Kia ora koutou,
In this edition of The Dial we cover some of the work we did as 2023 ended and preview what is coming up from our team over the coming months.
This is a milestone year for CSI; our tenth birthday. When I look back at where we started, it is interesting to see how much has changed in the social impact sector since 2014, both nationally and internationally. Internationally, decolonisation, the incorporation of indigenous world views, and addressing the power imbalance between funders and grantee organisations and communities are increasingly the issues that are shaping conversations, ways of working, and approaches to relationships. In New Zealand, debate around these issues has had a strong focus on the kaupapa of what it means to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi today. As a contribution to this national conversation, Foundation North have charted their haerenga (journey) towards being Tiriti-led in their day-to-day mahi. Information on this, and a link to their film of this journey are included below.
New challenges around this kaupapa are emerging however, for both Māori and Tangata Tiriti, from the Coalition Government's policies on te reo and the Treaty of Waitangi. The response to the changes proposed by Government has been heartening. Concern about the Coalition’s approach to te reo and the Treaty of Waitangi brought thousands together from across the motu in January to Tūrangawaewae Marae for the Hui-aa-Motu (national unity hui.) As I stood alongside my Tainui whānaunga to begin the pōwhiri, I felt we were on the verge of creating history as we answered the call from Kiingi Tuheitia to stand in solidarity with the kaupapa and begin planning the steps forward.
The commitment to the kaupapa was as evident at Rātana, and Waitangi. I hope that as a sector, we can bring a similar energy to the task of attempting to inform and influence the development and implementation of the Coalitions’ social and climate policies over the next three years.
Toitū te tiriti.
Karinia Lee, Head of Centre | Kaihautu
Centre for Social Impact
Te Pūaha Talks – the programme for 2024
Our 2024 Te Puaha Talks programme, the free online webinars and workshops we offer funded by Foundation North for community organisations and other not-for-profits, has been shaped by feedback from the sector on the key topics you want to explore. The 2024 programme includes a ‘pack’ of core capability webinars that will cover strategy development; stakeholder engagement; telling your story; and understanding impact. Getting Grant Ready, will provide an introduction to a new online print resource on navigating the funding landscape. Written by CSI associate Emily Garden, this will be a handy guide for anyone new to grant seeking.
Other webinars in the programme will focus on evaluation, hauora, storytelling, and climate action.
Dates for the webinars will be released progressively throughout the year. Don’t want to miss out? Click here to request to be notified of upcoming Te Pūaha Talks.
The Philanthropic Landscape – Partnerships for Purpose
Our Te Pūaha o te Ako knowledge hub is designed to nurture learning and support knowledge transfer for transformational impact. To support this kaupapa in the year ahead, CSI will offer opportunities designed to support conversations, connections and collaborations for social impact funders. The first initiative for funders is a webinar: The Philanthropic Landscape – Partnerships for Purpose. This will look at how ‘partnerships for purpose’ are being developed between funders and ngā kaikōkiri (communities, funded groups, grantees). The springboard for this conversation is the report, Philanthropic Landscape Volume II – Shifting Culture and Power through Mana-Enhancing Partnerships and the case studies of innovative approaches to partnership included in the report. The webinar will be facilitated by CSI associates, Kate Cherrington and Kat Dawnier who carried out the research, along with guest speakers Niall Fay from Fay Fuller Foundation, Aiolupotea Lili Tuioti from Peter McKenzie Project and Jenn Chowaniec from Wayne Francis Charitable Trust. More details and registration are available here.
The Trusts – enabling everyone to get to the starting line for a good life
The Trusts are two community-owned organisations, The Portage Licensing Trust and the Waitākere Licensing Trust, which can sell alcohol in West Auckland (and small parts of central Auckland and the Upper Harbour). A proportion of the surplus profits the Trusts generate through hotels, taverns and off-licenses in their districts, help support an active programme of community grants and sponsorships.
To ensure maximum benefit from the grants to their communities, The Trusts commissioned CSI to help them understand the main needs and trends for people living in the region over the next 20 years.
“We wanted to take a more long-term strategic approach to our funding,” says The Trusts’ CEO, Allan Pollard. “We talked with our community to understand their priority needs and aspirations so that we could design a strategy that was more impactful. We are proud that we are committed to addressing the underlying social conditions that perpetuate inequity, exclusion, and are aiming to create lasting change and build a more just and inclusive society for all.
“The new strategy and funding approach has a priority focus on supporting communities where the most impact can be made. It provides The Trusts with a key reference point for decision-making, offers greater clarity and transparency to applicants and enhances our responsiveness to Māori and Pacific people.”
In response to the research, The Trusts have launched two new funds. Your West Support Fund will distribute $750,000 to initiatives that address ‘underlying social conditions that perpetuate inequity, exclusion, and disadvantage.” Your West Innovation Fund will distribute $250,000 “to seed or scale new and innovative initiatives that have a high potential for impact in our community.”
