ANCAD Annual Report 2026
Strengthening people, organisations and communities.
for the year ended 31 March 2026
52nd Annual General Meeting
About ANCAD
Auckland North Community and Development (ANCAD) is a regional anchor organisation that has served the Auckland region for over 50 years. We exist to help build resilient, safe, and connected communities by supporting organisations and groups at every stage of their lifecycle to grow their capacity and capability.
We act as an incubator, facilitator, training provider, and services hub for community groups and organisations. Through collaborative approaches, we strengthen both regional and local relationships, enabling collective impact and driving meaningful, lasting change.
INCUBATE
Our charity hub supports grassroots groups and start-ups with affordable training and tailored services to turn vision into strategy, build strong foundations, become funder-ready, and grow into capable, thriving organisations and projects.
ACCELERATE
To continually invest in and build the capability of organisations to respond effectively to emerging issues and challenges and to accelerate and grow, through training and customised support, peer networks and mentoring.
INNOVATE
To strengthen, refresh and reignite community organisations to thrive in a changing socio-economic environment and respond to emerging needs by providing inspiration, resources, training, networking and mentoring, to ensure that their work is impactful and sustainable.
OUR VISION
Resilient, safe, and connected communities.
OUR VALUES
Building relationships – whakawhanaungatanga
Governance – mana whakahaere
Collaborative – mahi tahi
Leadership – ārahitanga
Resilience – manahau
Community – hapori
Equity – tikanga
OUR MISSION
To educate, engage, and enable resilient, safe, and connected communities.
Chairperson’s Report
BRIAN WILLIAM PUTT
The past year has seen ANCAD’s continued growth and spread across Auckland’s community development sector. Everyone in the sector is facing funding pressures, rising costs and increased demand for their services, often delivered by co-ordinated volunteers. More competition has been encouraged across the large charity sector which has the effect of increasing tension between the service partners rather than adding to the quality of delivery of the service requirements. ANCAD continues to focus on providing programmes that support the voluntary sector, in the areas of governance and financial management. These programmes have gained recognition, not only regionally but nation-wide, and ANCAD is proud to be able to deliver the programmes across the country through internet services. We have lifted our involvement in the family violence prevention area, being seen now as a recognised and effective partner to family violence programmes supported by the Ministry of Justice and New Zealand Police. We have strengthened our engagement with key government and other sector partners. ANCAD maintains a strong relationship with the Ministry of Social Development and the Department of Internal Affairs. In these areas ANCAD is seen as an effective and reliable manager and deliverer of programmes and services. Through this work we have continued to gain support from the major philanthropic funders in the private sector, and we have high standing with the local boards of Auckland Council, particularly those serving the northern part of the region. Keeping the focus on innovation and capability has allowed ANCAD to extend the capability programmes available through the LiiFT Aotearoa capability-building framework. This has led to a strong and enriched connection with the Pacific, ethnic and leadership programmes. ANCAD has managed to tailor these programmes to respond to diverse community and cultural needs with successes large and small across Auckland. We continue to seek partnerships in collaboration with agencies and community organisations working in our field of engagement. These collaborative exercises are valuable and rewarding. They place ANCAD in an increasingly important role as a connector and facilitator through the community development framework. A continuing success is the expansion of the Community Accounting Programme in association with Massey University and the accounting profession. We strive to provide ongoing support wherever it is relevant for community-led and place-based initiatives. The focus here is on resilience, youth and local solutions. Looking ahead to the next year we see that funding will continue to be a major obstacle for many community development organisations. As well as dealing with day-to-day demands, our organisations also need to be involved in the more systemic management issues of housing, flood resilience, economic pressures and social cohesion. The programmes ANCAD offers and the experience that ANCAD carries through the sector will continue to provide innovative solutions and a pragmatic approach to problems as they arise. ANCAD’s consistent commitment is to remain relevant and supportive for community-based needs that are managed mainly on a voluntary basis by committed and energetic citizens. I sincerely record my thanks to the Board members who provide their time voluntarily. We give a special thank you to the service provided by Kim Bennett and Cindy Bradley over the last few years and we were sad to accept their resignations. We give a special thank you to John Henderson, stepping up to act in the Treasurer’s role. We look forward to engaging one or two new Board members to help carry the load. A very big thank you to our specialist contractors and advisors who help us in so many ways across so many parts of ANCAD’s work. There is also a special thank you for all the volunteers who assist in so many different ways. We could not undertake this work without our supportive and considerate funders. They deserve a huge thank you. Finally, I extend a genuine thank you to the committed ANCAD staff who work tirelessly to achieve innovative programmes and ideas to assist the many groups that come to us for help. My final special thanks go to our Chief Executive Officer, Fiona Brennan, without whose energy, initiatives and endless positivity, many of our programmes would simply not succeed. Many thanks to everyone for the parts that they play in ensuring ANCAD is successful and can deliver on its purpose.
