Hoatu Fund 2024
The Hoatu Fund is a fund of the Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, which assists vulnerable women, children and families with material and spiritual needs.
In the 1880’s, Father Ginaty, a priest of this Diocese, raised money by donations and bequests to establish an institution which would provide care for women with spiritual or social needs in Canterbury. He asked the Good Shepherd Sisters from Australia to run this institution known as ‘Mount Magdala’. It closed in 1966 and the land transferred to the Good Shepherd Sisters. This land was later sold by the sisters and a portion of the money from this sale was returned to the Diocese and placed in a Trust to carry out the original purpose and intention of Fr Ginaty in the changed circumstance which now apply.
The Bishop is the sole trustee of the Hoatu Fund. Matt O’Connell administers the fund on the Bishop’s behalf.
The Hoatu Fund funding allocation process is also used to distribute the funds the Bishop receives annually from The Tindall Foundation, through the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference. The process of making a funding request remains the same, and there is no need to identify which fund the request is targeting. If your request aligns with The Tindall Foundation funding priorities, we will make an allocation from this fund.
