Curiosity Abroad: Lessons from Acorns Trip to Canada
Curiosity is one of Acorn’s five core values, and it constantly nudges us beyond Tauranga in search of ideas that can strengthen philanthropy here in the Western Bay of Plenty. In May 2025 that curiosity carried CEO, Lori Luke, and Operations Manager, Sarah Johnson, 12,000 km to Halifax, for the Community Foundations of Canada conference.
Rather than fly in and out, we turned the journey into a ten-day trip, calling on three of Canada’s most established community foundations, Victoria Foundation, Ottawa Community Foundation, and the Foundation of Greater Montréal, before joining hundreds of peers on Canada’s Atlantic coast. The experience was both affirming and eye-opening, and it is already shaping the conversations we are having back home.
With more than 200+ community foundations, with some nearing their centenary, Canada is often described as the birthplace of modern community-foundation practice. We met teams stewarding multi-billion-dollar endowments, publishing city-wide Vital Signs reports and partnering with government ministries on place-based initiatives.
What surprised us most was how closely many of them are watching Acorn. At 21, we are still youthful by their standards, but colleagues half a worldaway were keen to understand how we have grown donor and community support so quickly while keeping our engagement style deeply personal. Their interest was humbling, and energising.
A theme that surfaced in many conversations was the power of fully unrestricted giving, sometimes called untagged or undesignated gifting. In practical terms, this means a donor entrusts their contribution to the community foundation without attaching conditions such as “only for one specific charity” or “only for a specific field-of-interest”. The gift still sits in an endowment bearing the donor’s name, and we still report on how the returns are used, but the annual distributions can be steered wherever the need is greatest at that moment in time.
Why does this matter? Untagged funding drives equity. Needs that are less visible, or simply less ‘popular’, receive support because grant decisions are guided by community needs rather than by which charitable organisations spend the most on marketing.
Importantly, undesignated gifting safeguards relevance over time. The community needs that are urgent in 2025 may be very different in 2050, or 2075.
The result that is seen both in Canada and here in the Western Bay of Plenty is fairer funding is essential for community support, and deep donor satisfaction that money is going where the need is the greatest. Untagged funding is an important part of our model, alongside donor-directed and field of interest funds.
On the long flight back to Aotearoa, our notebooks were filled with questions and possibilities. More than anything, we returned with renewed confidence that Acorn’s Kaupapa, grass-roots, relationship-driven and relentlessly curious, is already world-class. Our challenge now is to weave these new strands of learning into everyday mahi so the people of Tauranga can reap the benefits.
Curiosity took us to Canada; collaboration will bring these lessons to life in the Bay.
If any of the ideas above resonate, please drop by Level 4, 35 Grey Street, give us a ring on 07 579 9839, or email info@acornfoundation.org.nz. We would love to kōrero over a cuppa and share our highlights from the trip.