CEO’s Report
FIONA BRENNAN
Scaling Delivery, Strengthening Impact This year has been defined by growth, rising demand, and strong delivery—driven by the realities facing communities across Aotearoa. For-purpose organisations continue to navigate rising costs, constrained funding, and increasing pressure from communities facing ongoing social, economic, and recovery challenges. For ANCAD, this has resulted in significant growth in demand across all areas of our work. Our response has been deliberate: to scale capability, strengthen delivery, and focus on where we can have the greatest impact. Beyond the numbers, this year is best understood through the growing confidence, connection, and capability of the organisations and communities we support. Building Capacity to Meet Demand We expanded our team by over 160% (from 3 to 8 staff), strengthening expertise across programme delivery, organisational support, and strategic leadership. We also expanded the work of our closely allied contracted specialist staff and consultants. This growth has enabled us to: •Expand systems-focused work in family violence prevention. •Launch Talanoa Tupuaga, supporting Pacific organisations to grow, connect, and lead. •Provide more tailored, specialist support to organisations. •Extend our reach across Auckland and nationally through LiiFT Aotearoa and Community Accounting. •Facilitate place-based initiatives including the Creative Learning Centre, storm recovery activations, Bays in Action, and the Bays Youth Council. In programmes such as Talanoa Tupuaga, we saw organisations move beyond participation to transformation—building confidence, strengthening networks, and stepping into leadership within their communities. This is the impact of capability-building done well. Delivering Where It Matters ANCAD operates across community development, organisational capability, and systems-level change. This year we: •Supported over 60 organisations through governance, finance, and strategic advisory. •Delivered over 40 professional development workshops. •Expanded family violence prevention and place-based programmes across the North Shore and South Auckland. Through our Community Accounting Programme, 24 organisations received direct support alongside wider advisory services. Across this work, a consistent insight has emerged: capability support is not just technical—it builds confidence, connection, and belonging and contributes to a stronger for purpose sector. Connection, and Leadership In a highly competitive environment, ANCAD achieved a stable financial position—doubling additional fundraising targets and securing new partnerships with DIA, local boards, and New Zealand Police, while maintaining strong relationships with long-standing funders. We also strengthened our role as a sector voice, completing 17 policy submissions and contributing to national and regional conversations. Across our Community Voices platform and wider engagement, we continue to see the same theme: resilience is built through connection. Stories from across the motu highlight organisations creating pathways to employment and leadership, strengthening cultural identity, and supporting communities to thrive. These are not isolated outcomes—they reflect a wider ecosystem ANCAD is proud to support and amplify. Looking Ahead Demand for support will continue to grow, and the environment remains challenging. Community organisations are under increasing pressure, and the need for strong, connected, and capable organisations has never been greater. ANCAD is well positioned—supported by expanded capability, strong partnerships, and proven delivery. Our focus remains clear: to scale thoughtfully, invest in people, and deliver practical impact—ensuring communities, and the organisations that support them, cannot just respond, but thrive. Thank you I acknowledge and thank our dedicated and skilled board, staff, contractors, volunteers, partners, and funders. Your commitment enables the outcomes we see every day—organisations growing in confidence, leaders stepping forward, and communities shaping their own futures.
