May 2011 - Trust Excels in Hothouse Competition

As part of the Community Economic Development conference on 19th and 20th April in Auckland the NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations ran "The HotHouse" competition. The Hothouse was derived from the reality television series "Dragon's Den".

Groups from all over NZ were encouraged to present the organisers with an enterprising idea – whether rough and ready or well polished – that combined making a profit with community benefit. It was an opportunity to win some extra cash and professional support to develop a first rate application for a social loan.

The Trust's entry into the competition was short listed and we were given the chance to pitch our idea to an expert panel of leading business and community practitioners. We were thrilled when our Director Alison Cadman pulled off 1st equal in the 'Water your Grass Roots' section of The Hothouse.

Our idea was to develop a housing project and sell some of the homes to fund the others. A social loan would support the purchasing of land when an opportunity arose. We so often lose the opportunity to purchase land as finance is not available.

"It was a fantastic opportunity for me personally, the Trust and community housing" says Alison. "It was invaluable being in front of potential partners and others, talking about our ideas and issues. Appropriate social lending is needed for community housing organisations and we hope to see this increasing in the future."