Latest news

Latest in generosity news on topics of interest across New Zealand, in the media and from our regular and guest bloggers

  • Purposely Podcast recently interviewed our CE, Eleanor Cater, about the increasingly crucial role of community foundations in communities: local energy tackling local issues - listen here.
  • News article in The Post about women's giving: the quiet revolution - read the article here.
  • Member story of the month! Read this Otago Daily Times article about the life and generosity about a Timaru local's Final act of service to the community through Aoraki Foundation - read the article here.

A city built on generosity

04 Aug 2025

Behind much of what helps Tāmaki Makaurau thrive, you’ll find legacy giving. These are gifts that don’t always make headlines but make a lasting difference. They come from people thinking not just about today, but about tomorrow – the city their grandchildren will grow up in, the opportunities they want to share with others, and the values they want to live on into the future...

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Women reshaping philanthropy

25 Jul 2025

So much has been written and debated about the “great wealth transfer”, the burgeoning phenomenon that will see the baby boomer wealth changing hands over the next 25 years. It’s an outsized bulge of generational wealth that the world has never seen in size and scale before, and, here in New Zealand, it’ll see NZ$1.2 trillion in earnings, property, and other financial assets changing hands as the older generation passes on. It turns out there’s another really interesting shift going on as well...

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A conversation between generations: how legacy giving builds stronger communities

02 Jul 2025

I grew up in a small town called Bar Harbor, on the coast of Maine. It’s one of those places that feels like it came from a storybook - pink granite cliffs, salty air, and a thick morning fog that rolls in just like in the movies. As a kid, I thought the beauty around me was just… there. I never questioned how the places I loved came to be. But years later, I realised something: so much of what I cherished had been because of philanthropy...

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Reimagineers of the future

27 May 2025

The intergenerational focus of community foundations, and the deep roots that they hold in communities, lends them towards being ‘reimagineers’ of the future of communities. In April, at Infrastructures for the Future (IFF25) in Bucharest, representatives from 35 countries, over 90 participants, explored how we reimagine the role of community foundations of the future...

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Trust and the charity sector

21 May 2025

We care, deeply. But we also need to trust. Right now, charities across Aotearoa are under immense pressure. The need for support has never been higher, bridging big gaps in food security, family violence, youth pathways, housing, health and education. These are not fringe issues – they’re fundamental to our community’s wellbeing...

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Accelerating action this International Women's Day

05 Mar 2025

It’s a researched phenomenon that women give differently. This can be seen unfolding across society in many ways, including how high-profile women such as Mackenzie Scott and Melinda French Gates express their personal philanthropy, tending towards more high trust approaches than their male counterparts. This includes support for grassroots initiatives, marginalised communities and community empowerment...

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