Mayoress' Charity Ball proven huge success

Monday 28 November 2011 National Business Review by Robert McCambridge

In times where ‘cheesy’ music playlists and party décor often plague social functions, a recent charity event hosted by Auckland Mayoress Shan Inglis has proven that misconceptions can be easily discarded from the dance floor.

The Westpac Mayoress’ Charity Ball proved to be a major success as high profile business owners and celebrity guests flocked to attend the charity gala at the new Viaduct Events Centre last Saturday night.

Designed to rival similar international events such as the Viennese Opera Ball in New York and the Black & White Ball in San Francisco, the Mayoress’ ‘Moulin Rouge’ themed masquerade gala included charity auctions, live performances and fine dining.

It has been estimated that over $160,000 has been raised during the special event, with all net proceeds being given to the Mayoress’ ‘Fund for Youth’, an independent charitable fund administered within the Auckland Communities Foundation.......[more].

Wananga Courses offered on South Auckland Marae

Friday 18th November 2011 Radio NZ Te Manu Korihi

Tertiary education provider Te Wananga o Aotearoa is setting up courses on South Auckland's Manurewa marae.

Around 120 students have enrolled for the courses on offer - health and fitness, pathways in sport, tikanga Maori and money management .

They'll join 170 students doing Manukau Institute of Technology horticulture courses on the marae.

A community collective, Te Manu Ka Rewa, has helped increase the educational opportunities on the marae.

A spokesperson, Kat Stanier, says travelling to a tertiary campus can be an obstacle for some students and being able to study on a marae, with its support and different learning environment, will benefit young people from Manurewa......[listen].

Support for Marae's tertiary courses

Thursday 17th November 2011 Manukau Courier by Adrian Evans

A marae's ambitious plan to launch eight tertiary courses is outstripping all expectations.  Te Manu Ka Rewa, a collective of five organisations including Manurewa Marae, will run the courses in partnership with Te Wananga o Aotearoa in 2012.

Strategists Damon Heke and Kat Stanier say the collective is fast gaining momentum and exceeding expectations.

They put that down to the five groups involved: Clendon Park Primary School, parents of the school's Maori unit, Manurewa Marlins Rugby League Club and the marae and its kapa haka group Te Tai Tonga.

"Just because of the strength of those five organisations we've been able to jump on and get going with some projects," Ms Stanier says.

The courses focus on career paths in performing arts, tourism, sport and te reo and more could be added in the future.....[more].

'We are a Very Giving Nation'

Sunday 14 August 2011 Sunday Star Times by Steve Kilgallon

Many charities are jostling for our dollars, but Mark Bentley offers a different approach to philanthropy and you don't need to be mega-rich.

There are about 25,000 charities in New Zealand: one for every 172 of us, one of the highest rates in the Western world. You could interpret the statistic as a heartwarming indication of national generosity, or a hopelessly inefficient and ineffective way to give money.

Mark Bentley sees both angles but says there's a better way.

"With a lot of giving, at the moment, there's a lot of heart, and not a lot of head in it, " he reckons. "But we can do heart and head....[more].

Mayor's Wife steps up for Auckland kids

Sunday 14 August 2011 Sunday Star Times

Auckland Mayoress Shan Inglis is establishing an annual charity ball for children.

Inglis, the wife of first-term Auckland mayor Len Brown, has established the Mayoress' Fund for Youth, which will be topped up each year by the proceeds from a gala ball  the first of which will be held at the new Viaduct Events Centre on November 19.

The fund will be administered by the Auckland Communities Foundation and go towards a permanent endowment for young people, and an annual funds distribution...[more].

Auckland's social issues 'complex' - report

Wednesday 23 March 2011 Newstalk ZB

A report on Auckland's most pressing social issues reveals the problems are complex.

The MacroAuckland report, which was released last night by the Auckland Communities Foundation, aims to help philanthropists decide which causes to give to.

Co-author Professor Charles Crothers says the rich are becoming more concentrated in rich areas and the poor are doing the same areas.

"I do think we're drifting towards a more separated and unequal society and I think it's a bit of a shame."

Mr Crothers says we need to make sure we don't build those divisions too deeply and they don't happen over generations...[more].

Mentoring scheme helps to reunite struggling families

Wednesday 23 March 2011 New Zealand Herald by Simon Collins

A 13-year-old Manurewa schoolboy is talking to his dad again thanks to an intensive new mentoring programme.

Reison Tunupopo was moved out of his father's house in late 2009 after he went to police about the way he was being treated at home.

He had been expelled from his primary school, and was on track to being expelled in his first term at Manurewa High School when he was referred to the Dream Youth Centre Extreme (DYCE) scheme last month.

The scheme was named last night, after a six-month survey of Auckland's needs called "MacroAuckland", as one of five inaugural projects for the new Auckland Communities Foundation, which links donors with needy community projects.... [more].

Flying in formation

March 2011 edition of New Zealand Management Magazine 

Blackmail, bribery and arm-twisting on the road to charitable collaboration. Mark Bentley’s research pinpoints the best ways to encourage charities to work together.

With over 25,000 charities currently registered nationwide, New Zealand has one of the highest ratios of charities per person in the world. This is prompting fears of unnecessary competition and duplication of activity. In the private sector, industry rationalisation such as merger, acquisition or closure would probably eradicate the problem. In the charitable sector, however, merger is a dirty word.

Over in the UK, a recent survey found that only 3 percent of charities had ever considered merger as a strategic option. In the past four years there were only 260 mergers out of a total population of 171, 000 charities: a paltry 0.15 percent.

In light of this reluctance to merge, collaboration has been seen as an important way to enhance the quantity, quality, accessibility and cost-effectiveness of services, and reduce gaps and overlaps in the provision of outputs in the charitable sector [......download the article here]

Living & giving

Thursday 3 March  2011 The Aucklander by Edward Rooney

We have more charities than any other country - and most of us are turned off by the constant pressure to donate. Edward Rooney sketches the new face of fundraising.

Olivia knew straight away she needed to do something for the poor kids the moment the 4-year-old saw their awful plight on TV. "I saw all their dirty water and I thought I'd like to help them. So we decided to buy a cow and I had a toy sale and a cake sale."

Now aged 7, the Mt Albert girl's recollection differs slightly from her mum's: "The World Vision ad talked about 17,000 children dying each day and Olivia asked us if we could sponsor all the children," says Gail Burgess. ..... [ more ].

A Waitakere experiment shows how Auckland communities can find new ways to raise money - straight from their own pockets, Hayley Hannan reports.

Mikael Aldridge sits at a sleek table, flicking through a printout headed in large, bold type: Education, Health, Access, Economic Wellbeing.

"You know, these are the issues that are at stake," he says pointedly. "They are all kinds of majorly important areas but, without money, it's hard to do anything about them."

Come the elections and the council merger on November 1, many people are unsure how community projects will be funded and if initiatives will survive the transition.

The Titirangi resident and his company, Wow Communications, have decided to help insulate the West Auckland area against future council uncertainty by donating to the Waitakere Fund. In simple terms, the fund is a pool of money for the community, raised by the community..... [ more ]