Waikato Wellbeing Project

What Waikato Wellbeing Project does

Waikato Wellbeing Project, formally operating as Wellbeing Waikato Charitable Trust (CC64789), is a regional research, knowledge, and storytelling initiative focused on social equity, affordability, and abundance across the Waikato region of New Zealand. Launched in February 2020 with a NZD 3 million, five-year Partnership and Funding Agreement between WEL Energy Trust and the Waikato Regional Council, the organization was established as an independent Charitable Trust in February 2026 under founding trustees Delwyn Abraham (Chair), Mike Rolton, and Don Scarlet. It is organized around 10 wellbeing targets aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, adapted for the Waikato region, and structured into five priority workstreams: Poutoko (impact projects), Te Ara Poutama (the knowledge initiative), He pakipūmeka (Lots of Little Fires storytelling), Waha (advocacy), and Waikato (community leader support). Its substantive portfolio spans the Housing/Kāinga, Food/Kai, Energy/Pūngao, Rangatahi/Youth, and Responsible Consumption workstreams, with the Waikato Kai Challenge, 'Hiding in Plain Sight' housing affordability research, and the Affordable Energy webinar series as named programs.

The organization's core products and underlying assets are Te Ara Poutama — a knowledge platform publishing quarterly data stories and district-level Community Compass reports in partnership with Dot Loves Data — and Lots of Little Fires, a documentary-style storytelling initiative that has produced 18 stories accumulating over 500,000 YouTube views and which will move to Seed Waikato as its new home from 2026. The core team is intentionally lean at approximately 5 staff (Executive Director Harvey Brookes, Te Ara Poutama Lead Quanita Ali, Lead Social Innovator Joe Wilson, Communications Advisor Amy van Garderen, and Tikanga Māori Advisor Norm Hill), supplemented by contracted roles including a Kai Challenge Lead placed via the GoEco partnership. Delivery is executed through a network of more than 35 partner organizations spanning iwi, councils, philanthropic trusts, community NGOs, research consultancies (Huber Social, ThinkPlace, Whirika Ltd), and infrastructure bodies (Te Waihanga).

Waikato Wellbeing Project does not generate commercial revenue. Its operating model is grant-funded philanthropy, anchored by the WEL Energy Trust five-year agreement and supplemented by Trust Waikato, MAS Foundation, and co-funding from regional partners for specific workstreams. All research reports, data, and resources are distributed free of charge via the wellbeingwaikato.org.nz website, partner channels, social media, a monthly podcast with Community Waikato on Free FM, and webinars. Customer segments are horizontal and include government and local councils, iwi and Māori communities, community organizations and NGOs, philanthropic trusts and foundations, and (to a lesser degree) the business sector. Primary stakeholders include the Waikato Regional Council, WEL Energy Trust, Trust Waikato, MAS Foundation, GoEco, YWCA Hamilton, Seed Waikato, and Dot Loves Data.

Name

Waikato Wellbeing Project

Legal name

Wellbeing Waikato Charitable Trust

Website

https://waikatowellbeingproject.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wellbeing Waikato is a Waikato-region charitable trust that conducts wellbeing research, publishes district-level Community Compass reports, runs storytelling and food-security programs, and advocates on housing and energy issues for iwi, councils, NGOs, and philanthropic funders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Wellbeing Research and Advocacy

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Community Housing Services (62422), Community Food Services (62421)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Infrastructure, Housing & Community Development (BPAGABAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Education, Capacity Building & Community Engagement (BPADALAO), Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK), Disaster Recovery, Reconstruction & Resilience Programs (BPAGAAAK)

Keywords

• Regional wellbeing research
• Community development services
• Social equity advocacy
• Food security programmes
• Affordable housing research

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamilton

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Funding: Primary funding through a 5-year Partnership and Funding Agreement between WEL Energy Trust and Waikato Regional Council. Total funding of approximately $3 million over the funding period. Additional funding from Trust Waikato, MAS Foundation, and other philanthropic sources.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Waikato Wellbeing Project is a regional research, knowledge, and storytelling initiative that monitors and reports on wellbeing indicators across the Waikato region of New Zealand, grounded in 10 wellbeing targets adapted from the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It delivers the Te Ara Poutama knowledge platform (quarterly data stories and Community Compass reports per district), the Lots of Little Fires video storytelling initiative amplifying grassroots change-makers, and impact projects on housing affordability, food security (Waikato Kai Challenge), youth wellbeing, energy affordability, and responsible consumption. Outputs include published research reports, advocacy campaigns, webinars, and a community radio podcast, made freely available to government, iwi, community, philanthropic, and business stakeholders.