Capability building
LiiFT
Aotearoa
Simon Ritchie
Training and Capability Lead, Marketing and Communications Lead
The 2025–2026 year marked a significant period of growth and development for LiiFT Aotearoa as ANCAD continued strengthening its capability-building support for community groups and not-for-profit organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand. LiiFT Aotearoa is the learning and capability pathway developed by ANCAD to support the growth and sustainability of community and for-purpose organisations across Aotearoa. Throughout the year, LiiFT delivered a wide range of practical learning opportunities, governance development sessions, leadership programmes, funding and financial capability workshops, volunteer management training, community engagement learning, and organisational development support. These opportunities responded to the real-world challenges many organisations continue to face, including funding uncertainty, increasing governance responsibilities, volunteer pressures, leadership sustainability, organisational growth, and growing community need. Thanks to funding support from the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board, the Kaipātiki Local Board, and the Puketāpapa Local Board, we were able to offer and bring several key in-person workshops and Zoom sessions to not-for-profit groups in these local board areas. Our annual online Funding Forums continued to connect community organisations with key funders through free and accessible Zoom sessions. The forums provided practical funding insights, opportunities to ask questions directly to funders, and support for organisations looking to strengthen their funding readiness and approach. A major focus during the year was the development and launch of the new LiiFT Aotearoa framework and website. The refreshed framework recognises that community organisations face different challenges at different points in their journey and that capability building is most effective when support is aligned to an organisation’s current context, priorities, and stage of development. The LiiFT framework is organised around four common stages of organisational development: Foundations, Strengthen, Sustain & Scale, and Renew & Reimagine. Rather than being a fixed programme or linear pathway, LiiFT provides flexible learning, facilitation, resources, and support that organisations can engage with as their needs evolve over time. This approach helps organisations focus on what matters most now while building stronger foundations for future growth and sustainability. Alongside the organisational stages, LiiFT was further strengthened through the development of ten core capability areas that reflect the foundations of effective community organisations. These include Governance & Accountability, Leadership & Decision-Making, Financial Capability & Stewardship, Funding, Income & Sustainability, People, Volunteers & Workforce, Culture, Wellbeing & Safe Organisations, Systems, Risk & Operations, Strategy, Purpose & Future Focus, Impact, Learning & Improvement, and Digital Capability & Communications. Throughout the year, organisations engaged with LiiFT through workshops, webinars, governance learning, leadership development, facilitation, advisory support, practical resources, and tailored capability-building initiatives. The framework also helped strengthen the integration of wider ANCAD support services, including Community Accounting, consultancy, mentoring, and culturally responsive capability development initiatives such as Talanoa Tupuaga. As organisations across the sector continue navigating complexity, change, and increasing pressure, LiiFT Aotearoa remains focused on helping community organisations build capability, grow with confidence, strengthen leadership, and create lasting impact within the communities they serve. We were able to deliver 42 sessions and workshops, including in-person and online. We had received 2,394 registrations for these sessions. We are very grateful for the funding support from The Tindall Foundation and Foundation North that enabled the LiiFT Aotearoa programme to be implemented. Participants consistently speak highly of the training content and the calibre of our presenters. We extend our sincere thanks to all LiiFT presenters who have generously shared their time and expertise to help strengthen the capability of not-for-profit organisations and community groups across the motu.
Building confidence around the board table – Asian Family Services Story
Growing confidence, strengthening impact – The Grey District Youth Trust (GDYT) story
Helen Lee
Events Assistant
Read more about LiiFT:
“Sandra and I were aware that we needed upskilling to make informed decisions and lift our organisation whilst using best practice to meet our legislative and ethical requirements as a not-for-profit. We, and members of our Board, have attended the majority of the ‘Governance Matters’ webinar series. The accessibility and relevance of the training to our organisation and the clear, concise, and evidence-based information encouraged us to attend as many of the webinars as we could get to. It’s reassuring to have the knowledge from the training to make informed decisions, and it’s given us confidence to do so, although it can sometimes be a bit scary, it isn’t overwhelming anymore.”
KATRINA BROWN | MANAGER, GREY DISTRICT YOUTH TRUST
LiiFT Aotearoa Geographical Reach
37
LiiFT AOTEAROA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING SESSIONS DELIVERED AS IN-PERSON OR ONLINE
2387
TOTAL LiiFT REGISTRATIONS
Community
Accounting
Eva Chen (MNZM)
Community Accounting Programme Lead, Ethnic Community Engagement Lead
The Community Accounting programme is a collaborative partnership between Auckland North Community and Development (ANCAD), Massey University and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ). This service is for small community groups, including charitable trusts, incorporated societies and registered charities across New Zealand who require accounting assistance. A key highlight was the continued growth of the Community Accounting Programme, which delivered three intakes in 2025, supporting 24 community organisations with the guidance of 24 Chartered Accountant mentors and 118 student volunteers from Massey University. The programme has grown significantly, with expressions of interest increasing from 35 in one semester last year, to 163 in one semester this year, representing more than a four-fold increase. This growth reflects both the demand for accessible accounting and governance support, and the increasing trust communities have in the programme. The impact has also been practical and meaningful: more than two community organisations secured funding after receiving support, and more than five students gained local accounting roles or full-time employment. Overall, the year demonstrated strong delivery, growing reach, and real outcomes for both ethnic communities and emerging professionals.
