Study spurred by desire to make a difference
by John Lewis · Otago Daily Times Online NewsWatching major corporations spend more on dinner for a client than a charity can make in a week was deeply frustrating for Linda Taylor.
For about two decades, she was a high-flying corporate marketing executive, managing multimillion-dollar budgets for large insurance, investment and banking companies in New Zealand, Australia and Ireland.
But when the 55-year-old was made redundant following the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, rather than be despondent, she saw it as an opportunity to do something she had always wanted — to help financially hobbled charities gain the funding they deserve.
"It sounds very twee, but I just wanted to do something that actually made a difference and made me feel good about what I’d done at the end of the day — something I could see and feel proud of.
"I’d always volunteered right through my teenage years, and my kids had always volunteered," she said.
"My husband and I had previously been foster caregivers for Child, Youth and Family [now Oranga Tamariki]."
So she became the head of marketing, communications and fundraising for Lifeline (2010-15), and went on to become the chief executive at Garden to Table (2015-21).
More recently, she has drawn on her experiences in both the corporate and charity sectors to complete a doctorate in business administration at the University of Otago.
"It’s something that was prompted by my industry experience and the frustrations that I had.
"So I thought, ‘I’ll go and do some research and do something about it’.
"There’s no point complaining about something if you’re not willing to do something about it."
While the degree was challenging, one of her greatest challenges came about two years into her study when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Dr Taylor said she was only able to get through it with the help and support of her family and, not surprisingly, charities such as the Cancer Society of New Zealand.
"The cancer actually helped me appreciate how important my work with charities is, because I relied on some of them to help me through.
"To have something like the Cancer Society step up and provide support and be very quick, that was amazing."
Her doctorate research was about charity funding behaviours — what works and what does not.
"I think it’s very important research because we’ve got very little research in New Zealand about funding behaviours.
"I think we always look at what happens overseas, but I think funders make their own decisions about what’s important to fund.
"So, to have some research that we can now take out there and use to help inform funding decision-makers is something I’m proud to have contributed."
She graduated on Saturday at the Dunedin Town Hall with a Doctor of Business Administration.
"It has been a long time and it has been challenging at times, but I feel pretty proud to be graduating."
She now splits her time between teaching leadership, business development and marketing at the Queenstown Resort College, and offering support and services to non-profit organisations through Weave Together — a social enterprise charity that works with 52 community organisations across Otago.