Product overview

The Waikato Wellbeing Project is a regional research, knowledge and storytelling initiative focused on social equity, affordability and abundance in the Waikato. It operates as a unified programme portfolio consisting of three core pillars: Poutoko (lead, facilitate and fund impact projects), Te Ara Poutama (the wellbeing knowledge initiative), and Lots of Little Fires (grassroots storytelling). The project offers several named products and sub-products including: Te Ara Poutama (knowledge platform with quarterly data stories and Community Compass reports in partnership with Dot Loves Data), Lots of Little Fires (video storytelling for community change-makers), the Waikato Kai Challenge (food security research and advocacy), housing affordability reports, district-level wellbeing reporting, and annual business plans. The initiative is built around 10 wellbeing targets aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, adapted for the Waikato region, and operates through community partnerships, advocacy, and knowledge dissemination rather than as a traditional software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lots of Little Fires (LOLF) A video storytelling initiative that amplifies and celebrates the voices of inspirational people and kaupapa working towards equity and social justice in the Waikato region, shining a light on grassroots community change-makers. The initiative has produced 18 inspirational stories with more than 500,000 YouTube views, and from 2026 will be hosted by Seed Waikato with support from Len Reynolds Trust and Creative Waikato.
• Te Ara Poutama (Waikato Wellbeing Knowledge Initiative) A knowledge programme providing quarterly data stories, community compass reports, and insights on wellbeing topics across the Waikato region, tracking progress against the project's 10 wellbeing targets adapted from the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Data visualization and analytics are delivered in partnership with Dot Loves Data.
• Community Compass Reports Place-specific quarterly reports published in partnership with Dot Loves Data, providing district-level wellbeing data and insights for each district in the Waikato region. The reports make up the district-level layer of the Te Ara Poutama knowledge platform.
• Waikato Kai Challenge A programme focused on reducing food insecurity in the Waikato region through research, community engagement, and systems change, targeting reduction of child poverty from 1 in 6 to fewer than 1% by 2030. Delivered via the GoEco partnership with a contracted Kai Challenge Lead and supported by MAS Foundation systems change research and Whirika Ltd's Waikato Foodshed Analysis.
• Housing Affordability Reports Research reports assessing housing affordability in the Waikato region, including the 'Hiding in Plain Sight: The Real Cost of Housing in Waikato' report, providing data on price-to-income ratios (6.4:1) and regional housing challenges. Commissioned jointly with the Waikato Housing Initiative and Veros Ltd, with co-funding from Trust Waikato and WEL Energy Trust.
• Wellbeing by District A reporting initiative providing district-level wellbeing data and compass reports across the Waikato region, tracking regional wellbeing indicators by locality and supporting localized policy and advocacy.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18 inspirational stories amplified with over 500,000 YouTube views through Lots of Little Fires initiative
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.

