Wellington Temple Sinai
Charitable Trust

Temple Sinai supports the Wellington Temple Sinai Charitable Trust and encourages contributions to it by donations and bequests. See below for how to make a tax-deductible donation.

The Trust is a registered charity under the Charities Act 2005. Its Charity Services registration number is CC62945. You can view the trust deed here.

The Trust’s primary purposes are to further the religious and educational purposes of Progressive Jewish beliefs and practices primarily in the Wellington region.

These primary purposes may be furthered by supporting the activities of Temple Sinai in fulfilment of the Temple’s objects and according to its values as contained in its Rules.

The trust is in the nature of an endowment fund. The trustees are to ensure that as far as possible the capital of the Trust fund is preserved and built up over time, and is not eroded by inflation. This is achieved by only paying benefits out of income. The trustees can have recourse to the capital of the trust only in response to significant need, and if that occurs, must limit the distributions to prescribed portions of capital.

This means that donors to the Trust can have confidence that their contributions will provide benefit in perpetuity.

The Trust is not intended as a substitute for support provided directly to the Temple, but an additional means of support.

The trustees must be members of Temple Sinai, although there is provision for up to two independent trustees who need not be members.

The trust is required to report annually to Temple Sinai and to Charity Services, and amongst other things provide a statement of financial performance.

The four current trustees are:

Dr Richard Stein

Richard is the Chairperson of both Temple Sinai and the Trust.He is a consultant physician specialising in gastroenterology, and holds medicalqualifications in both New Zealand and the United States. He is Chairperson of the Crohn’s and Colitis New Zealand Charitable Trust and has undertaken trustee roles in relation to muscular dystrophy and cancer charities, amongst others. He was an elected member of the Hutt Valley District Health Board.

Jenny Livschitz

Jenny is treasurer of both Temple Sinai and the Trust. She is a chartered accountant and works as a Chief Financial Officer. Before that she was Manager Financial Planning and Performance and a Manager of Corporate Performance.

Helene Ritchie

The daughter of refugees from Poland and Czechoslovakia who escaped the Holocaust, Helene practised as a registered psychologist and mediator in the public sector and privately. She was Deputy Mayor of Wellington, and a city councillor for 30 years. She has also been a regional councillor and a district health board member. She is a published author. Helene is currently President of the Aotearoa/New Zealand International Council of Jewish Women and undertakes a range of civic roles.

Sam Segal

Sam has been an active member of Temple Sinai since 2011, after moving to Wellington. He was on the Board and served as Temple treasurer for seven years and is currently on the Ritual Committee. Sam is an actuary with over fifteen years of experience in the insurance industry in both New Zealand and the United States, including the Accident Compensation Corporation and Deloitte.

To contact the Trust:

The Trust’s email address is trust@sinai.org.nz.

Telephone messages for the trustees may be left with the Temple office 04 385 0720.

To donate:

Make an online payment to account 03-0521-0049547-000 including your name in the Particulars box and “Donation” in the Reference box.

2. Email the Trust advising:

Your full name.
The amount of the donation.
The date of the donation.
Your contact telephone number.

An IRD compliant receipt will be emailed back.