The vision of the Graeme Dingle Foundation is simple: that Aotearoa will be the best place in the world to be young.
We believe the best place in the world to be young is one where every young person has the opportunity to realise potential.
Today, that opportunity is not equally realised.
Some young people face significantly greater challenges and barriers than others, including poverty, violence, disengagement from education, and mental distress. At the same time, the environment they are growing up in is becoming more complex, with sustained national pressures across wellbeing, education, safety, and mental health.
Yet within this complexity sits a critical and often overlooked truth: young people are still hopeful.
Recent research from the Helen Clark Foundation shows that young people in Aotearoa are the most aspirational age group. They hold strong hopes and expectations for their future, even while experiencing lower levels of social cohesion, connection, and perceived opportunity than older generations.
In 2025, aspiration (69.5%) remained higher than lived experience (67.3%), reinforcing a consistent gap between what young people believe is possible and what they are currently able to experience. Nearly two in three under-30s also report feeling isolated at times, and fewer than half believe New Zealand is a land of opportunity.
This is the defining tension: young people are not disengaged – they are aspirational, but under-supported.
The Graeme Dingle Foundation exists to bridge that gap.
Our programmes are designed as a connected journey that supports children and young people from early childhood through to young adulthood, recognising that development is staged and that different needs emerge at different life stages.
This journey begins with Kiwi Can, delivered in schools to children aged 5–12. At this foundational stage, the focus is on emotional regulation, resilience, empathy, and cooperation — helping tamariki build the social and behavioural foundations that shape how they relate to themselves, their peers, and the world around them.
From there, Stars supports belonging and transition during early adolescence, Project K focuses on re-engagement, confidence and self-efficacy for young people at risk of disengagement, and Career Navigator helps rangatahi build clarity of direction, with 91% reporting increased confidence, 95% gaining workplace skills, and 88% clarifying their future pathway.
Across all programmes, the intention is consistent: to ensure that optimism and potential are not lost, but strengthened and translated into capability.
This matters because the evidence shows that when young people have confidence, connection, and purpose, their trajectories change. They are more likely to stay engaged in education, navigate challenges effectively, and build positive futures for themselves and their communities.
It also matters economically. Independent analysis shows that every $1 invested in the Graeme Dingle Foundation returns $10.50 to New Zealand society through reduced justice costs, improved employment outcomes, lower welfare dependency, and increased lifetime earnings.
At a national level, recent evidence continues to show sustained pressure across key indicators for young people, from mental health to education outcomes and child wellbeing. But it also confirms something equally important: the need for early, consistent, preventative support has never been greater.
Young people are not short on ambition. They are experiencing a gap between what they believe is possible and what they are currently able to access.
Bridging that gap is where the greatest opportunity for impact exists.
This is what the Graeme Dingle Foundation does.
And when that happens — when confidence is built early, when belonging is strengthened, and when pathways become visible — potential becomes reality.
Donate now to support this important work in Aotearoa and help move mountains for youth.