Charities to benefit as couple sell $20m site
A Christchurch couple who own a $20 million-plus property will sell it and give away all the proceeds.
Marilyn and Grant Nelson are selling their commercial site on the corner of Blenheim and Curletts roads, which they own through their charitable trust the Gama Foundation.
The self-made and publicity-shy couple have already given millions of dollars of rental income to conservation, research, disability, and educational causes, and were awarded Queen’s Service Medals for their philanthropy in 2011. Grant Nelson has been blind most of his life.
He said they would share the money from the sale around their existing causes, which included university research institutes and scholarships founded by the couple. They did not take requests for charitable funding.
‘‘We are basically wanting to retire and take a lower profile,’’ he said.
Professor Mark Henaghan, director of the Legal Issues Centre established at Otago University by the foundation and the Government, said the sale was the latest example of the ‘‘amazing’’ couple’s extraordinary generosity.
‘‘In a society focused on what you can get out of it for yourself, they really want to use their money to make a difference, not to glorify themselves in any way.
‘‘They don’t do it to look good and they don’t seek recognition – they want things to change and be better.’’
Henaghan said the Nelsons were a practical and highly intelligent couple who quietly identified problems which needed attention. The research they had funded had already had a big impact.
Former Cabinet minister Dr Clive Matthewson, who had known the Nelsons for 10 years, described them as model philanthropists who did not spend a lot on themselves.
‘‘They do it for all the right reasons, to provide benefits for other New Zealanders. I can’t speak highly enough of them.’’
The couple established their foundation 20 years ago after selling a building supplies business Grant Nelson started by importing garden sheds.
Their philanthropic acts have included donating large tracts of native bush on Christchurch’s Port Hills, establishing reserves in South Canterbury, fencing Riccarton Bush to protect young kiwi, and creating information resources about financial education and coping with blindness.
They also fund research into bipolar disorder, conservation, and improving access to civil justice, and have protested issues ranging from inequality to water use.
The 2.1 hectare commercial block they are putting up for sale this week has been owned by