• Te Waihanga | New Zealand Infrastructure CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Guest speakers Graham Campbell and Pippa Player from Te Waihanga joined affordable energy webinar series to discuss electricity infrastructure challenges and opportunities.
• Waikato Housing InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Joint commitment to housing system providing affordable housing for everybody in Waikato region. Jointly commissioned housing affordability research with Veros Ltd.
• Seed WaikatocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Seed Waikato became new home for Lots of Little Fires storytelling initiative from 2026. Partnership agreement recognizes LOLF as taonga born within WWP. Supported by Len Reynolds Trust and Creative Waikato.
• GoEcocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership for the Waikato Kai Challenge. Jointly recruits a Kai Challenge Lead who works from the GoEco hub. WWP contributes substantially towards remuneration for the first eight months. Partnership aims to create lasting impact in addressing food scarcity in the Waikato.
• MAS FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership supporting Waikato Kai Challenge through funding for systems change research. MAS Foundation is committed to improving health and wellbeing equity in Aotearoa New Zealand. Together developed relationship agreement to complete baseline work programme for Kai Challenge.
• Dot Loves DatamajorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Partnership for Community Compass reports - quarterly wellbeing reports published for each district in the Waikato region. Data visualization and analytics support for Te Ara Poutama knowledge platform.
• YWCA HamiltonmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-funded research partnership for Young Waikato Women's Wellbeing Baseline Report. Partnership with Huber Social to measure holistic needs and lived experiences of young women and sex/gender diverse people in Waikato.
• Huber SocialmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Undertook wellbeing measurement research including Young Waikato Women's Wellbeing Baseline Report and Hauraki Opportunity wellbeing survey. Expert partner in social measurement and impact assessment.
• Community WaikatomajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Monthly partnership for Connect With Community Waikato radio show exploring data and wellbeing topics. Collaborative engagement with Holly Snape, CEO of Community Waikato.
• ThinkPlacemajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Partner for lived experience research component of Kai Challenge. Undertaking storytelling project centered on food security and wellbeing with communities, iwi, and whānau.
• Whirika LtdmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Commissioned for Waikato Foodshed Analysis - measuring how much food the Waikato region produces versus how much residents need for healthy diet.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Trust Waikato: A Waikato regional community foundation co-funding wellbeing, housing affordability, and women's wellbeing research with Wellbeing Waikato. Comparable in its regional wellbeing mandate but functions primarily as a grantmaker rather than a research/advocacy delivery body.

Broad incumbents

• Philanthropy New Zealand: National membership body for New Zealand's philanthropic and grantmaking sector. Not a service peer, but a critical ecosystem participant setting the frameworks, advocacy, and capacity-building environment for community-foundation actors like Trust Waikato and Wellbeing Waikato.
• Sustainable Business Network: A New Zealand-wide network advancing business action on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Operates at national scale rather than regional, and focuses on corporate sustainability rather than community wellbeing, but shares the SDG-localization and systems-change framing.
• Community Foundations of New Zealand: National network of place-based community foundations including Trust Waikato. Comparable in its place-based wellbeing mandate and community grantmaking role, operating at network scale rather than as a single regional project entity.

Direct peers

• Community Waikato: A Waikato-based community development umbrella organization that directly partners with Wellbeing Waikato on monthly radio programming and distribution of research. It operates the same regional social-sector coordination role and shares iwi, council, and community trust relationships across the same geography.
• Inspiring Communities: A national NZ organization focused on community-led development practice, place-based change, and social innovation—closely aligned with Wellbeing Waikato's Manu Taki model, mātauranga integration, and community-led wellbeing approach.
• GoEco (Envirocentre): Waikato-based environmental and sustainability community hub that hosts the Kai Challenge Lead for the Waikato Kai Challenge. Shares Wellbeing Waikato's food systems, community wellbeing, and iwi partnership focus, operating as a community-level implementation partner.

Emerging players

• Te Waka – Waikato's Economic Development Agency: Waikato's regional economic development agency, where Wellbeing Waikato's Executive Director Harvey Brookes previously served as COO. Operates in the same regional ecosystem with overlapping iwi, council, and business stakeholder relationships, but focuses on economic prosperity rather than holistic wellbeing.

Others

• MAS Foundation: A New Zealand philanthropic foundation co-funding the Kai Challenge and supporting health and wellbeing equity work. Functions as a funder peer rather than a service peer but shapes the regional wellbeing funding landscape in which Wellbeing Waikato operates.
• WEL Energy Trust: Waikato-based energy trust and the foundational funder (NZD 3M over 5 years) of Wellbeing Waikato. Not a service peer, but a key ecosystem participant whose strategic priorities directly shape Wellbeing Waikato's operating runway and program scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@lotsoflittlefires
• Instagraminstagram.com/thewaikatorangatahiopportunity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/waikato-wellbeing-project

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Waikato Wellbeing Project