Tauranga business leader and philanthropist Bill Holland has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King’s Birthday Honours 2024, for services to community governance and philanthropy.

The honour with a citation for William Beau (Bill) Holland, MNZM, highlights his involvement in the governance of a range of trusts and organisations that have given back to the community for more than 20 years.

“This came as a complete surprise and it’s an honour,” says Bill.

“I’m really humbled by it, and it was very kind of whoever it was to nominate me.”

Bill says he’s been very fortunate in that he’s limited in some talents.

“I’d be hopeless doing carpentry work, for instance. I’m not very good at that sort of stuff, but because I’ve had experience as a lawyer and for a number of community organisations, one thing has led to another and I’ve been very, very fortunate.”

Having helped found the Acorn Foundation in 2003 and chaired it until 2011, Bill has remained an ambassador for the organisation, which has gifted more than $16.5 million to the community.

He became a trustee of the Tauranga Energy Community Trust (TECT) in 2012 and has been chairman since 2014. He has led Tect through transformational change from a Consumer Trust into a Community Trust.

He acknowledges the support of his wife Sally.

“Sally knows how much I’ve been involved in a lot of things. She’s been so supportive, filling in the gaps for me.”

A self-confessed “very young 72-year-old”, Bill has been a consultant at Holland Beckett, the firm founded by his late father, Bill Holland Snr, and has specialised in trust law and commercial and property transactions. He’s been a partner in the firm for 40 years.

Born, raised and educated in Tauranga, after completing his university qualifications, he worked for a large Auckland law firm for two years before returning to Tauranga.

With the benefit of his wide knowledge of Tauranga, its people and its business world, Bill acts as legal adviser to Tauranga’s leading business people and a number of community organisations.

He was also the chairman of the Tauranga Boys’ College Board of Trustees for 12 years.

Bill has received various awards over the years for his services to the community, including being made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2012.

As well as serving as chair for TECT, he also serves on a number of national and local charitable trusts, voluntary boards, and advisory committees.

Bill Holland. Photo: Supplied.

“I’ve been extremely fortunate to work with a lot of very good people in different community organisations, like TECT and Acorn,” says Bill.

“In any successful organisation like TECT, you need to have a good team of people. Really all I’ve been doing is just part of the team, and I’ve played my role, other people have played their roles and between us, good things have happened.”

He says the success of the Acorn Foundation has been massive.

“We put together a team of really good people, and it’s been hugely successful.”

The other big success has been TECT and the major restructuring following the sale of Trustpower to Mercury. Bill says the whole transition period needed a lawyer at the helm, with High Court proceedings involved.

“TECT has been absolutely transformational for Tauranga. The contribution to the community was about $8 million a year; it’s now in excess of a massive $20 million a year.

“And at the same time, we had to make sure that we looked after the consumers.”

TECT has about $530m in assets, and has made more than 240 grants totalling more than $15.9m as of 2023.

Grants to community groups through to investment contributions to the university have opened up opportunities across the city.

“TECT is already huge, but the Acorn Foundation will be bigger; it will keep growing. There is no limit because as people pass on, they will bequeath money which will be distributed to the local community.”

Bill has been a trustee of the Assisting Different Abilities Peoples Trust (Adapt) Trust since 2018, playing a key role in acquiring a site to build homes for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and the Wright Family Foundation since 2014.

He was a founding trustee of the Legacy Trust in 2007, established by Greg Brownless.

“Greg is very, very generous. He gave his business to the community, and the Legacy Trust has distributed more than $3.5 million to the community to date.

“All of the money that’s gone into community groups has transformed people’s lives.”

This past week, he met people who told him if it wasn’t for TECT, their organisation wouldn’t be able to exist.

Thoughts on the future

Bill says the whole idea of the Acorn Foundation was to promote philanthropy; to create a vehicle for promoting generosity.

“It’s to give ordinary people, not just the rich people, opportunity to make a contribution to give back to the community. Something which they’re really keen about.”

He has gone on to help set up 18 other community foundations based on the Acorn model, helping communities around NZ.

“I’ve been around speaking at so many places like New Plymouth, Whangārei, Rotorua, and Oamaru. Because Acorn has been so successful we’ve used it as a model for these other Kiwi foundations.”

In 2021, Bill received one of three inaugural life memberships granted to the founding ambassadors of the Community Foundation of Aotearoa NZ.

He has also been made a life member of many other organisations, including Tauranga Rowing Club, Tauranga Boys’ College Old Boy’s Association and Priority One. In May, 2024, he was made an honorary life member of the Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise.