Our Philanthropy
The Share Collective has two focus areas for our giving: increasing equity and environmental action. We expect that the specific work and strategic priorities we focus on and fund under each of these headings may change over time.
Increasing Equity means working on solutions that will allow all people to fulfil their potential and shifting the conditions that hold inequities in place. Our funding prioritises initiatives that result in more equitable access to resources and more equitable public policies, particularly those that focus on better outcomes for tamariki (children), rangatahi (young people) and Māori.
Environmental Action means protecting, enhancing and revitalising the natural environment in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our funding prioritises collaborative initiatives that aim to mitigate the effects of climate change, enhance biodiversity, and/or address equitable adaptation to climate change.
The following guidelines shape our giving:
We are focused on funding charitable organisations working in Aotearoa.
We are focused on systemic change, rather than work that is addressing symptoms, though we acknowledge that both systematic and symptomatic work are important.
We welcome funding suggestions from donors. If you are a Share Collective donor, and know of an organisation that may fit our kaupapa, please do let us know. The board will consider these suggestions when deciding on funding allocations.
We aim to distribute funds on a quarterly basis, though funds may be allocated less frequently during our initial phase.
We aim for a small number of long term, impact focused partnerships. We build high trust relationships with these partners, providing them with untagged funding to support their mahi. We engage with them on a regular basis to ensure continued strategic alignment, to look for additional ways we can support their work and to share their stories with our donors.
Where possible, we fund collaboratively - either joining, or forming, funder collaboratives to strengthen the support received by our partners, ensuring they can focus their attention where it really matters - on the work.
We take an iterative approach, learning and developing as we go.
There are some things we will not fund. Our exclusions are:
We may fund organisations that are faith based, but we will not fund any proselytising activity.
We may fund organisations engaging in political activity, such as advocacy, but we won’t funding political parties.
We do not fund government departments or state-owned enterprises.
We do not cover costs that are regarded as being primarily the responsibility of central or local Government (eg. primary healthcare or schools).
We don’t fund purely commercial ventures - though we may fund social enterprise.
Funding decisions are made by the board of The Share Collective, based on research by our operational team, and advice provided by expert panels and those with lived experience of the problems we are trying to solve. The current board of Share Collective. has significant expertise in philanthropy and grant-making that we will draw on as we begin making grants.
Our funding is proactive, meaning we do not go out publicly with contestable grant rounds. Contestable grant rounds can create a considerable funding burden for community organisations - we hope to streamline processes, approach organisations directly and reduce that funding burden.