Haumanu at the 2024 Collective Impact Action Summit
The Haumanu approach to restorative systems change, developed with the support of CSI associates, Louise Marra, Tuihana Ohia, and Rachael Trotman, is on the agenda at the international Collective Impact Action Summit on April 30 - May 2, 2024. The summit, a virtual event with an international audience, is hosted by the Collective Impact Forum, an initiative of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions and FSG. Over three days, “participants will find both inspiration and practical advice for how to engage in community collaborations that center equity and belonging in collective impact work.”
The Haumanu session, which will be led by Tuihana and Louise, will present “a practical framework and process method for working with and beginning to heal the collective trauma of the past, to create equitable futures.”
Registration for the summit is open.
The Women’s Refuge - Wāhine Kī Toa leadership programme
Women’s Refuge is New Zealand’s largest nation-wide organisation that supports and helps women and children experiencing domestic violence. An inaugural Wāhine Kī Toa leadership programme, developed by CSI in partnership with the National Office for Women’s Refuge, was offered to refuge staff across the motu last year. The programme was facilitated by CSI associates Louise Marra, Tuihana Ohia and Rachael Trotman with support from Donna Jamieson-Hall and Cathy Livermore.
The programme drew on their combined experience with Haumanu to shape a highly participative process. In addition to six online wānanga, four kanohi ki te kanohi hui were held that allowed the women to be together away from the pressures of work. For the participants, the programme offered the benefits of both designed learning, and learning from the diverse experiences of their co-workers in other regions. Personal confidence, increased self-care, and a greater capacity to contribute to their teams were noted by participants. Watch a short clip about the participants experience here.
The cohort of women for the 2024 programme met in the first week of March on Waiheke Island. We are delighted to be able to support the development of the next generation of women who will lead this important mahi.
Asian Artists’ Fund – co-funded and co-designed
The Asian Artists’ Fund, co-funded by Creative New Zealand and Foundation North, is open for applications from artists, practitioners, and collaboratives of Asian whakapapa from Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Tai Tokerau. While the 2018 Census found that around 28% of Aucklanders identified with an Asian ethnicity, CNZ research found Asian artists face barriers and inequity when seeking funding support. The fund is an initiative that aims to address these issues.
Co-designed by Asian artists, the fund will see a total of $550,000 in grants distributed to successful applicants. This year, the fund is offering applicants a new workshop, engaging more deeply with what it means to be Tangata Tiriti in Aotearoa, designed to create a safe space for Asian arts practitioners to deepen their understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni. Information on the fund is available here.
Kia wātea ai te ara – Foundation North’s journey to be a Te Tiriti-led organisation
A commitment to Te Tiriti is written into Foundation North’s statement of purpose and Trust deed. Like many other organisations that have made a similar commitment, the Foundation has been on a haerenga (journey) to bring that statement to life and be Tiriti-led in its day-to-day mahi. As the Foundation learns from other organisations on the same journey, it has also released a short film to document the Foundation’s experience.
Congratulations Monica
Former Head of the Centre for Social Impact, Monica Briggs, was recognised on the New Years Honours list as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to women and governance. It is a tribute to Monica’s 20 years of contribution to the health and charity sectors, most recently as Chief Executive at the Child Cancer Foundation. Ngā mihi nui ki a koe Monica.
Collaboration to respond to climate events
The Eastern and Central Community Trust team have seen the impact of repeated major storms devastating their communities. The impact of Cyclone Gabrielle is still being felt over a year after the event. In a recent Philanthropy New Zealand article, ECCT’s Dave Clapperton reflects on what he has seen over the last year, and stresses the need for community funders to work together to increase impact for storm-battered communities.
ECCT, Foundation North and several other funders are supporting PNZ’s commissioning of research into the challenges posed by these disasters. The research, carried out by the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Massey University, will identify what can be learnt from events such as Cyclone Gabrielle to ‘update guidance for funders and create tools to help give support quickly and effectively in future emergencies.’
The Charities Act changes – what you need to know
Yes, the Charities Act is changing! The changes will include reduced reporting requirements for very small charities but requirements for greater transparency from larger charities with annual operating expenses over $140,000, requiring them to declare and explain any accumulated major funds such as cash, assets or other resources. An overview of the changes from the former Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan is available here.
Community Governance Aotearoa’s April Board Talk will explore changes to the Charities Act and what this means for charities. Panelists will include Andrew Newbery (Charities Services), Michelle Kitney (Volunteering NZ) and Steven Moe (Parry Field Lawyers). Registrations for this free event, 12pm Friday 26th April, 2024 are now open.
Shake it off; four ways Taylor Swift supports young people’s mental health
We enjoyed this opinion piece on the Australian Centre for Social Impact’s website. Lisette Kaleveld, a social researcher at the Centre for Social Impact UWA notes ‘four reasons why the Queen of Pop is rocking our headspace’ including ‘smashing stigma’; communicating a ‘recovery-oriented approach to mental health care’ and how to deal with online culture; and being a ‘trusted and relatable role model.’