The CFANZ Conference 2024 kicked off with a warm and traditional Māori welcome that laid the foundation for a couple of days filled with wisdom and deep insights on the management and governance of Community Foundations. Arron Perriam opened the event with a look back at CFANZ’s accomplishments over the past year and a glimpse into the ambitious challenges on the horizon.

We dove into a session by Barry Knight on measuring impact as a way to empower communities. Barry, a statistician by profession, eloquently argued that impact of community foundations cannot be measured by a one-size-fits-all algorithm. He has exhorted the need for energy and rightly said that money doesn’t generate energy; it rather follows the energy created by passionate communities.

Barry was joined by a panel consisting of Jennifer Belmont, Eleanor Cater, Josh Hickford and Holly Snape, who shared fascinating accounts from the ‘Shift the Power’ event in Bogotá, igniting engaging discussions about empowerment and enabling mana enhanced communities. Katie Cherrington and Kat Dawnier from the Center for Social Impact reinforced this idea, promoting mana-enhancing practices. They stressed on the need for strong values ​​and reciprocity, to broker and mediate resources between donors and the community.

Over the course of two enlightening days, representatives from various community foundations across Aotearoa dazzled us with their blurbs on innovation. Bites of valuable information were shared on topics ranging from the pivotal role of marketing and communication to building relationships with professional advisors for advancing the role of community foundations and scaling the role of SMEs under the ‘BForGood’ campaign. Insights were shared into what makes a donor’s journey positive and successful and how to create powerful brand stories based on these journeys. A standout moment was the Sunrise Foundation proudly celebrating ten years by painting their town orange, quite literally! Who knew community spirit could be so visually striking?

A vital theme that resonated throughout the conference was the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), explored in-depth by Nick Deychakiwsky and Larry McGill. Their message was simple: while the SDGs are formulated on a global scale, their real effect begins at the community level. Community foundations in Aotearoa are beginning their journey with SDGs and these sessions shed light on how this can be accelerated. The main outcome of the framework is to sustainably address global inequality and injustice, echoing the mantra ‘For good, for ever, for everyone.’

The importance of building partnerships and long-term vision also took center stage. Ian Bird, CEO of Community Foundations Australia, spoke about the importance of visionary planning—not just looking 10 or 15 years ahead but imagining 100 years into the future. He has encouraged us to look back at past wisdom while orienting our current actions for future needs. A key takeaway from the conference was that philanthropy has transformed from a vertical model, where the wealthy would play Santa, to a horizontal approach, where communities now uplift their own members. While donor-centric strategies continue to be important, donors are also members of the community. Community foundations must therefore bridge the gap, balancing donor aspirations with community needs through ongoing dialogue and awareness.

In the midst of all this intellectual stimulation, the serenity of rejuvenating yoga stretches guided by Sarah O’Connell offered us some much-needed relief—because let’s be honest, a good stretch is a universal remedy. And let’s not forget about the food! The food was abundant and delicious, with free-flowing barista crafted coffees, fueling our tummies and minds.

The conference ended on an emotionally powerful note. Dr Hana O’Regan laid bare the challenges and injustice that the Māori culture has faced and the influence it continues to have in the present day. She urged us to increase our awareness on this key issue, break the barriers of the past and take active steps to change the narrative.

In the end, one clear message emerged: lasting change can be built on collaboration. You don’t need to be Superman to make a difference. Simply being yourself and actively engaging in your community is the only superpower you’ll ever need!

Shannon Dsouza is a Chartered accountant who has recently moved to New Zealand and serves as the Management accountant at Acorn Foundation.