How much do we give?

New research into financial giving in Aotearoa NZ, undertaken by Berl and commissioned by Philanthropy NZ, was released last week. You can listen to me discussing the results of the Giving New Zealand survey – and philanthropy more generally – with Ros Rice on the Collaborative Voices radio programme here: Alternatively, here is a short summary:…

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What do funders need to hear?

I was privileged to recently co-present a series of three workshops for funders based in the  Waikato recently alongside Peter Glensor from Hui-E Community Aotearoa. At the invitation of Trust Waikato, we first explored the nature of philanthropy and the community sector, then how philanthropy can do a better job of supporting communities organisations and…

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The fishhooks of funding based on outcomes

Making social funding dependent on proving outcomes is a compelling concept – but one that is full of fishhooks. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the Social Bond pilot (also known as Social Impact Bonds) and the Ministry of Social Development’s Community Investment Strategy to Invest in Services for Outcomes are examples of this seemingly simple and…

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Funding Burden – what it is, why it matters and how to lighten the load

The following article was originally published in Australia’s “Generosity” magazine in 2015:  What if we gave a $10,000 grant but only $9,000 was received?    And what if our $100,000 funding programme delivered only $45,000 of community benefit?  We’d probably be outraged.  Unfortunately, due to a concept I call “funding burden”, this happens frequently – and…

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