Report
Community sector Community sector
Rātā Foundation report finds trust key to lasting funder partnerships
Funding recipients interviewed for the report described effective relationships as built on shared values, trust, openness and mutual respect.
The Rātā Foundation has published research into how funders can build partnerships with community organisations that have a greater, longer-term impact.
The Relational Partnerships in Practice report, prepared by Wendy Boyce Research, draws on interviews with some of the foundation’s funding recipients. They described effective relationships as grounded in shared values, trust, openness and mutual respect, and valued Rātā people who were accessible, transparent and consistent.
That trust makes room for honest conversations about opportunities and challenges, the foundation says. Instead of looking only at an application, it can work with organisations to see where their priorities align and what support would help most.
The report reinforces that relational funding goes beyond money. It can mean sharing knowledge, building an organisation’s capability, linking people with opportunities, and giving room to test ideas and adapt as circumstances change.
These relationships are reciprocal, according to the report. Community organisations gain support, connections and wider networks, while Rātā gains insights that help it learn, adapt and improve its practice.
The report lists practices that help these partnerships work. They include a high-trust approach based on shared values, and listening to communities and respecting what they know.
Others are being accessible, transparent, consistent and responsive, taking a long-term approach informed by evidence, and keeping continuity so relationships can grow.
Building and keeping these partnerships needs deliberate investment, continuity and a long-term intergenerational view, the foundation says. It adds that relationships grounded in trust and mutual respect can help funders and community organisations spot opportunities, respond to challenges and help communities thrive.
The full Relational Partnerships in Practice report is on the Rātā Foundation website. Readers can also browse the foundation’s other research there.