HOW LiiFT WORKS
LiiFT Aotearoa is designed to help community organisations make intentional choices about capability building based on where they are now and what matters most next.
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Rather than offering a single pathway or fixed sequence, LiiFT brings together organisational stages, core capability areas, and different ways of learning and support, so organisations can engage in a way that fits their context.
STEP 1: Find your organisational stage
Community organisations tend to move through stages of development over time. Each stage brings different pressures, risks, and capability needs.
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LiiFT recognises four broad stages:
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Foundations: Getting the basics right and building confidence
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Strengthen: Formalising governance, systems, and leadership practice
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Sustain & Scale: Managing complexity, risk, and long-term impact
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Renew & Reimagine: Stepping back to reflect, reset, and plan what comes next
These stages are not linear. Organisations may move forward, pause, or return to earlier stages depending on funding, leadership changes, growth, or external pressures.
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Understanding your current stage helps you focus on learning and support that is relevant and realistic, rather than trying to do everything at once.
STEP 2: Focus on the capability areas that matter most
Across every stage, there are core capability areas that underpin effective and sustainable community organisations.
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These include areas such as governance, leadership, funding and fundraising, financial management, people and volunteers, strategy, systems, wellbeing, and communication.
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In LiiFT, learning is organised by these capability areas so you can:
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Strengthen specific areas of practice.
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Address gaps that are limiting effectiveness.
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Build capability progressively over time.
You don’t need to work on all areas at once. Good practice is about focusing on the right capability at the right time.
STEP 3: Choose learning and support that fits your needs
LiiFT offers different ways to build capability, depending on your organisation’s size, stage, and capacity.
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This may include:
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Training and workshops: Practical sessions delivered online or in person.
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Facilitated sessions: For boards, leadership teams, or groups needing space to reflect, plan, or problem-solve.
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Resources and tools: Guides, templates, and self-checks that support learning between sessions.
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Advisory and consultancy support: Tailored help for specific challenges or transitions.
Some organisations engage in a single session. Others build learning across the year or combine training with facilitated or advisory support.
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There is no single “right” way to use LiiFT.
START WHERE YOU ARE
LiiFT is designed to meet organisations where they are, not where they think they should be.
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You might:
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Attend one session to address a pressing issue.
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Follow a learning pathway over time.
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Use tools and resources independently.
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Seek facilitated or advisory support during periods of change.
What matters most is starting with what is most relevant right now.
PLACE-BASED DELIVERY
From time to time, LiiFT workshops are delivered locally through funding from local boards or place-based funders.
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These sessions respond to local priorities and community context while remaining part of the LiiFT Aotearoa capability framework. This ensures learning is locally relevant while staying connected to a shared, nationally consistent approach.
HOW THIS FITS WITH ANCAD’S WIDER SUPPORT
LiiFT Aotearoa sits alongside ANCAD’s broader work supporting community organisations.
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While LiiFT focuses on building long-term capability through learning and reflection, ANCAD also provides Community Accounting, consultancy, and tailored organisational support when hands-on or specialist help is needed.
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Together, these supports help organisations strengthen practice, build confidence, and remain sustainable over time.
