Here is the second of two podcasts on generosity where Scott Miller from Volunteering NZ and I are interviewed by the wonderful David Binstead from Twice Podcast. (You might also be interested in the first episode.) Some of the concepts and questions explored include: How to attract great volunteers and ensure that they have a…
Continue reading →What does it mean to live a generous life? And how do we articulate and measure the different ways in which to be generous? 1234Plus is my suggested model for considering generosity, and consists of: 1+ good deeds each day 2+ sustainability actions each week 3+ hours of volunteering each month 4+ percent of…
Continue reading →Here is the first of two podcasts on generosity where Scott Miller from Volunteering NZ and I are interviewed by the wonderful David Binstead from Twice Podcast. Some of the concepts and questions explored include: Generosity includes giving time, giving money and acting with kindness The total number of hours volunteering hours in Aotearoa NZ…
Continue reading →Transparency in philanthropy is important, and this blog presents a useful tool for those of us working in funding organisations to answer two questions: How transparent are we? Is this level of transparency appropriate for an organisation of our type and size? But first, a bit about what transparency in philanthropy means in practice and…
Continue reading →October 2017 was not a good month for me. First I dislocated my ankle and broke the surrounding bones in three places. Then the subsequent ankle surgery had major complications, and I ended up in the Intensive Care Unit on a respirator following seizures and fluid on the lungs and brain. Now, thank goodness, I…
Continue reading →One of many useful resources from Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori language week) is this user-friendly online quiz put out by Newshub, described as the “100 words and phrases the Ministry of Culture and Heritage says every New Zealander should know.” Have a go! But let’s not succumb to either shame, if…
Continue reading →When someone, particularly a politician, does something wrong, why is it that we sometimes judge their actions harshly, and sometimes leniently? It seems to me that passing judgement implicitly involves considering questions like “is the action legal?”, “is the action socially acceptable?” and “is the action fair and morally justifiable?” And then we overlay an…
Continue reading →We’re pretty lucky, us funders. We don’t usually pay tax. We can’t easily go broke. We rarely receive public criticism. And, unlike the US, where private foundations are required to give away at least 5% of their investment assets per year, funders in Aotearoa NZ are subject to few legislative requirements. In other words, we…
Continue reading →If philanthropy could be as innovative and impactful as possible, what might our world look like?* Three inspiring speakers at the recent Philanthropy New Zealand biennial conference, Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft, Judge Carolyn Henwood and Rangimarie Naida Glavish, presented a clear and inspiring picture of a land without child poverty, without child abuse, and where…
Continue reading →Below are links to a paper I wrote exploring why evaluating impact is so fraught and how communities, NGOs, funders and evaluators can work together better. The paper, entitled Building a better ecosystem for supporting our communities and the role of evaluation, was was written for the journal “Evaluation Matters – He Take Tō Te…
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