In Aotearoa New Zealand, philanthropy may be having its much-anticipated ‘moment.’ COVID-19, economic downturns and re-directed government funding has created a perfect storm for severely underserved and under-resourced communities. With demand for not-for-profit funding vastly outstripping supply, philanthropy and its role continues to be highlighted.
As key drivers and amplifiers of generosity, community foundations play a pivotal role in growing the funding pie and supporting the future resilience of our communities. And with $1.3 trillion projected to be passed down over the next 20 years in Aotearoa New Zealand alone, their role will become ever-more important if the intergenerational wealth transfer is harnessed in a community-focused way.
The question is, as a relatively young community foundations network (the eldest of the country’s 18 community foundation being the Greater Wellington region’s Nikau Foundation at a ripe 33 years old), how do we navigate the challenges of current and imminent growth, while ensuring we are fit for purpose and poised to support our communities in relevant, powerful and impactful ways?
Now over 30 years into our journey, the Community Foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand are now in their adolescence and experiencing the tension that comes with this key stage.
The tension between honouring our donors’ giving wishes while building a robust, future-focused asset; of overlaying Te ao Māori (Indigenous worldview) in innately Western philanthropic and funding systems;
Of referencing international impact frameworks while ensuring their relevance in a local context;
Of making the most of our opportunities on limited resources;
And of looking to stories, learnings, and examples of community foundations overseas, while affording ourselves the opportunity to forge our own way.
Tension in the for-purpose sector is common.
We frequently oscillate between the impact we want to make, and the impact we can deliver;
Between how things should be and how they are;
And between inherited and progressive philanthropic systems.
Although the word comes with inherently negative connotations, it is up to us all to see its many benefits and its inevitable occurrence as foundational.
For community foundations throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, we must acknowledge that it is only through these tension-rooted conversations that we can affirm our own identities, where we stand and the role we have in driving community transformation.
It is only through determining what we are not that we can determine what we are;
It is only through recognising our limitations that we can explore solutions;
It is only by questioning the status quo that we can build systems that are fit for purpose, fit for the future and reflective of diverse world views and aspirations;
And it is only through critical reflection on our first chapters that we can determine the stories told in our next ones.
For young Community Foundations across Aotearoa New Zealand, embracing and leaning into the tension that comes with adolescence will be foundational for ensuring strategic growth, and sound kaitiakitanga (guardianship) of our communities long into the future.
In a wider context, the exercise of re-framing tension also presents significant opportunities for the global for-purpose sector, creating powerful steppingstones for progression, improved efficiency, and greater efficacy.
As in physics, where it is defined as a ‘pulling force,’ feeling and being vulnerable to the tensions that come with generating change will be instrumental for collective progress.
Maddie McLeod is the Marketing and Communications Manager at Nikau Foundation, located in Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Māui, the Greater Wellington region, New Zealand.
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