Wellington College Foundation

The Wellington College Foundation was established in 1989 to provide long-term sustainable financial support for the teaching, learning, and capital improvements of Wellington College.

The vision of the Wellington College Foundation is to keep the special character of Wellington College shining bright today and for future generations. Your gift makes this vision a reality and you become part of this legacy.

The Foundation is the registered charitable trust through which financial support for the college is directed and funds distributed. Income is derived from the generous donations and gifts directed to the school thought the Foundation’s fundraising programmes.

Your generous funding support is managed by the Wellington College Foundation in accordance with best practice ethical investment.

The Foundation draws on the experience of our community to provide support and advice to make your giving transformative and impactful. The Foundation ensures the school can meet its ongoing capital and investment obligations through returns of the Pass the Light endowment fund.

If you would like to discuss your support of Wellington College our friendly Advancement Team is just a phone call or email away. Please contact Karla Paotonu, Director of Advancement, at k.paotonu@wc.school.nz, 0274528058.

Support Us

Rebuild The Terraces

The whole school coming together as a family is very important. With nearly 1900 students the only place we can be together as one is on our Terraces. These humble steps are a symbol of unity for the boys who walk the halls and grounds today and for our boys of the past. They are a place of great joy and pride as we cheer on our sporting teams, give back to the community during run-a-thon, enjoy friendly competition and banter during house events, and honour the contribution of our year 13 cohort. At times the Terraces have been a place of reckoning where we have had to face the consequences of poor decisions. They are a quiet refuge on a sunny day, to sit, and eat lunch with friends. They have been the backdrop for promotional photos, wedding photos, school photos, and even a successful proposal of marriage! They are the constant of tens of thousands of boys’ time at Wellington College.

Our Terraces are not looking their best right now. The brickwork and steps are crumbling. The west bank is described as being in poor condition and is undermined by an underwater stream with insufficient drainage. The steps are too narrow to navigate safely. It is now time for us to give back to our Terraces and rebuild them to their former glory. Your support today will help rebuild the Terraces.

Your Support

Together we can build the Wellington College Foundation to create a strong sustainable fund to provide opportunities for every student who spends their days learning, participating, and achieving at Wellington College.

Your generous gift will support the core priority areas of:

  • Learning support and opportunities for our students

  • Wellbeing of our students

  • Performing Arts opportunities for our students

  • Sporting opportunities for our students

  • Capital projects

  • Development opportunities for our teachers

For more information

To obtain more information, or to arrange a face-to-face meeting, please contact the Director of Advancement, Karla Paotonu:

Meet our Foundation Trustees

The control, management and conduct of the affairs of our Foundation are vested in the Foundation Trustees. The Trustees comprise of:

  • Cameron Harland – Wellington College Board Chair

  • Ted Thomas – WCOBA President

  • Mark Clare – Foundation Member
  • Andrew Allan – Trustee

The Foundation Trustees meet regularly to review overall progress on the goals of the Foundation.