To help guide your application, we have outlined what we are looking for in Expressions of Interest this year. We know we’ll be inspired by your submissions again!

One year on and we’re excited to open our Expression of Interest (“EOI”) process for 2015.

Last year, we were inspired by the 287 submissions we received. They represented a privileged insight into the hearts and minds of all that is good about New Zealand and New Zealanders. They contained great ideas, innovation, passion, community service, generosity, enthusiasm, volunteering, and a shared belief in a way to a better New Zealand.

We know we’ll be inspired again this year.

We are attracted to initiatives that can demonstrate transformational change that would otherwise not occur. We’re looking for initiatives that will have broad impact, with the potential to be national in scale. We will always ask whether the initiative can be scaled to have national impact, what needs to happen for that to occur, and how much would that would cost.

It may sound easy but we need a clear description of the problem and how your initiative addresses it. It’s the first thing we look at.

Leadership and project management skills are critical. We look to develop a multi-year and engaged relationship with the organisations we support, and to do that effectively, we need to know they have an excellent lead team.

Understanding the model for long term sustainability of the initiative – financial and otherwise – is also important to a successful submission.

We appreciate that not all projects will have all of these qualities put in place today but we are interested to understand how they would be.

To make the submission process more efficient, this year’s applications will be completed online directly from NEXT Foundation’s website at Apply Now. Your EOI will be uploaded as part of this process, not emailed to us separately as last year. Uploading will be available from May 18, 2015 until the close of the 2015 EOI process at 3pm on June 26, 2015. You can find more details about our EOI process in the Applications section of NEXT Foundation’s website.

We know we can fund only a very small number of initiatives each year, but we want to continue to stay connected to the many innovative projects that we have the privilege of reviewing. NEXChange was created to give visibility to the many impressive submissions of those who chose to share them. More than 80 did from the 2014 process. NEXChange has helped inspire interest in other projects deserving of support and enable the community to exchange information, learn, and grow together.

Thank you for your interest in the NEXT Foundation and for the opportunity to support your vision for a transformed New Zealand. We wish all applicants all the very best in this year’s EOI process.

Bill Kermode, CEO NEXT Foundation