Homelessness is more visible. Food banks report record demand. Rising living costs are stretching families thin, and isolation is growing across generations.
At the same time, many of our large systems are under strain and struggling to deliver equitable outcomes.
Funding models rely on short-term contracts, competitive processes, and reporting frameworks that prioritise measurable activity over relational impact.
Too much of the social sector operates within a scarcity-driven funding model that unintentionally rewards competition – at times resembling the funding Hunger Games. This is about structure, not individuals.
Grassroots organisations, often without adequate support, carry governance, fundraising, frontline work, administration, reporting, and crisis response all at once.
We have built a social safety net with good intentions, yet administrative and political complexity slows support when it is needed most – even as neighbours, whānau, and local grassroots organisations respond first.
Too much energy is absorbed by process rather than direct impact.
If we want better outcomes, our funding and accountability settings must strengthen local capability rather than diverting it.
At the heart of this tension is a philosophical divide.
Top-down approaches begin with institutions defining the problem and designing the solution – often with predefined outcomes, tightly controlled funding, and heavy compliance.
They are usually well-intentioned, but too often create parallel systems that sit beside communities rather than within them.
One person may not change the world alone.
But one person can change a life.
And when individuals align around shared purpose, collective impact becomes possible.
This is where community-led approaches begin.
Those closest to the issues hold deep knowledge about what works. This work is relational, adaptive, and grounded in trust; it cannot be pre-designed in a policy office.
This shift, from doing things for people to doing things by and with them, is the essence of community-led development (CLD).
At its heart, CLD means communities define the issues, design the solutions, and lead the action with agencies and funders in genuine support roles.
It flips the traditional model, beginning with the belief that the people closest to the issue understand it best.
In Whanganui, the CLD Conference shows communities leading.
It did not begin with a strategy document but with relationships and a simple question: how do we strengthen shared learning locally?
When the opportunity arose to send a few individuals away for professional development, the group chose instead to bring the learning here and make it accessible to everyone.
From the beginning, the conference has been a shared endeavour.
Early partners included Harrison Street Church, Woven Whānau, Stone Soup, Te Ora Hou, the Community-Led Development Trust, Urban Mission, Inspiring Communities, the Whanganui District Council Wellbeing Team, and the Department of Internal Affairs.
Over time, organisations have stepped in and out depending on capacity.
The current planning team includes some of the originals alongside Whanganui Community Foundation and Community House, with partner facilitators donating their time and expertise.
The conference runs on what my dad would call “the smell of an oily rag”.
Registration fees are kept low to ensure accessibility, and training has stayed local, accessible, and shaped by community needs.
What stands out most is the culture.
No performance pressure – contribution matters more than perfection, and leadership is shared rather than staged.
What makes this possible is not just goodwill – it is shared trust and shared responsibility.
Community-led does not mean unprofessional or unaccountable. Strong governance, clear standards, and responsible use of public funding matter.
Trust is not a one-way street.
It grows when transparency and governance sit alongside lived experience.
Relational impact can be measured if we design metrics that reflect meaningful outcomes, not just activity.
Real partnership means funders offer flexibility, and communities honour that trust with integrity.
That also means investing in the systems required to uphold those standards.
Many grassroots organisations operate with limited administrative infrastructure.
If we expect strong governance and reporting, we must fund the systems and capacity that make them possible.
Investing in local capability is not only principled, it is also economically prudent.
Prevention, co-ordination, and trust-based relationships cost less than duplication and crisis response.
Power imbalances exist locally, and community leadership is not automatically perfect.
Intentional inclusion, grounded in respect rather than symbolism, and placing those most affected at the centre, strengthens ownership and legitimacy.
Community-led does not mean small or fragmented.
It scales through networks rather than hierarchy.
Strong, connected ecosystems can achieve national impact without losing local legitimacy.
Scaling does not require standardising every solution.
It requires connecting what works and allowing adaptation across contexts.
This also requires a cultural shift. The persistent “white knight” myth that change must arrive from outside the community remains embedded in our thinking and funding structures.
Communities are not waiting to be rescued.
The people closest to the issues are already leading, and shared learning means no one needs to reinvent the wheel.
In a national climate of financial strain and policy uncertainty, we need a grounded way forward.
For me, that light is CLD, a practical approach that restores trust, shares power, and reminds us we are not walking alone.
Change does not begin in a boardroom, but in community spaces and trusted relationships built over time.
When we invest in communities to lead, we are not simply funding services.
We are strengthening the relationships, knowledge, and trust networks that hold our society together.
One person can’t change the world.
But communities can.
And when individuals align with shared purpose, those ripples of change do not disappear.
They gather.
They grow.
And together, they become a wave.
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