* Help you solve the problem you’ve got about where, why or how you’re communicating.
* Help you figure out smarter ways to raise money.
* Be tempted back into consulting, to find I quite enjoy it.
* Create, write or edit whatever copy you need.
* Speak at your conference.
* Organise over 1000 people to volunteer on one day.
* Run a meeting and get you out of there on time.
* Communicate impact clearly.
* Talk to your Board Chair as comfortably as a group of six-year-olds.
* Write for The Spinoff.
* Coach the altMBA and The Creative’s Workshop.
* Win a Golden Quill.
* Qualify for Golden Key at the University of Canterbury.
* Be a Trustee for the organisation that advocates complete eradication of the disease that killed my Dad’s dad.
* Survive a natural disaster.
* Bake copious amounts to relieve the stress of said disaster.
* Feel more connected in a library or at a half-marathon than in a church.
* Represent my country and place fifth in the world in something I love.
* Run a marathon.
* Survive in the Easter Camp kitchen on Pie Day.
* Jump in, even when it’s freezing.
* Choose herbal tea over coffee, and red over white, every time.
From time to time, I’ll take what I’m passionate about and share it with others.
I tailor my talks to each audience about common threads that you’ll see being explored in my writing: leadership, millennials, Imposter Syndrome, creativity, not-for-profits, and trying to leave the world better than when I arrived. I spoke at the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand’s conference, and bbcon Sydney in 2019.
Please get in touch with me through the form here and I’ll do our best to make it happen.
I have worked with with Glass Tower, GirlGuiding NZ, Ronald McDonald House South Island, and most recently, the crew taking the start-up world by storm at Banqer, a gritty B-Corp in Ōtautahi that focuses on equipping the next generation with the best financial literacy skills they can get. This social enterprise was started by none other than Kendall Flutey, Young New Zealander of the Year and Winner of 2020’s Impact Award for Enterprise.
In my time with Ronald McDonald House South Island, I saw 2,213 guests come through our facilities, who visited over 5,000 times. The average stay was for seven nights, for a range of different illnesses. The funds I helped to raise ensured that not one family ever had to pay for their stay with us while their child was in Christchurch or Southland Hospital, and I’m incredibly proud of that legacy.
I have been a Trustee with Inspiring Stories, where they’re making New Zealand the best place for young Kiwis to grow up in, and backing these young people to change the world. I am currently a Trustee with Bowel Cancer New Zealand, using my skills to move us towards a world where no-one dies of this terrible disease.
At the moment, I split my time between a few organisations that I love. I have been coaching with Akimbo since 2018, and their innovation, curiosity and radical steps towards institutional equity have me hooked. I also contract with Barrer & Co, the best Fundraising Agency in Aotearoa.
Each place has taught me more about my skills, my work ethic, my values, my intuition, and my goals for the future.
I view my work through the lens of this whakataukī (proverb):
E iti noa ana nā te aroha.
A small thing, given with love.
If you’re interested in what I know and would like to have a chat, flick me a message here.
Jemma Balmer 