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 →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 →Here are four different perspectives on the characteristics of a good funder: The criteria for “Philanthropy at its best” proposed by the US-based National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy are particularly useful in my opinion; see the one page version or the full paper. They propose a manageable number of holistic but measurable criteria, eg “Invests…
Continue reading →Where does philanthropy end and dirty self-promotion begin? This was the question posed at the recent and fabulous Auckland Writer’s Festival to British philosopher Julian Baggini, economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan and me by Radio NZ presenter Wallace Chapman. Here’s how we answered this question – plus a few other key points: Philanthropy ends when…
Continue reading →If you are part of a community organisation which seeks funding, how would you describe your relationships with funders? I am just back from the fabulous and thought-provoking Grantmakers for Effective Organisations biennial conference in Minneapolis. In the first of several blog posts, here’s my interpretation of an analysis of funder – grantee relationships by…
Continue reading →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…
Continue reading →Philanthropy New Zealand’s Philanthropy Summit 2015, held 15-16 April in Auckland, challenged us with nothing less than rethinking our philanthropic paradigm and embracing other cultural approaches to giving. And, in case that seems a little too ambitious for this week’s to-do list, we were also invited to consider impact investing and to take a hard…
Continue reading →Thursday April 2 was my last day as Executive Director of Todd Foundation, and here is my farewell speech: *** It is hard to know what to say in a farewell speech. There are hundreds or thousands of people I could or should thank – but that would take a long time and be somewhat…
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