Central Otago mentors have stepped up to help organisations and community groups to improve their effectiveness, impact and confidence in governance. 

huddl project lead Fiona Reeve said a large number of those mentors were from Alexandra and Cromwell, retired, and currently involved in a six-month mentorship running through until December.

Some had come from the corporate world but had significant volunteer experience within their communities as well, she said.

Over the past three cohorts, 36 mentees have completed the huddl mentor programme across the district, which opened up each year to about 12 new candidates.

A 2024 Community Needs Assessment survey found that more than 70 percent of non-profit groups across Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes were facing challenges within their organisations - and accessing funding was the key issue.

huddl was established to find practical ways to support those groups, with two new programmes being rolled out in August and September.

The free ‘Funding fundamentals’ session would be held at Alexandra Community House on August 19.

Participants would learn more about how to pitch an application and craft the right message to funding organisations.

“We’ll teach them how to motivate and inspire the funder and encourage them to share the bigger picture of what their group is trying to achieve,” Fiona said.

The funding workshops have already been held in Wānaka and Queenstown and participants have given feedback about how transformational they have been.

huddl heard from groups that funding was becoming harder to access, but explaining the wider impact of the work groups did within communities made their story more convincing.

A specific ‘chair’ training session would also be held on September 9 in Cromwell, by Giselle McLauchan of Founder of Grounded Governance, to share insights on being an effective leader.

huddl was governed by members of Alexandra Community House, Central Lakes Trust, Central Otago District Council, Cromwell & Districts Community Trust, Queenstown Lakes District Council, Sport Central, Volunteer South and Whakatipu Hub.

To find out more about these programmes, go to our What’s On or https://centralapp.nz/Info/huddl/6883145b778dff002efa9d68#top

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