mind they’re in good financial order to carry out projects.” LiVS Director, Rachael Shiels says, “Having Bridget on board gives us security and professionalism. I’ve worked with Kendons for a while over a range of different projects, and I’m blown away by the lengths their team goes to, to support us. I can approach them with any problem. They’re very solution-focused. We deal with a lot of projects, so having clear oversight of our cash flow is very beneficial when it comes to planning. Strong financial systems also give the people we work with confidence we know what we’re doing.”

Bringing great ideas to life

Bridget says, “Working with LiVS has opened my eyes to the importance of building community. They bring huge value to Christchurch, supporting creative and entrepreneurial people to bring ideas to life. You see the impact of our work everywhere in the city, how alive it is because of the projects we’ve facilitated.”

“Professionally it’s enriched me. I’ve learned about community engagement and facilitating projects. I’ve worked with a more diverse group of people and I’ve understood that people have different drivers. As business advisors, our core focus is growing business, but life is also about creating value for the wider community.

“There’s also huge value for Kendons in supporting our team to do voluntary work. We all gain business and life skills from being deeply involved in the governance and operations of community organisations. It helps us attract more good people because good people want to work for businesses that give back. And, most importantly, we have the satisfaction of knowing we’re making our city a better place to live, for everyone.”

Protecting the community treasure of Okains Bay Museum

Kendons Managing Director, Mike Laing, is Treasurer and Trustee of Okains Bay Museum.

Chair of the Museum Trust Board, Helen Brown talks about the value Mike brings. “It’s really good to have his perspective on the Board. Museums attract historians and people with a passion for collections. We don’t get many people with business acumen and financial knowledge. But the museum has always relied on grants, goodwill, and volunteers. We run on the smell of an oily rag, so having Mike’s expertise is invaluable.”

A catalyst for making the museum more robust

Helen says, “Mike has helped us get better financial systems up and running for payroll and cash flow. He produces these amazing professional reports, so we all know where we’re at. He gives us confidence in decision making and forward planning. We’re in a much better financial position and we have a greater awareness of our financial situation. “

We were severely impacted by Covid. 50% of our visitors were international, so we lost half our revenue overnight. Before Covid, we had two full-time staff who lived on-site and we were open seven days a week. That was no longer financially tenable for us, so we had to make some major changes. Mike’s budgeting and financial modelling was a key part of that decision making. He helped us establish a sustainable financial model to take us forward.”

It’s good to give back

Mike says, “I didn’t know much about the museum when I became treasurer, but after six years on a school board, it was a good change. The museum had to make some big difficult calls recently and I’ve got personal enjoyment from helping make an important local cultural organisation sustainable for the long-term and protecting our local history.

“Our work at Kendons is very commercial in focus and it’s easy to get your business blinkers on. It’s valuable to us all to see a non-profit perspective, and it’s great for our team to serve the community and see the benefits of community work.”

We’re proud of all the people at Kendons who give their time, energy and expertise to the Canterbury community. If you know a not-for-profit or a community organisation that could use a helping hand with their finances, please let us know. We may be able to help.