As General Manager, Jonathan’s role is to provide support and leadership to his team so the Trust can achieve its vision and objectives.

Along with a Funds Advisor, Jonathan ensures the Trust’s funds are invested and managed appropriately. He is also the link between ECCT staff and the Board and works closely with the trustees, providing them with information to help them make informed strategic decisions.

Jonathan, who has been with ECCT for seven years and comes from a banking and finance background, says he enjoys helping people achieve neat things in their communities.

“Part of our role is connecting with people who are passionate about their communities and who provide services, programmes or facilities to connect their communities and make them a stronger place,” says Jonathan.

“Meeting these people is quite inspirational.”

When he’s not signing off grant applications, Jonathan enjoys the great outdoors, especially trout fishing, duck shooting and hunting and keeps his team entertained with his stories and knowledge of nature.

“I do a bit of swimming, cycling and walking to keep fit,” Jonathan says.

“I love sport and I’m probably New Zealand’s worst armchair critic when it comes to rugby and cricket.”

As a Grants Assessor, Patricia Devlin is a good person to know in the Eastern and Central Community Trust (ECCT) team. Not only does she assess and process applications, she is also the first port of call for many grantees, staff and trustees needing assistance for just about anything and everything.

Now in her tenth year at ECCT, Patricia says she loves helping the public, from answering their questions to assessing reports and advising payments.

“It’s always lovely assisting community groups with grants – I often forget it’s my job because of the nature of my work,” Patricia says.

Outside of her “job”, Malaysian-born Patricia is a proud grandmother of five and enjoys travelling to visit her two South Island based grandchildren.

“I also enjoy spending time in my garden, walking to keep fit and food – both cooking it and eating out at the numerous cafes and restaurants Hawke’s Bay has to offer.”

Jill Wolland is a grants assessor at Eastern & Central Community Trust.

Jill has been a vital part of the ECCT team for 20 years! Her role has varied during her time with the Trust, which has seen her doing everything from administration roles to finance and accounting and more recently assessing grants.

“I often call organisations for accountability reports too,” says Jill. “There is a lot of background work to providing grants to our community organisations. I really enjoy the whole process – from helping people fill in applications to paying out the grants and seeing the community impact of that grant.”

When she’s not in the office Jill enjoys relaxing with her family and friends, making the most of Hawke’s Bay’s array of wineries and restaurants and travelling abroad.

As a Community Advisor for ECCT, Neil gets the privilege of developing relationships with organisations making a positive difference in their communities, and assisting them with grant applications.

“It really is an honour working with these passionate groups and organisations,” Neil says.

“Sometimes a quick conversation with me about their application is the difference between a successful outcome or not. I always encourage people to ask questions and seek advice before submitting applications, which is where those relationships really come in to effect.”

For the past five years, Neil has played a key role in overseeing ECCT’s education projects such as Summer Reading, Maths is Fun and our Science Project, as well as hosting funding clinics throughout the regions and advising on ECCT policies and strategies.

Neil also manages the IT at ECCT and has the unenviable title of “Fluxx Administrator”. This means customising the online grant application and assessment process to make it more meaningful and as easy as possible for staff and applicants to use.

In his spare time, Neil volunteers as a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters and still mentors two boys that he mentored three years ago as part of the Project K mentoring programme.

When he’s not mentoring, Neil spends most of his weekends either kayaking, tramping or cycling the beautiful Hawke’s Bay trails with his beloved dog, Koda, racing beside him.

Born and bred in Hawke’s Bay, Rose joined Eastern and Central Community Trust as a Community Advisor in 2013.

With a background in social and cultural anthropology, Rose has worked in both government and community sectors, including social services funding and contracting, community development, performance audit and communications roles.

Rose believes that everyone should get the opportunity to do something they love, especially children and young people.

In her role as Community Advisor, she works directly with community groups to make this happen, as well as behind the scenes to align ECCT’s funding system with their needs.

Monique Jeffares is the Communications and Marketing Manager at Eastern & Central Community Trust.

Napier born and bred, Monique is a Journalist by trade. She began her career as a reporter and sub-editor for community newspapers in Hawke’s Bay, before heading to London on her OE and working as a travel writer.

On returning to New Zealand, Monique held various communications and marketing positions in the local government and charitable sectors.

Since joining the team at Eastern & Central Community Trust in a part-time capacity in January 2020, Monique has enjoyed the philanthropic side of the organisation and writing about the amazing community groups that are so dedicated to making their communities a better place to live and play.

When not working, Monique enjoys writing, keeping fit and healthy and spending time with her husband, two young boys, family and friends. Her favourite place to be is at the beach, whether it be swimming, fishing, trying to surf or building sand creations with her boys.