The Birkenhead Licensing Trust continues to fund communities

Profits made by Glenfield’s The Innfield is given back to the community in grants approved by the Birkenhead Licensing Trust.

Most punters wouldn’t think twice about where their money goes after it changes hands with the bartender.

However, last year, $1.75 million dollars of tavern and gambling profits made its way back into the community through the Birkenhead Licensing Trust.

The Birkenhead Licensing Trust is governed by six elected trustee members, and exists to approve grants to community groups.

Trustees serve a term of three years, their re-elections running at the same time as local body elections.

“The trust differs to the local boards as they are not as directly involved in politics. Instead the trust acts more like a funding agency for the community,” trustee member Prince says.

All trustee members have different skill sets, including a lawyer, school teacher, IT specialist and an employee of Auckland Transport.

Trustee member Marilyn Nicholls says their diverse backgrounds in fact “compliment each other”.

Licensing Trusts are legacy organisations initially formed after the sale of liquor was restored to areas, which had formerly had prohibition.

Of the 28 licensing trusts that were established, 19 remain active today.

While the Birkenhead Licensing Trust no longer has the monopoly on issuing licences to sell alcohol, its legacy of maintaining the wellbeing of the community continues. The trust relinquished the the role of issuing liquor licences in 2002, after a public vote.

Grants are funded by the profits made from the two taverns the trust owns, The Good Home in Birkenhead and the Innfield in Glenfield.

From this, Northcote Primary School has been approved $125,000 for new classrooms and The Men’s Shed was granted $100,000 to get their business up and running.

The trust also partners with The Lion Foundation, a charitable trust that runs the gaming machines, to share the price of funding when serving the wider North Shore Area,

Trustee member Shane Prince says most applicants are schools either for sports equipment or something else.

“But, it can be for anything,” he says.

It’s just nice to see money going back into and being put to good use in the community.”

 – Stuff