Rātā Foundation Support Review

Between June and August 2025, researchers Michelle Moss, Alicia Crocket, Judy Oaken and Kellie Spee conducted a comprehensive review of Rātā Foundation's Support Funding Area.

The Support | Tautoko funding area aims to enable individuals, families and whānau to thrive so they can participate positively in the community.

The review methodology combined a literature review with interviews with 13 funded organisations across our takiwā (region). Researchers examined what works in creating positive outcomes for individuals and whānau, identified service gaps and assessed how well Rātā Foundation’s funding practice aligned with evidence-based approaches.

Overall, the review showed that while communities are grappling with deepening hardship, support organisations are making a measurable difference in helping individuals, families and whānau overcome challenges and build resilience.

Layered needs

The review shows that many children and families face interconnected pressures that can affect wellbeing, including difficulty reliably accessing enough food, limited access to safe and stable housing, increased demand on community support services, ongoing mental health strain (particularly for young people), and disruption from severe weather or environmental events that can make recovery and stability harder.

It also identified that these needs don't exist in isolation. They're interconnected and often compounding. Financial stress worsens mental health. Poor housing impacts children's wellbeing. Disconnection from culture affects identity and belonging. And when systems don't respond well – or when unexpected events like disasters or policy changes occur – manageable needs can quickly escalate into crisis.

Certain population groups bear a disproportionate burden. Māori and Pasifika communities, disabled people, young people (particularly Māori, Pasifika, LGBTQI+ or care-experienced), older adults, sole-parent households and those on low incomes consistently emerged as the groups most likely to benefit from an equity approach to funding.

Equity-focused, community-led

Despite the challenging landscape, the review found clear alignment between Rātā Foundation’s funding practices and evidence-based approaches that work.

Rātā applies an equity lens to its funding practices, deliberately focusing on removing barriers to access and supporting people in need. The Support Funding Area operates with four priority areas: ensuring people in need get the right support when they need it; supporting positive youth development for young people/rangatahi; supporting older people/kaumātua to live full and active lives; and supporting service provision to people with mental health challenges including addictions.

The review identified three themes of effective practice that cut across all priority areas:

- Effective service design and delivery centres on prevention and early intervention, strengths-based responses, and resilience and skill building. Services should have low thresholds and easy access points. Support needs to go where people are – through outreach, home visits or mobile services. Intergenerational models and multi-sector, integrated, wrap-around approaches work better than siloed delivery.

- Values and perspectives that shape effective support include culturally grounded, holistic and whānau-centred approaches. Co-design and lived experience matter. Services need to be place-based and tailored to local realities. And effective support must address root causes and system barriers, not just symptoms.

- Relational and responsive practice emphasises relationship and trust building as foundational. Services need to move at the pace of the people they serve, understand the full context of need, match support to that need and adapt as circumstances change. Continuous reflection and learning keep services relevant and effective.

The review also acknowledged strengths and assets within communities, including collective identity, cultural knowledge, strong relationships, practices of reciprocity, strong intergenerational ties, and innovation and adaptability.

Making a difference where it matters

The review found that Rātā Foundation is making a positive difference to people's wellbeing in the takiwā – particularly for those who need it most. The Support Funding Area priorities generally match the population groups identified as most likely to benefit from an equity approach. The organisations and programmes funded reflect both the breadth of needs and the good practices identified in the research.

Much of the funding allocated to salaries, operational expenses and overheads enabled organisations to deliver specific programmes or cover operational costs not funded by government contracts.

The review also highlighted the Foundation’s unique position as a place-based philanthropic funder. Unlike government agencies constrained by policy limits and funding shortages, Rātā can fund core operating costs, take risks on emerging or preventative models, and build sector infrastructure. It can support integrated solutions that connect education, health and social supports around families and communities. It can invest in upstream, preventative and whānau-centred work that helps communities before crisis hits. Grant recipients emphasised this repeatedly: Rātā can go where government can't.

Recommendations for continued impact

The review's recommendations largely affirmed current practice while identifying opportunities to deepen impact. Researchers recommended that Rātā continue funding with an equity lens, continue supporting organisations and programmes that target specific priority populations, and continue funding across the spectrum of need from early intervention through to crisis response.

Several areas emerged as worthy of additional emphasis. The review suggested putting more focus on supporting foundational stages of development and educational transitions to influence wellbeing and potential over the life course.

At a strategic level, the review recommended continuing and potentially expanding support for strengthening governance and internal systems of equity-focused organisations.

To find out more about the key findings from this research, read the full Support Funding Review, or browse all Rātā Foundation Research.