Centre for Social Impact
The Centre for Social Impact was established by the Foundation to strengthen the impact of the community sector and help grant makers and funders better enable inspiring and sustainable social change through their investment.
Foundation North established the Centre for Social Impact in 2014 to support the development and impact of its own high-engagement philanthropy. The Foundation wanted to support social innovators, by providing not just funding but also the support they may need as changemakers to achieve impact, such as building their capacity in areas such as governance, leadership, or evaluation.
Today the Centre continues to support the development and impact of the Foundation’s approach to philanthropy, alongside supporting the work of others investing for social impact.
Working with grantees as well as funders provides the Centre with unique insight into the challenges of designing and implementing social impact initiatives that work. Community organisations often require support to be sustainable, effective and relevant as demand for their services increases and client needs diversify. Philanthropic, government and corporate funders want to ensure that their grants and investments are impactful, and their approach is making a positive difference.
The Centre’s work with not for profits and their partnering funders is designed to help them build powerful partnerships, strengthen their internal capabilities and design frameworks to track and evaluate their progress.
The Centre’s knowledge hub, Te Pūaha o te Ako funded by Foundation North, provides free access to information, resources, insights and learning to support funders, community organisations and changemakers on their social impact journey. Drawing on insights and learnings gained from working alongside clients, the Centre offers a koha of ako to advance community sector and philanthropic practice to benefit all who call Aotearoa home.