Just Change

Just Change is a new approach for people who are serious about supporting effective, positive change. Just Change is unique because the people donating the money and the people doing the mahi on projects in the community work together to allocate the funds and learn how to be more effective. We call these two groups ‘donors’ and ‘doers’.

Just Change is based on the understanding that tackling poverty isn’t simple and that real change happens when it is led by the people seeking the change. That means Just Change values open and honest reflecting and continual learning to inform and refine what happens. 

It brings together people from different ends of the wealth spectrum and builds relationships by sharing …  money, time, ideas and food.   

Just Change is held by Te Hiko, our Centre for Community Innovation. It has been developed and tested over three years and has been found to have enabled growth and development in communities where it is most needed.

Moving beyond traditional charity

Just Change doesn’t fund in a traditional charitable way – such as giving food to poor people. The projects it supports challenge the status quo where outside ‘experts’ or ‘do-gooders’ define community problems and impose their solutions.

Instead, Just Change works with initiatives where people experiencing the challenges are actively involved in designing and providing the projects to help solve them.

These projects span a range of areas including:

  • access to healthy food
  • financial stability in low-income families,
  • supporting isolated older people
  • growing relational skills and knowledge for families excluded from the mainstream
  • supporting young Pacific women to grow confidence.   

A core focus is on shifting the dominant system that traps people in cycles of low power so they can grow their capacity to lead and shape the change. This aligns with the three pou for effective change – whanau-led, community-driven and warm-hearted.

While many of the projects funded via Just Change have links to Wesley, not all of them do. The aim is to grow a wider network of effective, locally led initiatives. 

Who will Just Change appeal to?

Just Change is most likely to appeal to donors who are open to working in innovative ways and interested in learning and reflection. To be a Just Change as a donor you ideally need to:

  • aim to make an annual donation to Just Change for 3 years (this can be in installments and ideally over $2,000 per year – people can step back from this if required) 
  • be interested in taking part in quarterly gatherings with other donors and doers or via video conversations / emails. 
  • be open to working in innovative ways that can be messy and at times move you out of your comfort zones.

Keen to find out more?

If this sparks your interest we’d love hear from you. You can do this by filling in the form below. We’ll follow up and make contact.

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