#293 'Sport, Purpose and the Long Game' Ned Wills, CEO at Laureus Sport for Good

Welcoming Helen Hughes to Purposely Podcast, Chief Executive and Tai Oroni of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, one of New Zealand's most remarkable conservation stories and the world's largest pest-proof fenced sanctuary, sitting in the Waikato near Cambridge.3363 hectares of restored native forest. 47 kilometres of predator-proof fencing. Kiwi, kokako, giant weta and hundreds of native species finding their footing again in a forest that had lost its voice. The ecological work at Maungatautari is extraordinary. But this conversation is just as much about the human story behind it, and the very real challenge of keeping something this significant financially alive.Helen came to this role after a life that took her from London investment banking to IT support, insurance, a sausage roll factory, and eventually the government's billion trees programme. It was not a straight line, and she is the first to say that the foundation for where she is now was not laid in her childhood but in a period of profound personal loss that sent her into the forest to heal.In this conversation Helen and Mark get into the origin story of the sanctuary, how a community in the Waikato took an audacious idea and built something the world has not seen before, and the relationship with iwi that sits at the heart of everything the sanctuary does. The process of tono, iwi to iwi conversation before any translocation takes place, is one of the more quietly moving things discussed in the episode.Helen also talks openly about what she walked into as CEO. A funding model that had not kept pace with rising costs, a significant operating loss, cash flow at times sitting at just two weeks, and a team that needed steadying. She made the call to go public with the financial reality and talks about why that was the right decision even when it was a hard one.From there the conversation moves to what she has done to turn things around: growing the tourism business, building out the native nursery, creating on-site accommodation, developing an education programme that now reaches thousands of students a year, and exploring the early promise of biodiversity credits as a potential new way of funding conservation at scale. She is clear that the work is not done and that the pressure is constant.What comes through is someone who cares deeply about the place, is clear eyed about the challenges still ahead, and is not short of determination to see it through.This episode of Purposely is brought to you by Benevity and Trust Investments NZ.

In this SHORT episode of Purposely, we’re back with Duncan Matthews – founder of Good Numbers – on funder reporting, the pain of being a volunteer treasurer, and why small charities deserve better tools.Duncan opens with a familiar frustration: tier four charities – those under $140,000 in annual expenditure – are everywhere in Aotearoa (around 15,000 on the charities register alone), yet virtually no software has been built with them in mind. Small in money, perhaps. But not small in impact.He talks about the reality of funder reporting – and how wildly it varies. Foundation North makes it simple.Gaming trusts? Not so much. Some require receipts, bank statements, and proof of every expenditure. That’s hours of work, printing and highlighting and photo-taking, just to stay compliant and keep the grants flowing. Good Numbersis built to make that whole workflow dramatically easier.And then there’s the treasurer problem. Duncan has sat on four nonprofit boards at once – because the role isa “guaranteed vacancy.” Nobody wants it. It’s not because people don’t care; it’s because the tools make it needlessly hard. The xRB reporting standards that arrived in 2013 were a step forward, but most small organisations still struggle to match their old categories to the new ones. Duncan’s insight: if complex tasks can be made easy in other parts of life, why not here?Good Numbers is his answer – a purpose-built tool that turns bookkeeping and funder reporting from a chore into something close to effortless. Because more time on compliance means less time on mission. And that’s a problem worth solving.•   Why tier four charities are underserved – and what’s atstake when reporting feels impossible•     The xRB reporting standards that changed everything,and why many small organisations still struggle•      The real cost of funder reporting – from gaming trustrequirements to highlighting bank statements•    Why the volunteer treasurer role is a “guaranteedvacancy” – and how to change that•   Good Numbers: bookkeeping built for small charities,not adapted for them•   Making compliance easier so organisations can focus onwhat actually mattersThis episode ofPurposely is brought to you by Benevity.Find Duncan and Good Numbers at goodnumbers.nz – including a free 15-minute demo booking.Key Themes

