Fletcher Building was our first foundation

Fletcher Building’s 27-year relationship with First Foundation has transformed the futures of 81 scholars and generated powerful long-term value for both organisations. As one of First Foundation’s earliest supporters, you’ve helped turn a bold idea into a programme that now reaches talented students across Aotearoa.

Backing our vision from the beginning

In 1998, Sir Hugh Fletcher was among the first to back First Foundation’s vision of giving deserving young New Zealanders a fair chance at university. Those early years of support from your team at Fletcher Building were pivotal in turning the concept into a working model of financial support, mentoring and meaningful work experience.

What began with a handful of scholarships has grown into a partnership that has supported 81 scholars into higher education and the workforce. That growth has been possible because Fletcher Building stayed the course, even as the business and broader economy changed around it.

“Fletcher Building was there when First Foundation was little more than a bold idea. Your early backing helped us prove what was possible for talented students who just needed a hand up.”

Kirk Sargent, CEO of First Foundation

Fletcher Building has stood alongside scholars for decades

Over more than 25 years, Fletcher Building has continued to invest in at least three new scholars a year, through strong markets and tough cycles alike. That kind of steady, long-term support is rare but is deeply respected by First Foundation, our scholars and their whānau.

For young people, such consistency sends a powerful message: Fletcher Building will walk alongside them for the whole journey, not just the highlight moments. Scholars talk about managers who became mentors. They met teams who welcomed them in and put them at ease. Importantly, Fletcher Building gave reassurance of a stable anchor while they navigated university and life’s challenges.

Kirk says, “We’ve seen how committed Fletcher Building is across the years; you stayed with your scholars. Your steady support has made a difference that can’t easily be measured on a spreadsheet.”

The impact is real and far-reaching

The power of Fletcher Building’s support shows up in very real ways. Your scholars have become engineers, finance professionals, therapists and project leaders. They’re most often the first in their family to hold a degree. Their success changes what younger siblings and cousins believe is possible, and strengthens the communities they come from.

A quarter of a century on from the first scholar, Fletcher Building alums can be found across industries and organisations. They bring the values, skills and confidence you’ve helped them build through the programme and under the care of your leaders. Many continue to give back – mentoring others, contributing to their communities and whānau.

 “When Fletcher Building supports a scholar, the benefits don’t stop with one young person. You see the return in their siblings and their parents.

A return that goes both ways

It’s clear that for everyone at Fletcher Building, this has never been just about philanthropy. 

The partnership brings in motivated, resilient young people who add fresh thinking and lived experience to teams across the business. People leaders gain mentoring and coaching experience, and teams take pride in helping a young person succeed.

Leaders describe hosting a scholar as a unique chance to support someone at the very start of their career, while also developing their own skills. That blend of social impact and talent development is part of the reason Fletcher Building maintained such an enduring relationship with First Foundation.

“Partners tell us they ‘gain when they give’, and Fletcher Building really embodies that. Your support grows talent while changing lives well beyond the 81 scholars you’ve backed.”

Lives are transformed

The whole conversation about university changes within a family when a scholar gains Fletcher Building as a partner. Scholar Kayne was the first in his family to attend university.

He explains, “Each of the three pillars of the First Foundation scholarship will help me achieve my goals and achieve academic success at university. I’m so grateful for all the opportunities it brings.”

Kayne said the part of the First Foundation programme that surprised him most was the work experience. He admits that walking into a big Fletcher Building office for the first time was intimidating, but the team never made him feel like ‘just the student’.

Kayne Ridden has been interning at Firth while studying towards a Bachelor of Engineering at University of Canterbury.

Kirk says every student has a unique, but similarly transformative story. “Fletcher Building hasn’t just partnered with First Foundation; you’ve partnered with 81 young New Zealanders, their whānau and their futures. That quiet, long-term commitment sits at the heart of everything First Foundation has grown into.