My experience of the Community Accounting programme: From classroom to community
Growing capability, creating impact – the Community Accounting Ceremony 2025
Strengthening community through music and capability: The Kauri Choir story
“Through the Community Accounting programme, I worked with clients from a variety of backgrounds…For many clients, accounting terminology and systems can feel confusing and sometimes overwhelming, so one of the key skills I developed was learning how to communicate accounting concepts in a way that was simple and approachable. This experience helped me realise that accounting is not just about numbers and technical knowledge, but also about supporting people and organisations to make informed decisions about their finances.”
ERROLL GIBSON | FORMER VOLUNTEER, CA PROGRAMME
111
TOTAL NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS
17
VOLUNTEER CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT MENTORS
17
ORGANISATIONS ASSISTED
Pacific
Peoples
Clark Tuagalu
Pacific Capability Lead
During the early part of the 2025 to 2026 financial year, my engagement with ANCAD was primarily through consultancy-based capability and community engagement work delivered approximately two to three days per week. My focus during this period was relationship building, community engagement, and identifying practical capability needs across Pacific organisations and communities. Later in the reporting period, Fiona Brennan, CEO of ANCAD, provided me with the opportunity to design, plan, and launch the Talanoa Tupuaga Pacific Capability Incubator pilot programme in South Auckland. The pilot programme became a significant turning point during the year and helped establish a stronger and more visible Pacific capability development pathway within ANCAD. I also want to acknowledge the support of the Auckland Community Matters team at the Department of Internal Affairs for helping co-create the opportunity to deliver the Talanoa Tupuaga programme. Their support, encouragement, and willingness to work collaboratively helped create pathways for practical Pacific capability development initiatives to emerge and grow. I also acknowledge Foundation North for their support in helping strengthen capability building initiatives across Auckland North and Northland communities, and ANCAD for providing the platform and organisational support to help bring the Talanoa Tupuaga vision to life. The positive engagement, participant outcomes, and subsequent funding opportunities generated through the Talanoa Tupuaga pilot programme contributed to the expansion of Pacific capability initiatives across South Auckland. As a result, I accepted a permanent full-time role as Pacific Capability Lead at ANCAD to help strengthen Pacific capability development, mentoring, leadership support, and community engagement across South Auckland and wider Auckland North and Northland communities. Throughout the year, the work evolved progressively from relationship building and capability mapping into pilot programme delivery, mentoring development, and planning for broader capability expansion across South Auckland and Auckland North communities. Talanoa Tupuaga was developed as a culturally grounded Pacific capability incubator designed to support emerging Pacific groups, grassroots leaders, social enterprises, and community organisations to strengthen governance, leadership, sustainability, strategic planning, funding readiness, and organisational capability. In simple terms, “Talanoa Tupuaga” can be understood as conversations that help growth and development. The programme was designed to create safe spaces for Pacific leaders and organisations to openly share challenges, learn together, strengthen capability, and grow stronger foundations for the future. The programme strongly aligned with ANCAD’s wider philosophy of incubate, innovate, and accelerate. In many ways, Talanoa Tupuaga operated like a community incubator, helping emerging groups move from ideas and passion into stronger organisational structures, clearer direction, and more sustainable community impact. An analogy I often reflected on throughout the programme was that many Pacific organisations already have the heart, passion, and commitment to serve their communities. What they sometimes lack is the infrastructure around them such as governance systems, strategic planning, funding capability, leadership support, and sustainable operational foundations. Talanoa Tupuaga aimed to help strengthen those foundations so groups could grow with greater confidence, stability, and long-term impact. The programme combined: - Practical workshops - Online deep dive sessions - Relationship-based mentoring - Community networking opportunities - Real world capability support The approach was intentionally practical, relational, and community centred, recognising that many Pacific leaders and organisations are balancing community responsibilities, limited resources, operational pressure, and volunteer driven environments while still trying to create meaningful impact within their communities. A major focus during the latter part of 2025 was the development and delivery of the Talanoa Tupuaga Pacific Capability Incubator pilot programme in South Auckland. The pilot programme combined: - Face to face workshops - Online deep dive sessions - Relationship based mentoring - Practical capability tools - Community networking opportunities - Participants showcase presentations The programme created safe and practical learning environments where participants