Kiwi Business Story – Kelvin Watt at Graeme Dingle Foundation, Marlborough

Kelvin Watt is the General Manager of Graeme Dingle Foundation, Marlborough, and a Virtual Business Owner Programme alumni (formerly Taking Your Business Forward). 

This Kiwi Business Story is based on a podcast from 7 September 2023, and all figures quoted are from that time. You can enjoy the complete podcast here.  



Graeme Dingle Foundation is a very well-known organisation in New Zealand, but for those that maybe haven't heard of the Foundation before, what do you do? 

(The Graeme Dingle Foundation inspires young people across New Zealand to realise potential through school and community-based programmes that help build self-esteem, promote good values and teach valuable life, education and health skills.)

There’s several different programmes, but if we narrowed the key essence, it’s around developing self-confidence and self-belief for our young people. That flows through every one of our programmes – and a connection with an important other person; a mentor or a role model – a real person to help guide and develop those things, and someone to talk to when you need it. 

You did The Icehouse’s first Virtual Business Owner Programme programme? 

It was brilliant, because of that timeframe [during Covid] and being online, The Icehouse responded in a way that worked. The links there were awesome and there were actually quite a few Marlborough people [on the programme]. 

What you hear from most Icehouse courses I would imagine, is the ability to link and share stories and connect with people in not dissimilar situations. The big takeaway for me, and it probably gave me a sense of confidence, was that the challenges that you come across at a not-for-profit organisation are just the same as a small business – or any business.

It really opened my eyes to the fact that we can operate with a business mindset. We're in a different space, and we do different things, but the basics around running a successful organisation are the same – identical almost, to running a successful business. That was really interesting and enlightening. 

How did you first hear about The Icehouse?

Hortus is a long-term supporter and partner of ours. I know that a number of their staff members have been through Icehouse, so it came though that. As we've grown, so my role’s changed and there was a sense of, as we grow the organisation, what does that look like and how can we build on that?

How did TYBF and The Icehouse network align with the Foundation’s own values and purpose? 

[It’s about] the success of bringing good people on the journey. We've been very fortunate to have a really strong board with great business nous and surrounding people. Last night (at an Icehouse networking event) Aaron Jay (the owner of Hortus and an Owner Manager Programme alumni) spoke around their values, building that, and how they work with their people and their purpose. 

Some of that stuff could have been [about] a charity – having organisations or businesses that are aligned so closely with what we do. We're really lucky to have businesses like that… we can replicate a lot of systems and processes that businesses have. They're not dissimilar. 

What advice would you give for inspiring non-profit leaders who are passionate about making a difference?

The sense of purpose is a really big advantage. If you've got that sense of purpose, you're passionate about something, and want to make a difference, I think that's brilliant – and that is a major step in the right direction. 

You do need to develop the skill set to help make that happen. I guess that's the flip side. That might take time and that's around surrounding yourself with clever people and seeking their guidance. 

I've been really fortunate. I've had really strong boards of trustees and business leaders connect to us that are happy to share knowledge and be part of what we do. It’s definitely a team effort that makes this happen.

I've also learned that if you can get that sense of community, people like to help. If they’re on the journey with you, they will often say “yes” to jumping out of a plane or getting covered in green slime! If the journey is a good one and heading in a good direction, people will come on board.

How can people support Graeme Dingle Foundation? 

There's lots of different options in different regions throughout the country. So it would really be picking up the phone and talking to the general manager in that space. 

You can be part of the programmes as a mentor, involved in the fundraising, or as a board member. There's lots of different ways – it's just reaching out and having that conversation about ‘what does support look like?’, ‘how can I help?’ and ‘this is what I can offer.’