Welcoming Ned Wills, CEO of Laureus Sport for Good, to Purposely Podcast - a global foundation that uses sport to end violence, discrimination and disadvantage, working with young people across 40 countries through more than 200 programmes, and chaired by All Black legend Sean Fitzpatrick.Laureus was born from Nelson Mandela's words - that sport has the power to change the world - and 25 years on, Ned makes a compelling case that the organisation is more relevant than ever. But this isn't a story about elite athletes and glitzy awards. It's about what actually makes a purpose-driven organisation endure: deep trust with grassroots partners, a community of 400 volunteer sporting ambassadors, and the rare ability to think in 20-year horizons rather than four-year funding cycles.Ned also reflects on his own unconventional path - sailing, the oil industry, running commercial operations at Harlequins Rugby, and back to Laureus as CEO. He talks about what crossing between the for-profit and for-purpose worlds taught him, why he believes traditional philanthropy alone won't get us there, and what Grant Dalton once said to him on a boat that shaped how he leads.Key ThemesWhy the community around Laureus, not the awards, is what's kept it alive for 25 yearsThe productive tension between corporate partners and community organisations, and how to work with it rather than against itLong-term thinking as a leadership asset, what it actually looks like in practiceWhat a stint in elite sport taught him about purpose, performance and what really drives a fanbaseLetting go as a CEO, and why his job is to give talented people the cover to do their best workWhy sport is one of the most cost-effective interventions in the sector, and what resilience has to do with itThe funding and impact questions every for-purpose leader is grappling with right nowThis episode of Purposely is brought to you by Trust Investments your specialist for-purpose investment manager and Benevity, the all-in-one software solution that benefits employees, customers, nonprofits and society.

In this SHORT episode of Purposely, we’re back with fundraising strategist Craig Pollard – and this time he’s asking a question that most of the sector is too busy to sit with: what is enough? Craig opens by naming something that rarely makes it into funding conversations: wellbeing. He works alongside people carrying enormous weight – Afghan exiles, communities under pressure, leaders navigating impossible situations – and he’s clear that the sector often measures and incentives the wrong things. His reframe is: rather than being well-funded, be well and funded. He shares a story from the Joseph Heller obituary that stops you in your tracks. Heller – author of Catch-22 – was once asked how it felt to know a wealthy hedge fund owner earned more in a single day than Heller had made in lifetime book sales. His response? “I have one thing he’ll never have. Enough.” For Craig, this isn’t just a good anecdote. It’s foundational to how nonprofits should think about funding, growth, and impact. On funding strategy, Craig challenges the dominant logic. Most fundraising conversations start with income – which, he argues, is entirely the wrong place to begin. His three-eyes framework – Impact, Investment, Income – reorients everything. Start with impact. Be honest about what you’ve invested. Then income follows naturally, because you’re no longer asking for money – you’re inviting co-investors into something they care about. Craig also challenges the idea of unrestricted funding –bluntly, he says it doesn’t exist. All money has motivation, strings, or designation attached. What organisations can do is move up the quality ladder: from project-level funding, to programme-level funding, to purpose-level funding. That shift takes three to five years, requires strategic clarity, and sometimes means reducing your project funding first. It’s uncomfortable – and it’s exactly right. And a note of caution for those dreaming of a transformational grant: Craig has seen organisations receive MacKenzie Scott-level funding and fall over because they weren’t ready for it.Purpose-level funding doesn’t solve problems – it shifts the type of problem.The transition has to be deliberate, careful, and well-supported. •       Wellbeing and the real cost of the funding treadmill•       Being well and funded – not just well-funded•       ‘Enough’ as a strategic and philosophical foundation•       The three-eyes framework: Impact → Investment → Income•       Why unrestricted funding is a myth – and what to pursue instead

