This special episode was recorded on the ground at the Rooted & Rising Retreat at Vaughan Park, Auckland - where rangatahi and young professionals from across Aotearoa gathered for three days of grounding, connection, and big thinking.

Hear back-to-back reflections from participants as they share what the retreat sparked for them: moments of slowing down, building authentic relationships, and exploring what purposeful leadership can look like in the philanthropy and funding space.

You’ll also hear from Oli - the “victim” of the philanthropy-themed Murder Mystery as he spills his side of the story and what it was like to watch chaos unfold around his “death”.

Tune in for Rooted and Rising: where purpose meets people, and where the next generation of changemakers are finding their place, their voice, and each other.

Host Lotima Vaioleti is joined by Aiolupotea Lili Tuioti, Director of the Peter McKenzie Project - a bold spend-down fund dedicated to tackling the root causes of child and whānau poverty in Aotearoa. Together they explore what it means to “build the waka as we sail” - sharing power, trusting communities, and navigating systems change through collective leadership.

Lili reflects on Pasifika approaches to philanthropy, the value of trust-based funding, and how rangatahi can reimagine generosity and purpose for the future.

Host Lotima Vaioleti is joined by Benjamin Alder, designer, innovation strategist, and co-founder of The Wellbeing Protocol - a nonprofit reimagining how communities access funding. Together they unpack the rise of participatory grantmaking, how design thinking can reshape the flow of money for good, and what it means to shift power back to communities.

Benjamin shares insights from trials across Aotearoa, using blockchain and localism to build high-trust funding models that empower collective making from the ground up.

Host Lotima Vaioleti sits down with Gareth Hughes - former Green MP, activist, and Director of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa - to explore why the economy is too important to be left to economists. From grassroots activism to Parliament, Gareth shares how we can redesign our economic system to centre people, the planet, and future generations. A hopeful, values-driven conversation about leadership, youth, and building an economy that works for all.

Host Lotima Vaioleti is joined by Bill Kermode, founding CEO of NEXT Foundation and Co-Chief Executive of the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy. Together they explore the bold experiment of spend-down philanthropy - giving $100 million away in just 10 years.Bill shares lessons from investing in transformational projects, why deadlines sharpen impact, and how rangatahi can give with purpose beyond money.

Host Lotima Vaioleti is joined by Lourdes Vano, project coordinator at the Pasifika Funders Network, to explore how Indigenous values are reshaping philanthropy.

They kōrero about re-indigenising giving, building genuine relationships between funders and communities, and why youth leadership is critical for the sector’s future. Lourdes shares reflections on solidarity over charity, protecting ancestral knowledge, and what it means to weave Pacific values into funding systems.

Note: In this episode, Pasifika Funders Network is mentioned as an official incorporated society. Correction: it is a registered Charitable Trust.

Host Lotima Vaioleti is joined by Lani Evans and Alanna Irving, the creators of Fundsorter, to explore how we can make funding more human, more equitable, and less painful. They discuss what happens when you trust communities, remove barriers, and use tech as a tool for justice, not control. A hopeful kōrero about generosity, power, and making it easier to do good.

Host Lotima Vaioleti is joined by economist Shamubeel Eaquab to explore why economics is really about people, not just graphs or GDP.

This is an insightful kōrero about shifting focus from numbers to values, and why everyone - not just economists - has a role in shaping the economy of Aotearoa.

Host Lotima Vaioleti is joined by Eleanor Cater, CEO at Community Foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand, exploring the future of giving in Aotearoa.

From the power of energy over money to the transformative role of bequests, Eleanor shares why generosity is a journey and how rangatahi are reshaping what it means to give.

Haere mai and welcome back to The Price of Purpose with Youth in Philanthropy - a network of under-35s reimagining what funding can look like in Aotearoa.

If you work in or around philanthropy, funding, and systems change, or are interested in any of these fields, this is the perfect podcast for you.

This season, we’re going deeper - challenging the status quo, exploring the big players in philanthropy, new tech shaping the sector, spend-down funds, and why “the economy is too important to leave to the economists.”

Hosted by Lotima Vaioleti and powered by Youth in Philanthropy - because purpose has a price… and it’s worth paying.

New episodes dropping every Monday.