How should funders be supporting our communities in light of the Covid-19 pandemic? All of us will be affected, directly or indirectly. But the impact for families and communities already struggling with issues like homelessness, mental health, addictions, family violence and poverty will be especially challenging. So, it’s time to step up our support funders!…
Continue reading →It’s a new year and a new decade. So, philanthropic funders, what will our New Year’s resolutions be? Here are three suggestions: 1. Aim for Equity: Is our funding reaching the causes and people who need it most? Or do we give to organisations which are already well funded, and which serve communities that are…
Continue reading →There’s a lot of discussion in the farming world about the importance of moving away from extractive practices and instead embracing regenerative agriculture – here’s a recent relevant story from the Waikato. Might some of these same considerations apply to philanthropy? Let me start with a couple of dictionary definitions: extractive: the withdrawal of [natural]…
Continue reading →The Philanthropy Summit, held in Wellington from May 15 – 17 and created by Philanthropy New Zealand, was one of the best learning opportunities I have had in a long time. Here are the top four things I learned: There is a curious and delightful parallel between dental health and a racism-free world. One of…
Continue reading →What does it mean to be a good Pākehā? How do we build better relationships with Māori? And how might this play out in the world of funding? Here are my thoughts. A few years back I set myself on a journey to be a better Pākehā. For me, this means questioning what it means…
Continue reading →Building great governance in a family philanthropy is an important but under-researched area. What does a good family foundation board look like? What is the best way to find and select great trustees? And how do we get the best from trustees? My just-released report attempts to answer these questions. I was commissioned to write …
Continue reading →Here’s an exciting new possibility for funders in Aotearoa NZ – we can now be assessed and accredited on how transparent and accountable we are by the US-based Glass Pockets initiative. And, having just been through this with our small philanthropic trust Te Muka Rau, I can attest that the process is useful, easy –…
Continue reading →I recently led a conversation about strategic grantmaking for Philanthropy New Zealand’s excellent professional development programme, Great Grantmaking. The session covered what strategic grantmaking means, why it isn’t necessarily easy and the pros and cons of some of the tools and approaches often used for strategic grantmaking. Here is a summary of key points, and…
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 →