could strengthen governance understanding, leadership confidence, funding capability, and long-term organisational planning. One of the biggest lessons for me was seeing how important relationship-led engagement and practical support models are when working alongside Pacific communities. Participants responded positively to spaces that felt safe, practical, culturally grounded, and connected to the real pressures organisations face every day. The programme also strengthened relationships between ANCAD, Pacific communities, Local Boards, DIA Community Matters, facilitators, and emerging community leaders across South Auckland. I also want to acknowledge the support of Boaz Moala and Aliimalemanu Fereti Lualua for being among the first to support bringing the Talanoa Tupuaga programme into the Mangere-Otahuhu community. Their willingness to support the vision, strengthen local relationships, and help create pathways into the programme contributed significantly to the positive engagement and participation outcomes. The partnership throughout the programme has been seamless, uplifting, and strongly grounded in a shared commitment to strengthening Pacific communities. The strong engagement and positive outcomes from the South Auckland Talanoa Tupuaga pilot programme also contributed to further partnership discussions with the Department of Internal Affairs regarding ongoing Pacific capability development support. As a result, ANCAD was invited to submit a proposal to expand Talanoa Tupuaga and related mentoring and capability initiatives to support additional Pacific organisations and communities across South Auckland during the 2026 to 2027 financial year. The proposal built on several key learnings from the pilot programme, including: - The importance of culturally grounded engagement - Practical capability development - Relationship-based mentoring - Safe learning environments - Long term leadership and sustainability support for Pacific organisations During the first quarter of 2026, my engagement activity continued across South Auckland, Rodney, and Hibiscus and Bays, alongside emerging exploration of opportunities within Auckland North, including the Kaipatiki and Devonport-Takapuna Local Board areas. A major focus during this period was strengthening community visibility, relationship building, and engagement pathways into ANCAD capability programmes and services. These engagements consistently highlighted several common organisational pressures and capability needs across Pacific communities, including: - Governance capability gaps - Funding readiness challenges - Operational pressure on sole managers and volunteers - Leadership sustainability and burnout - The need for practical, culturally responsive support I also want to acknowledge the wider ANCAD team who helped support the work behind the scenes throughout the year. While community engagement and programme delivery are often the visible parts of the work, there is a strong ANCAD pit crew or engine room helping make these initiatives possible. From communications, administration, finance, logistics, venues, registrations, coordination, reporting, and organisational support, many people contributed behind the scenes to help programmes run smoothly and support community participation. I also acknowledge the ANCAD Board for taking a leap of faith in supporting something that had not previously been tried in this way. Their willingness to back a relationship-based and culturally grounded Pacific capability model helped create the conditions for Talanoa Tupuaga to emerge, evolve, and grow. The collaborative support across the organisation, alongside the support of community partners and funders, helped create the platform for Talanoa Tupuaga and wider Pacific capability initiatives to strengthen communities across South Auckland, Auckland North, and Northland. I want to leave you with a story written by participant and community leader Toni Helleur from IAM Mangere, describing her journey through the Talanoa Tupuaga programme and the impact it has had on both her organisation and the community she serves. For me, this reflects the true purpose of Talanoa Tupuaga. At the heart of the programme is the belief that when we strengthen organisations, strengthen leaders, and strengthen capability, we create stronger communities with greater potential to thrive, succeed, and support future generations. The real impact of the programme is not measured only by workshops delivered or attendance numbers, but by the confidence, leadership growth, relationships, and practical changes participants carry back into their organisations and communities. Overall, the 2025 to 2026 reporting period established a strong foundation for Pacific capability development, strategic partnerships, programme expansion, and future community engagement initiatives across Auckland. The work strengthened ANCAD’s visibility, deepened relationships across multiple sectors, and helped position Talanoa Tupuaga as an emerging capability model supporting Pacific organisations and leaders through practical, culturally grounded, and relationship-based development approaches.
Strengthening leaders, strengthening communities – a reflection of the Talanoa Tupuaga Programme 2025 – I AM Māngere
Talanoa Tupuaga:
Growing Pacific capability through connection, culture, and confidence
“ANCAD’s Talanoa Tupuaga programme showed me what’s possible when Pacific leadership is taught through a Pacific lens – practical, empowering, and deeply connected to our people.”
