NextHorizons was founded by Kate Wu, a high school student at Kambala, whose interests in economics, politics and public policy have intersected with her years of involvement in fundraising and the nonprofit sector.
Through working directly with charities, participating in community initiatives and researching the economics of nonprofit organisations, Kate became interested in a question that is often overlooked in fundraising :
Her experiences suggested that the answer is no.
Large organisations can have significant reach and resources, but additional funding does not necessarily have the same marginal value as it can for a smaller organisation operating with limited resources. NextHorizons grew from Kate’s desire to identify these opportunities and help donors direct their generosity towards them.
Kate’s experiences with several organisations shaped the idea behind NextHorizons.
Through volunteering with Australia’s largest Youth mental health NGO, Kate helped support events promoting youth mental health services and participated in discussions surrounding the availability and allocation of resources. This provided an insight into the scale and structure of larger, heavily government-funded organisations. It also highlighted how large organisations gain limited marginal benefit from small donations, while the same amount of money can have a greater effect when directed towards a smaller organisation operating close to its financial and operational capacity.
When volunteering with smaller, local grassroots NGOs, Kate’s experience offered a very different perspective. Through independently initiating and organising four fundraising initiatives that collectively raised approximately $18,000 AUD, Kate realised several challenges faced by smaller nonprofits.
Fundraising often depends on a charity's ability to communicate an emotional story or create an appealing fundraising product. While these approaches can effectively connect with the community, they do not necessarily encourage donors to consider how efficiently those donations will be used or what measurable impact they will create. This may reduce the pressure on charities to demonstrate and improve their cost efficiency, leading to reduced outcomes for the communities they serve.
Smaller grassroots organisations can also have a much greater reliance on community donations and consequently less predictable annual income. When funding is uncertain, it becomes harder to plan ahead, invest in infrastructure and expand programs, making it difficult for many charities to meet the demand for its services.
These experiences demonstrated the importance of both reliable funding and effective allocation of funding.
Kate’s work in the nonprofit sector was complemented by her discussions with a diverse range of young people, many of whom preferred seeking mental health support from smaller providers, who were better positioned to understand and respond to the specific needs of marginalised communities. However, their impact is often limited, since they struggle to receive the funding and attention available to larger organisations.
This can be particularly important for communities that face distinct barriers to accessing services, including culturally and linguistically diverse communities, LGBTQ+ communities, neurodivergent people, Indigenous communities and people living in rural and regional areas.
This experience reinforced a principle that sits at the heart of NextHorizons: Those closest to a problem are often best placed to understand what their community needs, but they need the resources to act on that knowledge.
Together, these experiences led to the creation of NextHorizons: a fund designed to help donors look beyond visibility and reputation, and instead consider need, efficiency and measurable impact.
Kate’s interest in nonprofit efficiency also extended into independent academic research.
Her research examined the relationship between government funding and the cost efficiency of nonprofit organisations, further developing her interest in how funding structures can influence the way charities operate.
Help us support three deserving local charities each year and direct funding towards organisations where it can make a genuine, measurable difference.
Donate to NextHorizons and help turn generosity into greater impact.
NextHorizons is a student-led charity fund committed to making every donated dollar count.
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