In 2022, we were pleased to be able to renew funding for 10 of our fantastic community partners.

Our approach to supporting long-term social change is to form high-trust partnerships with organisations and collaboratives that align with the Todd Foundation’s vision of an inclusive Aotearoa New Zealand where all families, children and young people can thrive and contribute.

We know that to innovate, retain staff, and plan ahead, organisations working to address some of our society’s most challenging issues need multi-year funding. Shifting issues such as food insecurity or addressing New Zealand’s housing crisis is not something that can be achieved overnight.

So when we partner with ambitious organisations who are leading change, we usually fund them for a minimum of three years initially, alongside other funders. In their third year of funding (or sooner in some cases), the Todd Foundation team carries out a review alongside our community partners and other funders, and makes recommendations to our board about whether ongoing funding is needed. Staff write these funding renewal proposals so that our community partners can get on with doing their valuable work.

The groups we renewed funding for in 2022 have demonstrated some impressive outcomes. One example is Project Hoake, which has supported the development of 10 new family-led businesses on New Zealand’s remote East Cape. Alongside collaborative funders Te Muka Rau, J R McKenzie Trust, Trust Tairāwhiti and the Tindall Foundation, our support will help Project Hoake to continue to support and grow these and other fledgling businesses.

Todd Foundation funding is not always needed in the longer term. In many cases, our role is to support groups to get their collaborative initiatives off the ground, and an important and growing part of our role is brokering relationships with other funders to fund future work. Some of our community partners generate their own income through enterprise, enabling philanthropic funding to reduce over time.

Over the last three years, we’ve funded Te Hiko, Wesley Community Action’s Centre for Community Innovation, which is supporting 19 community-led initiatives after a successful establishment phase. The team has brought new funders on board and developed an innovative ‘Just Change’ initiative, bringing ‘doers and donors’ together to fund grassroots projects. While the Todd Foundation’s financial contribution to their work over the next three years has reduced, we are still on-board to support them in their next phase. This involves growing partnerships to create local economic systems that put people’s well-being first and continue to grow the capacity of local communities to lead their own responses.

Whether we are there in short-term or for several years, the Todd Foundation is honoured to support groundbreaking initiatives that create lasting impact for children, families and communities.