TONI HELLEUR | DEVELOPMENT NAVIGATOR & CEO, I AM MĀNGERE
1
PACIFIC CAPABILITY TRAINING SESSIONS
187
PASIFIKA REGISTRATIONS
Strategic Support
Fiona Brennan
Chief Executive Officer
ANCAD provides high-quality consultancy in the areas of governance, fundraising, finance and marketing. The purpose of this is to build the capability, knowledge and skills of organisations and their people, while recognising that organisations today require a multiplicity of skills and services.
ANCAD provides high quality professional consultancy via its internal staff and professional contractors, who have many years of experience in the community and charitable sector.
Flourish to frontline: Kimiyo’s journey to success with Project Employ
Bringing Chinese culture to the North Shore: A community-led initiative
Helen Kerslake-Forbes
Administration Assistant
“We truly believe that without ANCAD’s support, the New Zealand Chinese Children Festival would not have been possible. Their commitment to empowering grassroots initiatives like ours has made a lasting impact on our community, and we are deeply grateful. We look forward to continuing our work to bring more Chinese cultural events to the North Shore and to building a stronger, more connected community for all families.”
BEN YU | AUCKLAND CHINESE FAMILIES NETWORK INCORPORATED
Ethnic
Community
Engagement
Eva Chen (MNZM)
Community Accounting Programme Lead, Ethnic Community Engagement Lead
Aotearoa New Zealand is a nation rich in cultural diversity, with its population identifying with a wide array of ethnicities and speaking over 150 languages, as highlighted by the 2023 Census. Almost 30% of New Zealanders were born overseas, reflecting the nation’s increasingly multicultural identity. Among these diverse groups, the histories, and contributions of Chinese, faith-based, and wider Asian communities stand out as integral to the nation’s social and economic fabric. The Ethnic Community Engagement Programme focuses on reaching ethnic migrant and former refugee communities across Auckland and Aotearoa, increasing their awareness of ANCAD’s services, and creating pathways to build capability, connection, and confidence. Many of these communities are underserved, often unaware of the support available to them, and face barriers in accessing funding, governance support, or community infrastructure. Over the past financial year, our work has continued to strengthen ethnic community capability, connection, and access to practical support across Aotearoa. A total of 298 ethnic engagements were made, reflecting strong and ongoing relationships with communities, organisations, and sector partners.
A place to belong – The New Zealand Multicultural Arts & Sport Centre story
Strengthening systems to support communities: The NZ Ethnic Women’s Trust story
“When we first started, many of these children felt disconnected – unsure where they fit in Aotearoa. But through dance, through music, through sport, they have found pride and friendship. Here, we build our own family. We show that belonging is something you create together.”
NEW ZEALAND MULTICULTURAL ARTS & SPORT CENTRE
Capacity building
Referrals and capacity building
We remain strongly committed to connecting organisations with both internal and external opportunities for capacity building.
While the full impact of these connections can take time to emerge, we're proud to have facilitated 74 consultancy and capability programme projects which includes 60 consultancy engagements.
Shore Pacific: Shaping prosperity
The Shore Pacific Network is dedicated to advancing Pacific prosperity by strengthening connections and encouraging collaboration.
ANCAD continues to provide backbone support to help grow this Pacific-led initiative, which brings together Pacific community organisations, faith-based organisations, grassroots and emerging groups.
Community Voices: Stories that inspire
Over the past year, we’ve shared inspiring impact stories through our weekly e-news In Focus and our quarterly Community Voices magazine.
The magazine continues to offer valuable tools, insights, and resources for organisations, featuring a range of perspectives from diverse contributors.
Regional capacity builders
ANCAD remains actively engaged with capacity and capability builders across Aotearoa.
We’re especially grateful to Community Networks Aotearoa, celebrating 50 years, for their ongoing role in facilitating valuable gatherings, conferences, and resource sharing that strengthen the sector.
53
CONSULTANCY ENGAGEMENTS
15
DOCUMENTS PUBLISHED
30893
TOTAL DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS REACH
“Falelalaga Cultural and Education Centre has greatly benefited from the learning opportunities provided through ANCAD’s capability-building sessions and support, which have proven invaluable in advancing our mission of serving the Pasifika community in Auckland. The workshops and training sessions have not only deepened our understanding of community development strategies but have also equipped our team with the skills and knowledge to enhance our programmes.”
PENINA IFOPO | DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER, FALELALAGA CULTURAL AND EDUCATION CENTRE
Strengthening communities initiatives
ANCAD played a supporting role in amplifying regional community voices through organising two community hui, working with collaborative partners Catalyse and Community Waitakere. These sessions focused on storytelling for impact and influence and were free to attend for community and NFP groups across Auckland.
