What do we mean by equitable?

Nau mai, haere mai.

Welcome to our first edition of Rātā Connect for 2024.  

As we look forward to the year ahead, I want to take a moment to look again at the Rātā purpose above, specifically what we mean by equitable.

By taking a fair and just lens to our community investment programme, through our funding criteria and priorities, we can help make sure nothing gets in the way of people in our communities getting the support they need to enjoy a full and healthy life. This is particularly true of those communities in need who are vulnerable or who have been under-served.

From our research and through the learnings of others, we know our funding makes the biggest difference for those who face barriers to things that many of us take for granted. 

Many of the organisations we fund support people who face barriers, and hard-to-reach populations. These organisations continue to refine and innovate their programmes to be more responsive to the people and communities they serve.

Partnership with the organisations we fund is a crucial part of achieving our purpose. We will continue to work closely to enable equitable outcomes for communities in need by keeping our community investment programme responsive and adaptive and supporting you to do the same.

Recently, we completed a review of our Connect|Tūhono Funding Area under our regular policy reviews. Policy reviews keep us current with the evidence base and ensure our priorities remain relevant. The priorities in this area are intended to enable and build community connectedness and resilience.

You can find a copy of our review here.

We have learned that equitable outcomes are closely linked to community resilience. As a result, we will continue approaches that prioritise partnering, high-trust relationships, multi-year funding, and strengthening the community sector. We will also continue to target Connect funding towards those in need and remain focused on connection, belonging, diversity, and cultural identity. Alongside this, we will showcase examples of funding of communities experiencing inequalities so people can see themselves in the work of Rātā.

In these times of change, one thing will remain the same – our commitment to our communities of Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough, and the Chatham Islands. We are with you for the long haul.

E pātuki te manawa o te Rātā, he oranga mō te iwi. The heartbeat of the Rātā sustains the people.

Ngā mihi nui,

Leighton Evans

Chief Executive