A Philanthropic Funding Appeal

Why 4E’s Consulting Is Sharing This Story

A philanthropic funding appeal

At 4E’s Consulting, we work across early childhood education, social enterprise, and not-for-profit systems throughout Aotearoa. This vantage point allows us to see patterns. Not isolated challenges, but repeated structural gaps that place otherwise strong, values-led organisations under unnecessary strain.

We are sharing this story because it is not about failure.

It is about system design and what happens when the lead-in time and specialist guidance required to do things well are not resourced.

When Support Systems Become Barriers

Child Care Subsidy and Family Boost thresholds have not kept pace with the cost of living. While these supports are intended to enable participation in work and education, in practice they are creating a barrier to entry for families who cannot afford upfront childcare costs.

Families are forced to:

• pay childcare fees in advance they do not have available
• wait weeks for Family Boost reimbursements
• reduce work hours or exit employment altogether

For many whānau, the requirement to pay upfront even temporarily, which makes early childhood education inaccessible, regardless of eligibility on paper.

This is not a lack of motivation or responsibility.
It is a system that assumes families have financial buffers many simply do not.

When families cannot bridge that gap, pressure shifts to early childhood centres and community organisations to hold families in place.

The Invisible Load Carried by Early Childhood Services

Early childhood education carries a substantial administrative and compliance burden; much of it unfunded, as only in-minimum ratio is funded at 15 minute intervals.

Attendance verification, follow-ups on absences, repeated paper forms, and signature requirements are mandatory. Each task takes time. Every hour spent on this work is unfunded payroll for a small centre.

This reduces capacity for:

• meaningful engagement with tamariki
• relationship-based work with whānau
• supporting teacher wellbeing and retention

These costs are real, ongoing, and largely invisible to funding systems.

Equity Funding: Good Intent, Limited Reach

Equity Funding is designed to support children and whānau with higher needs. In practice, thresholds remain so high that many centres clearly serving these communities do not qualify.

Appeals and reviews are slow. Decisions can take months.

During that time, centres absorb the costs of additional support, quality kai, and culturally responsive care, without certainty of any reimbursement.

From a systems perspective, this undermines the very purpose of equity funding.
Where the System Falls Short: Under Resourced Induction and Establishment Support

One of the most critical gaps we observe and one that is rarely acknowledged occurs at the very beginning.

Doing things well in early childhood education requires specialist induction, establishment guidance, and sector-specific financial and governance advice during the lead-in phase. Under current funding settings, this lead-in time is largely under resourced for not-for-profit community services.

By contrast, when a school is established, an Establishment Board is appointed and supported by facilitators and Ministry guidance over a two-to-three-year period. Governance capability is intentionally grown. Financial oversight is scaffolded. Leadership is supported while systems mature.

ECE services receive no equivalent support.

Instead, early childhood providers — including not-for-profit organisations with complex kaupapa and blended funding models — are expected to:

• self-design governance and financial systems
• fund specialist advice upfront
• navigate licensing, compliance, staffing, and funding rules simultaneously
• absorb the cost of errors if advice is incomplete or non-specialist

For not-for-profits, this means financing their own induction while already delivering care. The learning curve is not supported — it is self-funded.

This creates structural exposure from day one.

When the Right Advice Came — But Too Late

This case demonstrates not only why the right advice matters, but why the timing of that advice is critical.

CJ sought support from ECE Accounting specialists and 4E’s Consulting once it became clear that something was not stacking up financially. Until that point, the organisation had relied on advice that appeared sound, provided by professionals without deep, specialist ECE financial expertise.

When specialist ECE financial and strategic advice was engaged, the issues were identified quickly. Corrective action was taken immediately.

Over the past three months, rapid and proactive changes were implemented:

• the budget was rebuilt using accurate, sector-specific assumptions
• cost structures were corrected
• governance and financial oversight strengthened
• strategic adjustments made at pace

However, by the time this expertise was engaged, the cumulative impact of earlier advice had already created a gap that could not be fully closed without additional support.

Even with fast, decisive action, there was not enough lead-in time to undo the damage created by advice that was not sufficiently specialised because the system had not resourced early access to that expertise.

This is a crucial point:

Good advice cannot always fix late-stage problems when early guidance is unfunded.

Leadership Sustained by Goodwill Alone

Throughout this journey, CJ has worked entirely in a voluntary capacity. She does not receive a salary.

She has carried responsibility for governance, compliance, staffing, community relationships, and strategic decision-making without remuneration, while navigating increasing pressure and complexity.

This is not uncommon in the not-for-profit ECE space.

But it is not sustainable, and it places an extraordinary burden on individuals holding essential community services together.

Why Social Enterprise Became the Path Forward

As grant funding became increasingly competitive and unreliable, the organisation made a strategic decision to establish Treasured Tamariki as a social enterprise.

The intent was to:

• deliver high-quality early learning
• support maternal mental health and child wellbeing
• generate surplus to reinvest back into Mums4Mums

This model builds resilience, reduces reliance on grants alone, and allows impact to grow sustainably. With over 30 requests to expand nationally, the need is clear.

What is required now is resourced, responsible scaling.

Why Philanthropic Investment Matters Now

From a 4E’s Consulting perspective, this is not a rescue scenario.
It is a systems correction.

Philanthropic investment at this stage enables:

• early access to specialist induction and establishment advice
• financial stabilisation during critical lead-in periods
• governance and operational maturity
• ethical, paced growth grounded in care and quality

This is where philanthropy has its greatest leverage — funding what the system currently does not.

An Invitation to Invest in What Should Have Been Funded

This is an opportunity to invest in:

• healthier mothers
• stronger whānau
• better outcomes for children
• leadership currently carried on unpaid labour
• a sustainable social enterprise model designed for long-term impact

At 4E’s Consulting, we are sharing this story because it reflects a broader truth: when expertise, time, and funding are aligned early, community organisations thrive.

With your support, this work can move from vulnerability to stability and from local impact to national reach.