Community Learning Centre
The Community Learning Centre (CLC) is a collaborative early intervention initiative supporting intermediate-aged students who are at risk of disengaging from education.
Through a unique partnership between schools and community organisations, the programme combines creative, physical and environmental learning experiences within a safe, relationship-based environment.
By fostering belonging, confidence, resilience and positive connections, the CLC helps young people strengthen their wellbeing and readiness for learning while supporting successful engagement both in school and in the wider community.
Annual Plan consultation
ANCAD was pleased to support Auckland Council’s Annual Plan 2026/2027 consultation and working with the Community Partnership Team at Council, by helping encourage participation and feedback from diverse communities, including ethnic community organisations and leaders.
Through our networks and community connections, we sought to ensure a broader range of voices could contribute to shaping Auckland’s future, reinforcing the importance of inclusive engagement and community-led decision-making.
Meet the Candidates
As part of ANCAD’s commitment to strengthening community participation and civic engagement, we hosted two Meet the Candidates events during the 2025 local election period. These forums provided a neutral and accessible opportunity for community members to hear directly from candidates, ask questions, and engage in meaningful discussion about issues affecting their local communities.
One event featured a dedicated youth focus, creating a platform for rangatahi to raise the issues that matter most to them and encouraging greater youth participation in local democracy. Together, these events reflected ANCAD’s ongoing commitment to fostering informed decision-making, inclusive dialogue, and stronger community connections.
3
COMMUNITY PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES
572
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS (PACIFIC AND ETHNIC COMMUNITIES)
0
ANCAD EVENTS
North Shore Family Violence Prevention Initiatives
The past financial year has been one of significant growth and accelerated development across our workstreams. We successfully recruited and onboarded our PNHQ funded SAM Table Facilitator and Waitematā Strategic Lead, as well as our MSD funded Creative Learning Centre School Programme Facilitator and Youth Intern. These appointments have strengthened our capacity and enabled meaningful progress across multiple initiatives. A major focus this year has been the launch and establishment of the Creative Learning Centre at Mairangi Arts Centre. While the school based programme remains central—providing early intervention through therapeutic, creative engagement that supports school attendance and wellbeing—the Centre has also expanded its community outreach, contributing to primary prevention through community development activities. To support the sustainability and capability of this mahi, we have partnered with Megan Courtney of V2A Consulting to design a Collaborative Framework and have implemented weekly reflection and planning sessions with programme staff. We also saw the fruition of the Student Service in the Community initiative, highlighted by the Rangitoto College Service and Club Expo delivered with Bays in Action in January. The employment of Youth Intern Rachel Gu has further strengthened our youth engagement, supporting the Bays Youth Voice Council, youth consultation on the Mayoral Annual Plan, and the development of impact stories for ANCAD’s Community Voice magazine. This also included involvement in the Taiotea Browns Bay and Mairangi Bay Play Trail community consultation with The Open Fort, as well as the Hibiscus and Bays Ethnic Plan consultation. Our Place Based Initiative (PBI) mahi has continued to progress, with strategic meetings convened with Respect and advancement of the North Shore Wellbeing Leadership Group Data Project. This included applications to the Social Investment Agency (Innovative Projects EOI) and MSD, both proposals focused on improving outcomes for vulnerable children and youth in partnership with NorthAble. We have supported capability development across the North Shore Family Violence Prevention Network through coordination of The Light Project’s Foundational and Advanced Online Harm Workshops in partnership with Te Rito Rodney, alongside presentations from Lawyer for Child at the North Shore District Court, ASB Community Banking, and the newly established North Shore Free Legal Clinic at Wingspan Counselling. The Safer Whānau integrated community response programme has continued to strengthen, with a key focus on developing our community led, multi sector case management forum and associated procedures and protocols. Our strategic systems level work remains a priority, with the Data Project positioned to support measurement of value and impact. The SAM Table Facilitation role has added essential coordination and infrastructure to this mahi, ensuring a more cohesive and effective community response.
Deb Humphries
North Shore Family Violence Prevention Strategist
NSFVPN Impact Story: Creative Learning Centre – school programme: Strengthening readiness for learning
Bays in Action: Empowering the next generation: The support of youth leadership in the community
Rachel Gu
Youth Intern
Family Violence Prevention Network
There are approximately 48 regional Family Violence Networks in New Zealand.
