Philanthropist Fran Wyborn, founder of Due Drop Foundation. Photo / Supplied
Philanthropist Fran Wyborn, founder of Due Drop Foundation. Photo / Supplied
A new charitable trust launches todaywith a $500,000 donation from its founder and a promise donors - thanks to a tool that crunches big data - will be able to see exactly how their support is helping those in need and, ultimately, the country.
Due Drop Foundation would focus on the most effective intervention and wrap-around community programmes, founder and patron Fran Wyborn said.
And it would do so in a way that allowed the charitable trust to show how disadvantaged Kiwis were being helped, Wyborn said.
"Our goal is to improve the living standards of as many New Zealanders as we can and help to lift them from poverty through empowerment and support. To achieve this, we use innovative and intelligent technology to provide a way for donors to see the real difference of their charitable dollar on the lives of the people who need it the most.
"This measurement has traditionally been difficult for donors to clearly understand. [It's] our key point of difference."
This involved measuring the value of the charity programme, and the impact of the charitable dollar, by using a scalable evaluation process and Impact Lab big data tools.
Wellington-based Impact Lab was set up last year by a team that includes former Prime Minister Sir Bill English.
The web-based application used data to show social service providers invested in, the aspects of people's lives they were trying to change, and how well each performed in terms of social value return on investment, the Herald reported in October.
Former Prime Minister Bill English. Photo / Doug Sherring
Wyborn, the former wife of Auckland property investor Mark Wyborn, was reported at the time to hold a 25 per cent stake.
Due Drop Foundation trustee Richard Jeffery said big data allowed "intelligent giving", instead of just "emotive giving".
"Giving money intelligently is not easy and often raises more questions than solutions, such as, is it going to the coalface, is it creating reliance, would they have got there anyway, is it creating harm, can it be better used?
"Due Drop Foundation's scaled evaluation process answers these questions, giving our donors peace of mind that they are getting the best return on their valued gifts."
The foundation is already working with a range of charitable organisations whose mission is to empower and support New Zealanders, including Guardian Angels Charitable Trust, St Elizabeth's Charitable Housing Trust, Pillars and The Rising Foundation.
Using Pillars, which works with the children of prisoners, as an example, Impact Lab data-crunching had shown every $1 invested in the charity saved the country $1.85, Jeffery said.
They expected to work with more organisations in time.
Everyone involved in Due Drop, which included fellow trustee Dr Mark Clatworthy and Sir Bill, an adviser, was unpaid, he said.
One hundred per cent of donations to Due Drop Foundation go to those in need. Photo / File
The foundation had also pledged 100 per cent of donations would go straight to those who needed it most, with Wyborn covering all operating costs.
Wyborn's donation of $500,000 would go towards some of the charitable organisations' community projects, which were already having measurable results supporting those trying to break cycles of need within families and communities.
The "extremely generous donation" from the foundation "means the world to us", The Rising Foundation's chairman and co-founder John Bongard said.
"We've seen a dramatic drop in funding since the Covid-19 crisis and the donation will ensure we can keep The Rising Foundation going and importantly, continue to support at-risk youth at a time when they need us the most."
The donation would fund the foundation's frontline staff, who remained in daily contact with at-risk youth, helping them cope with the loneliness and stresses of the lockdown and level 3. When face-to-face programmes are able to restart, funds will be used for camps and other activities, he said.
Wyborn hoped other wealthy Kiwi individuals and families would do their bit to support those in need.
As a decades-long investor in organisations working to help break the poverty cycle, it was a natural progression to launch a charitable trust with the same mission, she said.
"Our goal is to improve the living standards of as many New Zealanders as we can, and help to lift them from poverty through empowerment and support."
