Trust Waikato: Prioritising community self-determination

Trust Waikato is one of twelve community trusts in Aotearoa New Zealand, providing grant funding and impact investment to community organisations operating in the Waikato region. The trust’s vision, “vibrant and resilient Waikato communities”, is supported by a strategic intent with ten-year goals designed to achieve “transformational change for people, families, communities, and places where the need is greatest”. Trust Waikato’s team sees empowering community self-determination as the trust’s primary tool for working in an equity and Te Tiriti o Waitangi space. Read the Trust Waikato  story below.

In the video below, Chief Executive, Dennis Turton, reflects on the belief that communities hold the solutions, knowledge and connections to make change happen, and can achieve their aspirations if supported through strength-based philanthropy.

NB: This is a case study from The Philanthropic Landscape Volume II: Shifting Culture and Power through Mana-Enhancing Partnerships. Read the full report here.