From the Chapter President

Kia ora e te whānau | Greetings to all our Educate Plus members, 

As 2024 nears its end, I want to thank you all for your continued Educate Plus membership and for an incredible year. Yes, it’s been a busy one, and I’m sure you’ve all appreciated, like me, the moments of fun and connection through Educate Plus events that have allowed us to learn, engage and know we belong to a great network of professionals.

Last month, many of you joined the online AGM and heard the ‘Top Takeaways’ from the Empowering Success Perth International Conference – a great hour of sharing and connection! (For those that missed it, or would like to view the ‘Top Takeaways’ recording, CLICK HERE)

Speaking of Perth, check out this Newsletter’s section celebrating our New Zealand members who were recognised at the Conference. A special shoutout to Vicki Fowler, Executive Director and Trustee of Tāwai Takapiri Connect Futures NZ Trust,  who won the Trevor Wigney Award—Educate Plus’ highest honour! 

It’s been a privilege serving with the amazing New Zealand Chapter Committee from across Aotearoa. I’m grateful for your vote of confidence as your 2025 President. In the new year we will be introducing the new 2025 NZ Chapter Committee, but in the interim I wanted to be sure to thank all of our incredible volunteers who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to support our sector this year: Angela Coe (Chapter Vice President), Nicola Parsons (Chapter Secretary), Robert  Brooke (Chapter Treasurer), Jane Ball, Chris Bristol, Penny Curran, Martine Foster, Vicki Fowler, Georgia Harvey, Shelley Keach, Carolyn Prebble, Kirstyn Sandall and Aroha Webster. 

A big thank you also to all Partners and Sponsors, especially our loyal NZ Chapter Partner, NZMS (Allison Barnett), for their ongoing support, and Clive Pedley and his team at Giving Architects for being one of the Educate Plus Strategic Partners, who specifically and actively supports the NZ Chapter. We also thank our Promotional Partner, Fundraising Talent Recruitment and our Event Partners Chapel & York, NoticeMatch, ToucanTech and Salesforce. Next year, with the bi-annual NZ Chapter Summit we’ll be seeking even more Partners and Sponsors to help make this event a huge success. Mark your calendars and confirm your budgets to allow for all your team members to attend! 

Reflecting on my first President’s message last year, I said, “The more you engage with us, the more you will feel part of our wonderful community of NZ advancement professionals and the more you’ll truly benefit from your membership!” I’m thrilled to report that you did! This year saw record participation in events, strong engagement with our socials and eNewsletters, and a growing membership, now close to 200 in New Zealand alone (with over 2400 members in total across Australasia … that’s amazing!) 

 As we look ahead to 2025, we’d love your feedback on how we can improve. Please take a moment to fill out our Member Survey and help shape the future of Educate Plus. It is quick with just three simple yet important questions: 

  1. STOP – What are the things you don’t actually value or feel we don’t need to be doing?  
  2. START – What are the things we should consider starting to do, or that you’d like to see as part of your membership? and 
  3. CONTINUE – What are the things you love from EP and want to see continued? 

That’s it… I encourage you to please have your say. This is your membership, and only through your feedback can we consider and make changes to improve. CLICK HERE for the survey or visit it in the ‘Share Your Voice’ section. 

Save the Date … 2025 NZ Chapter Summit

Our 2025 NZ Chapter Summit will be held in Wellington on 19 and 20 August so save the date!! 

This will be a fantastic opportunity to attend a wide array of practical, relevant professional development sessions and network with peers from around New Zealand. Further details including the programme will be shared in 2025. We look forward to seeing you there! 

Wishing you, your teams, and your loved ones a wonderful year-end and festive season. Looking forward to seeing everyone in 2025!

Ka kite ano i nga tangata katoa. 

 

Emma Zigan
NZ Chapter President

Director of Advancement
Dilworth School