Welcoming Gary Stannett MBE to Purposely Podcast, Chief Executive of the Rio Ferdinand Foundation, the UK charity that uses sport and the creative arts to open up opportunities for young people in communities that have historically been overlooked and underinvested.Gary came into this work through youth work and community sports development, not through a career plan. He built programmes from the ground up in South London, earned his qualifications alongside the work, and has spent nearly 30 years getting better at something he never expected to turn into a career. That experience shapes how he leads and how the foundation operates.The Rio Ferdinand Foundation was set up around 15 years ago, inspired in part by Rio's mother Janice, who was deeply embedded in community life in Peckham and served as the foundation's chair until her death in 2017. It started with a focus on education and training for young people in London and Manchester, and has since grown to deliver work in Belfast, Derry, Sligo and across the UK and Ireland through partnerships with other organisations.In this conversation, Gary and Mark get into what it actually means to run a charity with a famous name attached to it. The brand opens doors but it does not conjure funding. Every partnership still has to be earned, every impact still has to be evidenced, and there is a constant discipline required to make sure people are engaging with the foundation for the right reasons and not just for access to Rio. Gary is clear-eyed about all of it.He talks about the foundation's model, using football and youth culture as a way in, then moving young people through personal development, accredited training and real pathways into careers. The goal is not a quick programme but a longer journey, connecting young people with industries and employers they might never otherwise encounter, and building the networks and confidence that social mobility actually requires.Gary also reflects on what he has learned about leadership over time, becoming less harsh on himself, stepping back more, and bringing people on the journey rather than pushing them towards a vision they do not yet share. And he talks about young people today, the very real weight of poverty, housing costs, debt and a changing jobs market, alongside the energy, talent and resilience he sees every day that keeps him showing up.Find out more about the Rio Ferdinand Foundation at rioferdinandfoundation.orgThis episode of Purposely is brought to you by Benevity and Trust Investments NZ.

Welcoming Steven Moe to Purposely Podcast — partner at Parry Field Lawyers, founder of the Seeds Podcast, author, event organiser, governance leader, and one of the more consistently active people in New Zealand's for-purpose sector.Steven's career has had two distinct chapters. The first was corporate law - big firms, big transactions, time in Japan, London and Sydney. The second, starting about ten years ago when he returned to Aotearoa, has been something quite different: using the law as a tool to support charities, social enterprises and purpose-driven organisations, while building a body of work around education, connection and community that goes well beyond legal advice.In this conversation, they get into what drove that shift, how Steven thinks about his role as a catalyst for impact, and what it actually looks like to run at the pace he does — four kids, a law partnership, two podcasts, a team of 15, a governance role as Chair of Community Finance, and a conference coming up next month.Steven talks about the career pivot that brought him back to Aotearoa and why that moment became one of reinvention rather than just a change of location. He traces the influences that shaped him — a Peace Corps family, time living in Chile as a child, early exposure to poverty — and how those experiences connect to the work he does now.He makes the case for the law as a tool rather than an end in itself, and explains the thinking behind Parry Field's approach of giving away enormous amounts of free content, resources and events. The serve-and-win model isn't accidental — it's deliberate, and it works.There's a practical thread running through the conversation too. Steven talks about the Pareto Principle and why he'd rather ship something at 80% than spend three times as long perfecting it. He talks about collaboration — why his default is to approach people, say yes, and bring others in rather than trying to do everything alone.On the bigger picture, Steven shares his thinking on Community Finance, which has now raised more than $600 million to house people who would otherwise be on the emergency housing list. He also makes a case for separating housing, health and education from election cycles, and discusses the idea of impact companies — a possible new legal structure that borrows the best from both charities and businesses.They also get into podcasting, parenting four children with intention, and what it means to stay present when there's always more to do. And Steven shares details on the Seeds Impact Conference on 22 May a free online event with around 20 speakers from across the sector. Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/impact-conference-2026Find Steven and the Seeds Podcast at theseeds.nz and Parry Field Lawyers at parryfield.com — including a large library of free legal resources for the for-purpose sector.This episode of Purposely is brought to you by Benevity and Trust Investments NZ.Key Themes

Welcoming Duncan Matthews, founder of Good Numbers, to Purposely Podcast - a purpose-driven fintech built to solve a problem Duncan couldn't stop thinking about after 15 years working in and around small charities in Aotearoa: why is it so hard for volunteer treasurers to do the basics?Good Numbers is a bookkeeping and reporting tool designed specifically for tier four charities - organisations turning over under $140,000 a year. There are thousands of them in New Zealand, and virtually no software built with them in mind. Duncan is changing that.In this episode, Duncan talks about the pain points he witnessed firsthand at Rainbow Youth and Foundation North, why tools like Xero leave small nonprofits behind, and what it really feels like to back your own idea for the first time — after years of backing everyone else's.Key Themes• Why tier four charities are underserved - and what's at stake when reporting feels impossible• The xRB reporting standards that changed everything, and why most small organisations still struggle with them• What Xero gets wrong for nonprofits — and the gap Good Numbers is built to fill• Open banking, co-founders, and the realities of self-funding a purpose-driven startup• The trust deficit between funders and grantees - and why it runs both ways• From Rainbow Youth to Foundation North: a career spent in the engine room of the sector• What it takes to finally back yourself

