Philanthropy Internship
In 2022 The Christchurch Foundation offered a programme to help grow the capability of young professional leaders with a particular interest in the not-for-profit sector. It is called The Philanthropy Internship.
We offered this to all our partners free of charge to thank them for their ongoing support of our work. We hope it provided an excellent professional development opportunity for them to offer their staff.
This programme teaches key skills to young professionals, in their first 3 years of their career, about philanthropy and the not-for-profit/ purpose-lead sector.
We created this programme with the belief that all professionals should have a chance to make a difference in their community. They did this by forming a “board” and were taught governance, marketing, PR, etc. over the course of 15 weeks. The professionals heard from CE’s / Philanthropists and other leaders who were guest speakers during the sessions and received mentorship from our staff including our CE and Board. We had 11 young professionals join the 2022 cohort, nominated by their workplace.
The project goals are:
- To promote positive professional development by engaging young professionals in meaningful activities that build their skills and capacity in philanthropy.
- Enable professionals to give back to their community through positive action.
- Develop governance skills for the young professional.
- Foster interest in supporting non-profits in the future; generates a philanthropic nature.
- Build confidence – knowing they can make an impact.
A particular highlight of the programme is that the professionals actively fundraised, and volunteered. Their education then culminated when – as a board – they hosted a charity futsal festival, which raised $10,618 for our Sports Inclusivity Fund.
We are currently planning our 2023 Philanthropy Internship and will be calling for applications early in the New Year.
For more information please contact Hannah Duder hannah@christchurchfoundation.org.nz.
Port Hills Fire Regeneration
In response to the 2024 Port Hills fire this fund has been established to assist with the regeneration of endemic natives in the impacted area.
There is scientific evidence that natives are more fire resistant and can significantly contribute to the resilience and protection of at-risk ecosystems and communities.
The funds raised will be actively managed by The Christchurch Foundation and distributed with support of the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust and Te Kākahu Kahukura. These two reputable entities are already working in the impacted area and have extensive experience in the establishment of native plants in a best practice manner with participating landowners (private/public and charitable).
Funding could be applied not only to securing new plants but could also include pest management, weeding and other activities to support the regeneration of the area safely.
The intent is to help increase the fire protection on the port hills as well as also increasing the biodiversity of the area.
Green Philanthropy Fund
The Green Philanthropy Fund has been developed to accelerate positive environmental change in Waitaha Canterbury.
Future thinking must be applied to quickly address the big environmental issues we are facing. Our goal is to make it easier for businesses and individuals to give to science-led innovation, and to increase the pool of funding available to those individuals and groups striving to improve and protect our ecosystems.
