Funding HQ, founded by Hawkes Bay mum of 5 Jenni Giblin, is New Zealand’s innovative new online fundraising platform and consultancy service – a disruptor in the fundraising space. The start-up and social impact business is dedicated to helping organisations in a range of sectors including arts, sports, social services, schools and environment, to get access to funding.
The way it works is organisations pay a monthly membership fee which includes access to the platform, bespoke coaching, and access to a database of all funds. After working in fundraising for 17 years, Jenni discovered that a large number of smaller charities didn’t have the funding to pay for large consultancies to help them secure funding and so this became one of the drivers for setting up Funding HQ. The platform is a cost effective way for an organisation to build capability and importantly, it stays within the organisation because they learn to do it themselves.
There is nothing like this in New Zealand on offer and Funding HQ is strongly supported by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage as they want to support innovation in the arts.
Funding HQ has been launched at the perfect time, especially with organisations battling to access funds due to a combination of factors – covid19, Cyclone Gabrielle, and a reduction in grants from corporates, businesses and government.
In fact, a 2021 New Zealand Cause report by JB Were confirmed 66% of funds distributed in New Zealand are earned by the top 11 charitable organisations which is alarming and just highlights the fact that there is an uneven playing field when it comes to accessing funding.
After securing more than $175 million in funding over 17 years for projects across the country and seeing first-hand the large number of organisations struggling to secure funding and unable to afford the assistance of a large consultancy, Jenni saw that it was time to put her past experience to work and launched Funding HQ which has been specially designed to support arts organisations who are seeking a financial funding model.
“In order to be successful in securing funds organisations need to have a clear and compelling case for investment, a diversified plan and be prepared to invest time into relationship management – without these three steps it is much harder to secure funding.”
Jenni says the platform couldn’t have come at a better time for the arts sector, “Now more than ever arts organisations across the country are finding it difficult to access funds. There’s no doubt that Covid-19 has impacted fundraising in this country. And with communities impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle, and a recession looming, funding from corporates and businesses is expected to reduce too.”
Jenni went on to say, “New Zealand’s funding landscape is uneven, with a large proportion of funds distributed to just a small number of charities. This is often because they have the internal resources to identify and then access funds or look after their partners. Unfortunately, it means that a large number of New Zealand charities really struggle to access funds. Many Māori, Pasifika and ethnic minority organisations also struggle year-on-year to access funding, and this needs to change.”
The platform, funded by the Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage via the Cultural Sector Innovation Fund, will aim to close the growing fundraising gap by building capability regardless of where an organisation is located and what size they are.
Using a SaaS (Software as a Service) monthly subscription model, Funding HQ offers end-to-end fundraising support across a wide range of funding streams and for a diverse client base.
In addition to the online learning, Funding HQ also provides tailored monthly zoom coaching sessions with each of its members. This time can be used to provide additional support and mentoring, such as running a specific session for the board, building internal team capability, role playing the ‘pitch’, peer reviewing or brainstorming approaches.
“Funding HQ also has an interactive database of funds available in New Zealand (Central Government, Local Government, Trusts and Foundations) that can be sorted by sector, region and fund dates. Members are also invited to attend monthly Q&A zoom sessions with our team of fundraising experts where questions and additional support can be sought. This is a unique way to connect with other arts organisations, share insights and support one another.”
Jenni lives on a sheep and beef farm with her husband and children – their farm was recently impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle – they lost hundreds of stock (lambs), have over 200 slips on their farm, a farm bridge washed away and a set of yards smashed – but she carries on in her mission to help drive her social impact business and get it off the ground.