In this SHORT episode of Purposely, we’re back with fundraising strategist Craig Pollard – on mission creep, funding models, and why confidence might be the most underrated tool in the sector.Craig opens with a candid look at mission creep – that drift that happens when organisations become a flag in the wind, chasing sustainability instead of staying anchored to purpose. It’s a pattern he sees often, and one that’s easy to rationalise in the moment but costly in the long run.He makes a compelling case for discomfort. Nothing great happens when everyone is comfortable. The best nonprofit leadership has tension in it – between boards and chief executives, between ambition and accountability. It’s something Craig deliberately brings to his work, and he’s unapologetic about it.On funding models, Craig is refreshingly direct. Diversification sounds simple but it’s not – it can happen within a single donor, across donor types, by geography, or by income stream. The real question is: what does your future funding model need to achieve, and do you have the strategy and internal capability to get there?And underneath all of it: confidence. Craig sees a lot of organisations judging themselves far too harshly. When that shifts – when a team understands its own value – things move fast. He shares the story of a girls’ empowerment project in Nepal that went from stuck to building corporate partnerships and international relationships within 16 weeks. Mindset first, strategy second.Key themes• Mission creep and the danger of chasing funding over purpose• Discomfort and tension as healthy forces in nonprofit leadership• The real complexity behind funding diversification• Understanding why your funders fund you• Confidence as the foundation for building better funding relationships• Moving from dependency to a strategic future funding modelThis episode of Purposely is brought to you by Benevity and Trust Investments.

In this episode of Purposely, Mark Longbottom sits down with Simon Bowden, Head of Philanthropic Services at Forsyth Barr.Simon has spent more than 30 years across the for-purpose sector, including nearly two decades leading the Arts Foundation of New Zealand. Today, he works with charities and clients to help them think more clearly about giving, funding, and long-term impact.A big part of the conversation is about how philanthropy is changing. More clients are asking better questions about where their money goes, what it actually does, and how to structure giving over time. That’s driving firms like Forsyth Barr to take this more seriously and build it into their advice.Simon talks through what his role actually involves. On one side, working with charities on things like income diversification, governance, and funding strategy. On the other, helping individuals and families navigate giving, from first donations through to legacy planning.There’s also a broader discussion about the New Zealand context. We’re a generous country in some ways, but formal giving and legacy donations are still relatively low. Simon makes the point that how we talk about giving matters. If it feels transactional or repetitive, people switch off. If it feels relevant and connected to what they care about, they lean in.The episode also covers Simon’s path into this work. From music and running a national jazz festival, through to leading the Arts Foundation and launching Boosted, his career has consistently sat between creativity, funding, and building things from scratch.They also get into the relationship between commercial advice and purpose. Simon’s view is straightforward. Done properly, it works for everyone. Clients get better outcomes, and more money flows to where it can make a difference.The conversation wraps with a full-circle moment at a Philanthropy New Zealand conference, involving a banjo, a kazoo, and a reminder that bringing people together still matters.This episode is brought to you by Benevity and Trust Investments.

In this SHORT episode of Purposely, Craig Pollard, Founder of Fundraising Radicals, cuts through the noise on fundraising and brings it back to basics.He lays out a clear way to think about building funding partnerships. Start with your principles. Be clear on your purpose and values. Then get real about your platform, what you stand on as an individual and as an organisation, including your strengths, constraints, networks, and reputation.From there, it is about people and pathways. Not cold outreach or chasing the same well-known funders as everyone else, but working through your existing networks and focusing on those who already share your worldview.Craig is also honest about the realities. Power dynamics, bias, and access all shape who gets funded and who doesn’t. Ignoring that makes fundraising harder, not easier.A big theme in this conversation is trust. Craig draws on the idea that trust is built through authenticity, empathy, and logic. Strong partnerships move at the speed of trust, and they are built over time through real conversations, not polished proposals sent to strangers.He also challenges a common assumption. Funding partnerships are not sitting out there waiting to be found. They are grown. They take time, care, and a willingness to explore where shared goals overlap.This episode of Purposely is brought to you by Benevity, the all-in-one software solution that benefits employees, customers, nonprofits, and society.