Locals Work Together To Deliver Almost $1.2 Million In Support To Wellington Community
With communities facing many challenges, locals are working together to build reliable funding to support the people and places of Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Māui, the Greater Wellington region, long-term.
A challenging funding environment
With demand for community funding far outstripping supply, for-purpose organisations are facing a challenging environment. 'In 2024, we received over 450 grant applications – the highest number in our history,' says Nikau Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Emma Lewis. 'We know it's hard out there, and this number highlights the escalating demand and just how much for-purpose organisations need support.'
This demand has many donors leaning in and working together to deliver powerful, practical support to our communities, long-term.
Transformative giving
In 2024, Nikau Foundation distributed 196 grants totaling almost $1.2 million to for-purpose organisations by connecting local generosity with local need.
This includes grants from Nikau Foundation's Blake Fund, which exists in perpetuity, and was established by Wellingtonian Barbara Blake to make sure our region's youth had access to the support they needed to thrive.
"As a mother, I know that teenagers can be a bit tricky and can sometimes seem hard to reach,' says Barbara. 'However, I also know that with some perseverance, guidance and a firm push in the right direction at critical moments, young people can flourish and exceed all our expectations.'
Since the fund's establishment, Nikau has worked alongside Barbara to connect her with youth causes and provide annual grants to organisation's doing transformative work in this area. In 2024, grants from The Blake Fund included InsideOUT Kōaro who are providing support for our city's rainbow youth and Te Ara Moana Trust, an organisation providing free kayak and water safety lessons to Porirua youth to build confidence and teach valuable life skills.
'To those who want to make a difference but aren't sure where to donate, Nikau Foundation can help you to direct your funds to community organisations doing great work in your areas of interest,' says Barbara. 'They're deeply rooted in the community and are aware of where the biggest opportunities for philanthropic impact lie.'
Powerful, practical support
'We know from connecting with our communities that it is the day-to-day costs such as salaries and operational support that are often the hardest kinds of funding to secure,' says Nikau Foundation's Funding and Relationships Manager, Lindy Young. 'Yet these costs are the most critical for an organisation's operations.'
In 2024, Nikau delivered over $668,000 to assist with these costs – 58% of its total funding for the year and a 3.3% increase on last year.
'Through this funding, we are helping organisations to deliver current projects while supporting their organisational scalability, resilience and key infrastructure so they can continue to grow and give back long term,' says Lindy.
This includes a grant from Nikau's O'Dea Illingworth Fund to support salary costs at the World Wide Fund for Nature New Zealand (WWF). Established via a gift in John's will, the fund is dedicated to supporting climate change research, action and prevention and soil science research – causes that were close to John's heart.
This funding will be instrumental in expediting policy to protect our marine environment. 'Although Aotearoa New Zealand has the fifth largest ocean territory, less than 0.5% is currently protected,' says Chief Executive Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb. To set a pathway for new protected areas, WWF is working with the National Iwi Chairs Forum and Ngāti Kuri Trust Board to form a coalition of researchers, kaitiaki, environmental groups and industry players. Funding to support the salary of WWF's conservation impact advisor will help get this project off the ground.
'When it comes to creating nature positive outcomes, investing in people power is crucial,' says Kayla. Local generosity to address local challenges
'To create a meaningful difference, we continue to see the importance of conversation and connection in our community,' says Lindy.
By sharing knowledge and bringing local generosity closer to local need, the Foundation is channeling funding into areas of high need. In 2024, the Foundation gave over $151,214 to foster health and wellbeing, $143,380 to address food insecurity and $120,829 to provide key support to our region's youth.
'By working together and elevating voices from our community, we are making sure that local giving is giving back in meaningful and powerful ways,' says Lindy.
2024 Impact Report now live
Featuring stories of generosity and impact from across Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Māui, the Greater Wellington region, Nikau Foundation's 2024 is now live and available to download. To find out more, please click below:
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The Spinoff
04-05-2025
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Work and Income pledges review after deaf woman denied service
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The Spinoff
30-04-2025
- The Spinoff
Vision for Wellington hunts for the mythical lost vibe of the capital
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The Spinoff
29-04-2025
- The Spinoff
The Golden Mile gets going, with or without the nimbys
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The Golden Mile covers Courtenay Place, Manners Street, Willis Street and Lambton Quay, all main roads in the city and all in varying states of shambles. Courtenay Place, the nightlife hub, is trendy at the Mt Vic end and scummy at the Manners Street end, where the dilapidated, piss-soaked and grime-covered Reading Cinemas (due to be reopened later this year) sits. Then there is Manners Street itself, the subject of weekly Vic Deals horror stories, where there's little to see except for some crime here and there. Meanwhile, Willis Street is thriving. There are food and retail options, and as the connector between bureaucratic Lambton Quay and chill-vibes Cuba Street, there's plenty of foot traffic (the entire 'mile' is also at the heart of the city's public transport system, which 95% of all of the city's buses run through). And Lambton Quay is Lambton Quay – a hotspot on work days during work hours, but at any other time, essentially a ghost town. The city council's official line is that the Golden Mile works – which include pedestrianising the streets, more greenery, a new bike lane, widened footpaths and slip-safe paving – will help to 'revitalise' Wellington and 'create a vibrant, accessible, and thriving environment'. If you are too jaded by bureaucrat-speak to understand what this all means, here is a quick breakdown: Widened footpaths will mean you won't have to angrily shove past the slow-moving mobs on Lambton. Better paving means you won't fall on your ass after a night out on the booze on Courtenay. Seeing a tree in an urban space will remind you to touch grass. God forbid we want anything more. The whole song and dance is reminiscent of where Auckland stood about 10 years ago, around the same time the Golden Mile was conceptualised, when the City of Sails was staring down the barrel of the City Rail Link. An underground train line, in little old Auckland city? Dare we dream of a reality that makes us a real city? Dare we want more from this life? Nearly 10 years on, Aucklanders will soon reap the benefits of an improved public transport system – Wellingtonians can't even decide if a cycleway is too controversial. 'Projects like this happen all over the world all the time, and it generates negativity – that is the norm,' Whanau told The Spinoff. 'Change is hard, but people will love it.' Things take time. Things also cost money. Things that take time and cost money are hard to imagine the end result of. But perhaps in five years, as you seek refuge from the sun under the new green foliage on Courtenay Place, the painful Golden Mile decision-making process will come back as a flicker of a bad dream. You'll try to clear your head with a bike ride down a polished Manners Street, stop at the end of Lambton Quay, shock yourself by discovering there are actually other people here too, walk out onto the car-less street, raise your hands to the sky and scream that if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.
