How the trust works:

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For a full description of how the Trust works please see the constitution document. In brief, the WLSNZ Trust is a charitable trust, which means that the trustees work to pursue and promote its general and specific aims (also listed in detail in the constitution), for the benefit of its affiliates and other beneficiaries. The general aims of the Trust are worded to keep a broad focus on national health issues for all New Zealanders, especially as relates to obesity and weightloss issues. Specific aims include pursuing a national education programme, acting as an information resource and hub, political lobbying for weightloss issues, involvement in the goal of free, publicly-funded food-addiction treatment for all New Zealanders affected by overweight and obesity, backing and promotion of the regional WLS support groups and the national WLS conference, and provision of charitable funds for weightloss surgery, and weightloss-related issues, among other goals.

In keeping with the broad goals of the Trust, some trustees will also be pursuing a special interest in building a network of affiliates, which may include the regional WLS support groups, bariatric professionals, sympathetic politicians, bariatric coaches etc, as well as seeking out patrons or well-known personalities who for example have may had bariatric surgery themselves and can lend their name to help support and promote the Trust’s aims. Affiliate status, as distinct from patrons, denotes a friendly working relationship with formal or informal groups or individuals, and also designates them as potential beneficiaries of the Trust.

As trustees of such an organization are not allowed to benefit themselves from their work, the constitution is worded to sanction a trustee being an affiliate or in any way becoming a beneficiary of the Trust, that is, the two roles are kept strictly separate. The Trust is also a legal entity which is independent of its beneficiaries, as it must be for charitable status, and as such is not answerable to them. The Trust is answerable only to its general aims as detailed in its constitution, and to the Charities Commission which has the power to investigate any complaints from the public that the Trust has not carried out its brief.
As a charitable organization, the Trust is also able to apply for funding from various other charitable agencies, both government and private, and act to distribute these among its beneficiaries.

What’s next?

We have been some months in the formation of this legal body and it seems now that we have received the certification documents that the work has only just begun! First up among the jobs to be done is to set up a Trust account, file the paperwork for an IRD number and tax exempt status, and then to form a subgroup which will be applying for the charitable funding for the Trust to administer for its potential beneficiaries. This will also include applications for funding to support the yearly national conferences, for which it’s hoped the ‘running of’ will be circulated around the different regional support groups each year. We will also be scheduling a further trustee meeting before the November national conference in Christchurch, to plan the focus for the coming year and to provide the framework for the Trust report which is included in the conference programme. This plan will include specific interests of various trustees in such areas as food addiction treatment (Robyn), patronage (Alan, Mark), political lobbying (Helen, Mark, Robyn), Trust website development (Janine), and no doubt other enthusiasms to be developed!

The above is only a general outline of what the Trust is, how it works, who is involved, and what it will be doing. In the coming period the website will be continuing to be updated with fuller information as plans are fine-tuned and developed.

We’ll be keeping you posted!