Formerly known as the Te Rito Networks, they are made up of a range of government and community agencies who work in family violence.
The Networks support the delivery of community-based family violence prevention initiatives, recognising that addressing family violence requires effective collaboration and strengthening communities’ capacity to work together.
Safer Whānau
The Safer Whānau project is an inter-agency partnered response to family violence on Auckland’s North Shore.
This innovative service involves working collaboratively with Te Puna Hauora and key social service providers to provide a wrap-around holistic whānau-centred service.
Whānau, now more than ever, present with multiple issues as economic pressures compound whānau stresses and difficulties.
Families referred to family violence services often require the involvement of Work and Income, Police, Health, Oranga Tamariki, Ministry of Justice and multiple community agencies to effectively address all their needs.
Bays in Action
The Bays in Action Think Tank was established as a community-led collective to explore strength-based solutions to youth violence and bullying.
A partnership project between ANCAD and Heart of the Bays evolved towards fostering a community-owned collective that is run and supported by a large and diverse group of community members, young people, practitioners, local organisations and local businesses.
What has emerged is a group focused on promoting greater wellbeing for all, with an intentional focus on youth development.
Bays Youth Voice and Bays Youth Council
Bays Youth Voice and Bays Youth Council are youth-led initiatives supported by ANCAD that empower rangatahi aged 11–25 to develop leadership skills, influence local decision-making, and create positive change in their communities.
Through mentoring, strategic support, and strong community connections, young people are encouraged to plan and lead their own initiatives, events, and consultations, building confidence, strengthening relationships, and ensuring youth voices are heard while helping shape a stronger future for Auckland’s North Shore.
“Today, Bays Youth Council continues to thrive under the support of ANCAD. Many initiatives are already being planned and executed for the coming month such as a potential collaboration with the Browns Bay Chinese Society to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year with the importance of sustainability in mind (the idea is to make dumplings from vege gardens and calculate how much carbon has been saved).
Thanks to ANCAD’s continuous support and their provision of a professional “safety net,” Bays Youth Council will continue to empower the community as well as mentor the next wave of young leaders.”
RACHEL GU | YOUTH INTERN, ANCAD
24
FAMILIES SUPPORTED
465
NETWORK AND SECTOR MEETINGS HELD
17
SAFER WHĀNAU CASE MANAGEMENT FORUMS HELD
Financials
Treasurer’s Report
JOHN HENDERSON
ANCAD has completed another successful year in providing support for those caring for the less fortunate in our society. Our mahi is focussed on strengthening the 100+ charitable organisations we collaborate with in our region. We are about community resilience. We are very grateful for the ongoing grants from our funding partners who provide the financial resources for ANCAD to deliver our varied support services, especially where it allows us to develop new offerings over a period of years. This was evident in the funding obtained to continue the development of Pasifika and Māori fledgling charities, enhancing support in the family violence prevention sector and new funding for development in the ethnic community space. The Performance Report for the year ended 31 March 2026 has been audited and approved by REB Chartered Accountants, and we thank them for their diligence. A summary of the financials has been provided. Copies of the full Performance Report is available on request and will be available through the Charities Commission website once our annual return is processed. Our revenue for the financial year ending March 2026 was $866,179 (up 6.8% on last year) of which $813,063 came from our sponsors, reflecting the reliance of ANCAD on our grants funding model. Expenses in providing the outcomes achieved amounted to $855,291 (7.9% increase on last year). This cost increase is moderate, and it includes new upskilling seminars and webinars delivered to our stakeholders in the final quarter of the last financial year with benefits carrying over to future years. ANCAD continues to be financially stable with cash and near cash funds of $564,692 available to meet the ongoing costs of its activities. $320,397 of these funds are unused grants supporting our work. Management and the Board stringently monitor and control all internal expenditure to maximise funds delivered to community organisations, charities and stakeholders. All payments are approved electronically by our CEO and a Board Member. Written Governance Protocol & Policy is regularly reviewed and signed off by the Board. The Board takes an active role in the annual external audit performed by REB Chartered Accountants. We acknowledge the diligent contribution from our Chartered Accountant Glen Hill. ANCAD – Strengthening people, organisations and communities.
John Henderson
Treasurer
Glen Hill
ANCAD Accountant
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Click graph to enlarge
Financials
Many thanks to our funding partners and supporters
