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Governance with a philanthropic lens - the workshop experience

Calendar icon 06 Mar 2020
Clock icon 2 min read
Feedback from participants on their workshop experience has been affirming of the value of a governance development programme with a specific focus on philanthropy.

Five workshops facilitated by CSI Associates Caren Rangi and Mata Cherrington have been held since October last year. The New Trustee workshop (for those who have been on a trust for one year or less) was held in Auckland and Christchurch. The Advanced Governance Practice workshop (for those who are in their second to fourth years of their term) was held in Wellington and online (via Zoom) and the Chairs workshop (which was also open to deputy or pending Chairs) was held in Wellington. Participants across the workshops came from ten of the community trusts.

“We were impressed with the level of engagement of participants and their willingness to share ideas and strategies,” Caren says. “We noticed that trustees across the country face similar challenges despite operating in a variety of regional contexts.”

Feedback from the workshops affirms the value of trustees being able to learn from each other’s experience. 


...the chance to come together with board members of other community trusts, to hear the stories and not feel like one is alone in the struggles faced by trustees.
— Programme participant

Other comments from participants included:

  • It was good to meet other governors of community trusts. There were some really interesting conversations about what type of funder we wanted to be. Some great points on strategy development.
  • The whanaungatanga, getting insight into what others are doing; sharing experiences.
  • Meeting people who, like myself, are new to "Governance with a philanthropic lens"; I also enjoyed the conversation, it was relevant and engaging.
  • Learning about the subtle differences between Corporate Governance and Trustee Governance
  • Superb presenters! Being a couple of meetings in to the Trustee role was perfect timing. I got most value from the areas that we can take back to our Trust to improve one, mostly around self assessment in order to understand what we do and where we can improve.

A formal evaluation of the workshops is now underway and will be completed by the end of June.