New Contributor joins the Working Together More
Fund - He Pūtea Mahi Tahi

The Hugh Green Foundation is the latest philanthropic family
foundation  to contribute to the Working Together More Fund
- He Pūtea Mahi Tahi, helping community groups to achieve
more through collaboration.

The Foundation joins four well-known New Zealand philanthropic
foundations, The Todd Foundation, Tindall Foundation, J R McKenzie
Trust and Wayne Francis  Charitable Trust, who in late 2009
launched the Working Together More Fund – He Pūtea Mahi Tahi.

By providing seeding money, the Fund enables community groups to
explore collaborative initiatives that allow them to work more
efficiently and effectively in their local communities.

“We are delighted to have the Hugh Green Foundation on board and
are incredibly grateful for the funding,” says Barbara Edwards of The
Working Together More Fund.

Established in 1968 by Irish-born Hugh Green, The Hugh Green
Foundation generously supports a range of organisations and causes
including The Malagahan Institute, the Fred Hollows Foundation,
Hearing House and Home & Family Counselling.

Mr Green’s philanthropic nature is part driven by his own experience
of poverty during his childhood in County Donegal, leaving school
aged 12 to drove and deal in livestock at cattle fairs.

He was determined, through sheer hard work, never to suffer the
hardships that he saw his family endure. Today he is just as focused
on giving financial aid to people and organisations faced with similar
challenges.

Foundation spokesman John Green says the Green family is excited to
be  involved in working with other family foundations to support the
Working Together More Fund.

Since it launched two years ago, the Fund has supported the
development of 62 collaborative initiatives involving more
than 280 community groups. Alzheimer’s Auckland, Waiarapa
Family Violence Network and Alexandria Community House
are just some of the groups who have received funding.

The work in the community has been so positive that these
funders have agreed to continue the fund in 2012. The next
funding round will take place in November.

During our first year of operating a large number of groups have  been part of collaborative projects which were granted funds. Many of these groups gave us feedback for our review and gave some interesting insights about the realities of collaborating.

Over the next few months we will be updating our website and adding insights from our grantees   and other information which we hope will help those who are considering embarking on a collaborative project.

While we have had many applications from some really great projects the Trustees have agreed that our  focus remains the provision of seeding funds rather than ongoing project costs.

It is an appropriate time to remind groups that this fund is the result of a collaborative initiative by the Tindall Foundation, the Todd Foundation, the J R McKenzie Trust and the Wayne Francis Charitable Trust. These four Funders continue their normal funding programs but have granted some resources to the Working Together More Fund to support this collaborative initiative. Details about the Working Together More Fund can be found on the pages of this site.

Caring for the environment

To help us care for the environment and save yourself much needed resources please only send the material requested on the application form. We will request any further information if it is required.

December 2009 grants

The launch of the Working Together More Fund – He Putea Mahi Tahi late 2009 was well received by community groups throughout the country. Applications came from both small rural communities and large metropolitan cities. The number of applications received was far greater than anticipated and highlighted the struggle that many groups are experiencing due to increased workloads and declining funds.

A large proportion of grants were made to groups who had identified other organisations they wished to collaborate with, had established the commitment of all groups and were now wanting to have a workshop to develop systems, strategies and protocols. Grants were made to cover all or part of the workshop costs for items such as facilitators or travel. For example:

• The goal of nine community groups in a small rural town was to establish a community house, which would house all nine groups and allow these groups to work together to provide the best services possible to their community. The groups and the community had joined forces to build a new house and now wanted an independent facilitator to run a workshop to assist them to develop the systems, strategies and protocols to enable the house to function effectively and efficiently. A grant was given to cover the cost of a facilitator.
• The goal of several community groups in a small rural town was to maximise a community resource to the benefit of all the community. A lack of clear procedures, protocols and governance had created disharmony between groups and the underutilisation of the facility. A grant was made to cover the cost of an independent facilitator skilled in the area of conflict resolution and community development.
• Two organisations in a major city that are providing the same service to the same population are committed to working together to provide a more effective and efficient service. Once they have established a good collaborative relationship their goal is to widen the collaborative to include similar organisations from other parts of the country. A grant was given to cover the cost of their one-day workshop.

Many groups requested a grant to cover salary costs for a worker to drive a collaborative initiative and or run a new initiative. As the fund does not cover ongoing costs a grant in these instances was made as a contribution towards the total cost for those parts of the initiative that were considered to need seeding money or support. The size of a grant varied in accordance with the size or complexity of an initiative. For example:

• The goal of two organisations that provided 24/7 services to victims of family violence was to merge to enable them to provide a more effective and efficient service to their community. They considered they did not have the time or resources to carry out the necessary work and requested assistance for a coordinator salary. A contribution towards the salary was granted.

A small number of applicants requested assistance for setting up costs. For example:

• The goal of three community groups working with youth in a major city was to join forces to provide a comprehensive and effective service in a central location for the youth of their community. They had located suitable accommodation and planned to share the venue, management, services and equipment. A contribution towards the cost of setting up the office was granted.

Several applications from throughout the country were received from one sector of the community. Before making a decision regarding these applications our Trustees plan to gather more information and develop a strategy for supporting this sector. A decision regarding these applications will be made in the next few weeks.