About Us

Quest for a Bequest directors, Heather and Reg Newell have shared an office together for almost 20  years, one focused on philanthropic fundraising and the other running a family focused law firm.  The two worlds collide when Reg is seeking the official  name for a charity to include in a client's will.  The call goes out to Heather "what's the official name for SPCA?" And happily Heather knows where  and how SPCA operates, she knows how to find the right branch, and she knows the structure of SPCA.  And most importantly, she knows the value of using a CC registration number, just in case the organisation changes its name in the future.

From the legal side Reg is frequently called on by clients to draft their wills and include charity bequests. His constant frustration has been finding the correct information by either phoning a charity, finding the correct person to talk to or ploughing through many donation pages on your website. "Have you tried phoning your own organisation?" Not every law firm however knows how a charity operates.  Many lawyers would be unaware of the potential "issues". For example  they don't know that a charity might have set up a foundation to receive bequests, they don't know where how a charity operates and where, they don't know about federal structures and membership groupings. They don't know that some charities might have special wording that they would prefer to have listed in the will.  They just want it to be simple and straightforward.  Official name, CC registration number, preferred wording for the bequest. 

Reg Newell 

Reg Newell has been a lawyer in private practice in Upper Hutt for over 30 years before which he worked in the legal sections of several government departments. Reg is also a military historian with four published books to his credit. 

He is frequently called on by clients to draft their wills and include charity bequests. His constant frustration has been finding the correct information by either phoning a charity, finding the correct person to talk to or ploughing through many donation pages on your website. "Have you tried phoning your own organisation?"

Heather Newell

Heather Newell is a fundraising professional with 30 years experience in fundraising training. Heather is an active member of the Fundraising Institute, was awarded Fellowship status in 2012 and has achieved the internationally recognised accreditation Certified Fund Raising Executive.  Heather has trained hundreds of fundraisers, and is well aware of the activities, causes and missions of thousands of New Zealand's fundraising charities.