The Kollective thrives in post-Covid climate

Tauranga’s co-working space for non-profit organisations The Kollective says it is thriving after Covid lockdowns.

In its just-released second annual report it says The Kollective is well placed to suit organisations that have staff working from home but also needing a place to connect.

“The need for an organisation to have its own office 24/7 is becoming less vital if you have staff working from home one to three days a week,” manager Gordy Lockhart says.

“Every minute and every dollar we save an organisation through connection to our shared-space collaborative community, is a minute and a dollar redirected toward effective client service.”

The preparations, planning and stresses of operating at the various COVID 19 alert levels post lockdown were more than challenging, the report says.

“As community members face increasingly complex, interdependent problems, as has been observed by many social service providers, the need for organisations to work together to achieve greater impact and provide a more integrated and holistic response has never been more important.

“The Kollective offers a space for community organisations to connect, either as a residential member or as a non-residential member by attending events, coming to work at The Kollective in between meetings or if you are wanting to get away from the office.

“The need for community organisations to connect, share, learn, inspire and deliver even better outcomes for our communities is imperative if we are to tackle the myriad of issues many community members face – poverty, housing, mental illness, addictions.”

The Kollective won the Social Enterprise Award 2020, for demonstrating the most effective social impact results while also showing sustainable and effective operations in business practice.

“At TK, we have always believed that our community is built on so much more than the steel and glass that hold the roof over our heads. People making a difference in the lives of others is what makes our family of members work,” Lockhart says.

Revenue was up on its first year’s $551,993 result to $591,979, returning $172,277 to sponsors TECT for redistribution to community organisations.

TK membership was 71 percent not-for-profit and 29 percent commercial, and individual memberships from the community sector had increased by 50 year on year.

“Interest in membership from the commercial sector is encouraging but is stretching the bounds of our ideal membership balance,” Lockhart says.

“SociaLink and The Kollective are now conducting in-depth research looking to identify why it may be that membership interest at The Kollective continues unabated from the commercial sector, yet has slowed from the not-for-profit community.

“We’ve re-positioned our team for a new tomorrow.

“We understood that we needed to keep changing to ensure our systems are effective, more flexible, able to pivot and adapt to the needs of our members and our world’s new normal,” he says.