Not for Me has been established with the primary objective to procure memorabilia and items which charities and other selected organisations can auction in order to raise money.

It was set up by Ant and Vanessa Ford in 2006 and both of them are actively involved.

"We decided that instead of just giving an annual donation to selected charities, we would see if we could find a way of increasing the amount of money raised for charities.  The result was "Not for Me".  The money we would have spent on our annual donation is used to fund the running costs and sometimes in procuring the memorabilia so that all the proceeds from the sale go directly to charity"

Not For Me (2139184) is a Charitable Trust incorporated under the Charitable Trust Act 1957.

Ant

Ant is currently General Manager for First Foundation, whose mission is to assist talented and financially-disadvantaged students to achieve their potential through tertiary education and to prepare them to positively influence and benefit their communities.

Ant has an MBA and a background in sales, marketing and senior management roles, working across a range of companies.  From this he has developed a wide range of contacts which is essential for an organisation such as Not For Me.

Ant has been a mentor with Project K and is now a mentor for the I Have a Dream Charitable Trust whose goal is to motivate and empower children from low-income communities to reach their education and career goals by providing a long-term programme of mentoring, tutoring and enrichment, along with tuition assistance for higher education.

He is also currently a Volunteer with Multiple Sclerosis Auckland and Make-A-Wish, having previously been a member in the IHC volunteering programme.

Ant was recently appointed Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for Harbour Sport and also chairs the planning committee for Westlake Boys' 50th Jubilee being held next year.

Vanessa

Vanessa is primarily responsible for administration.

Vanessa is a qualified Chartered Accountant who has worked for KPMG for six years and Telecom for a further six years. During her stint at KPMG, she took advantage of the company's secondment programme and worked in the company's Dublin office during 1998-99.

While looking after three children under the age of 7 obviously keeps her very busy, Vanessa still enjoys making the time to lend her career experience and expertise to Not For Me.

Board

Not for Me's Board comprises of four trustees;

• Mark Callander
• Ant Ford
• Rhonda Scott
• Brett Turner

Other fundraising

In addition to fundraising through Not For Me, Ant & Vanessa have organised teams to participate in the 2006 and 2007 Auckland Relay for Life with the team raising over $12,000 for research and programs for the Cancer Society.

In October 2007, Ant and Vanessa participated in the Cure Kids Accor $10 Challenge.  Starting with only $10 in their pockets, they competed against 24 other teams of two racing from Auckland to Queenstown. They raised $10,200.

To help raise money for the Leukaemia & Blood Foundation (LBF), Ant participated in the 100 Hole Golf Marrowthon held at the Tirau Golf Club in March 2008. The challenge was to play 100 holes of golf in a single day and raise money for the LBF. By doing so he raised $2,500.

In February 2011, Ant participated in Febfast. This event sees participants take the month of February off the booze while also raising funds to support much needed programs that support young people with alcohol and other drug problems. Ant raised $1,370 through this fundraising event.