A new pool for Cust,
and your name on the fence when it opens.
Back a 70-year-old institution at the moment it's rebuilt, and get sustained community exposure across the 2026/27 and 2027/28 seasons.
70
Years serving the district
135+
Keys sold every season
Every
School day, every Cust kid
2
Seasons of signage
Seventy years old, and about to be brand new
The Cust Community Pool has been a fixture of life in this district for seven decades. It's where Cust kids learn to swim, where the school does its swimming lessons every summer, and where local families spend their hot afternoons. It is the heart of summer in Cust.
In 2026 the committee stopped patching a long-running leak and committed to fixing it properly: a full fibreglass reline, new skimmers and pipework, and upgraded filtration. It is a $108,000 project that leaves the district with a pool good for decades. Grants and community fundraising have covered most of it. Local businesses are how we finish it.
It's a one-off moment to put your name on a local institution, for the summer it reopens and the one after it.
In 1945, Wally Allen and a small Bath Committee started fundraising to give Cust a pool. It took ten years, hand-mixed concrete and a lot of donated labour. In December 1955 it opened, and 70 years on it's still the heart of summer here.
Eighty years on, this district is doing it again, and this time it only needs the last stretch.
What we're asking
We're inviting local businesses to come on board as corporate sponsors of the Cust Pool. There's one straightforward sponsorship package: signage at the pool, your logo on the website, and acknowledgement on our social media. We'd love you to put forward a contribution that works for your business.
Prefer to contribute in-kind, with goods, services or a prize for the silent auction? We're happy to talk about that too.
What every sponsor receives
Sponsorship is for two full seasons: 2026/27 and 2027/28. That's two summers of exposure, plus the full duration of the fundraising campaign building up to reopening.
Signage at the pool
Your branded sign displayed prominently on the pool fence/wall for the 2026/27 and 2027/28 seasons, in front of every visitor, every day, all summer.
Logo on the website
Your logo and link on custpool.co.nz on a permanent sponsors page, plus the homepage acknowledgement strip.
Social media recognition
A dedicated thank-you post on the pool's Facebook and Mandeville / Oxford community pages, plus inclusion in the regular fundraising updates that reach 400+ households.
Promotional material
Acknowledgement on all fundraising collateral for the duration of the campaign: quiz night programme, raffle materials, newsletter, posters and printed flyers.
Public thank you
Named as a sponsor at our fundraising events and the reopening day, and in any coverage we secure with local press and community pages.
Industry exclusivity (optional)
If you'd like to be the only business in your category (e.g. only real estate agent, only sparky, only contractor), talk to us and we're happy to arrange that.
Who you'll reach
Cust is a tight-knit community and the pool sits right at the centre of it. Sponsorship puts you in front of the entire district, across multiple channels, all summer long.
Pool keyholders
135+ keys sold per season, typically families, so well over 400 individual swimmers across the summer.
Cust Primary School
Every child at the school uses the pool during term-time swimming, plus teachers, parent helpers and whΔnau.
Community email list
~400β500 households on the pool's mailing list, reached multiple times across the campaign.
Facebook & community pages
Mandeville, Oxford and Cust community pages, with collective reach in the thousands per post.
Fundraising events
Quiz nights at the Cust Pub pull a full house of community members, sponsors and supporters.
Press & media
Active outreach to North Canterbury News and community papers as the campaign builds.
There's also the goodwill. Local customers notice who backs the pool, particularly in trades, real estate, services and anywhere word-of-mouth matters.
Why timing matters
The work is booked for October and the pool opens for the 2026/27 season. Sponsors who come on board now have their sign up on the fence for opening day, when the whole district is watching this pool.
Every sponsor we lock in over the next few weeks lets us:
- βConfirm the full scope with the contractors rather than trimming it to fit the fund.
- βShow grant funders that local business is behind the project (which materially improves grant outcomes).
- βKeep the run to opening day going: quiz night, raffle, silent auction and the reopening itself.
The earlier you come on board, the longer your name is in front of the community, and the bigger the part you played in getting the pool back open.
A note on tax
The Cust Pool Committee is an incorporated society, not a registered charity, so contributions are not tax-deductible as donations. However, sponsorship payments that include marketing benefits (signage, logo placement, promotional acknowledgement) are typically treated as a legitimate business marketing expense. We recommend you confirm the treatment with your accountant.
Tell us you're in
Fill in the form below and we'll come back to you within a week to confirm the package, talk through artwork and placement, and lock in your spot. Prefer to email? Send us a note at custpool@gmail.com.
Questions? Email us at custpool@gmail.com.
Seventy years of summers, and the next seventy starting this October. Thanks for considering being part of it.
The Cust Pool Fundraising Committee