A charitable trust backing creative responses to social and environmental challenges. We invest in ideas across three time horizons for the coming ten, one hundred and one thousand years.
Travalyst is a non-profit organisation founded by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex as a coalition of the biggest travel companies in the industry. The coalition, including Trip Advisor, Booking.com and Expedia works to bring about the systemic changes needed for sustainable travel. Travalyst's first consumer facing initiative was launched in New Zealand, catalysed and Chaired by the Aera Foundation.
Released via an online campaign video featuring Prince Harry alongside a raft of kiwi stars, the goal of the effort was to influence and study New Zealanders attitudes to the topic. Kiwis were asked to participate in research and a sustainability rating tool to reflect on their most recent local holiday toconsider, ‘How would your holiday rate you?’
“As travel continues to come back, we have a need to redefine the industry – for better, for good. We created the non-profit Travalyst to rethink how travel can continue. Starting in beautiful Aotearoa New Zealand, we're launching our first campaign.”
Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Founder of Travalyst
As many as 1 in 4 kids in New Zealand live in poverty and hunger. Eat My Lunch's mission is to help feed the thousands of kids who go to school without lunch. Aera was the first external investor in the renowned Kiwi social venture which has so far given over 1,724,111 lunch boxes to a hungry child for every lunch a consumer buys.
Wiser Conversations was created as a series of live virtual conversations exploring the intersection of psychology and spirituality in response to the high anxiety and concern as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Subsequently also distributed as a podcast series, Wiser creates a unique space to reflect and respond to what really matters to us as we continue to see out this pandemic.
Conversations span religion and Ai, empathy, values and virtues, vulnerability, character and rituals and featured guests as wide ranging as renowned Indian spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, climate activist Naomi Klein, Zen-monk Reverend Kawakami and authors Pico Iyer, Susan David and Priya Parker. Wiser is produced in partnership with our good friends at the Fife Foundation.
Setting a precedent for the types of models Aera aspires to continue creating, Aera founder Derek Handley donated two years of his life to help Sir Richard Branson and many iconic global leaders to create a leadership coalition for a better future: The B Team.
The B Team is a non-profit leadership group formed to catalyse better ways of doing business for the wellbeing of people and the planet. This means going beyond the assumption that business exists solely to make profits – it means challenging business to accelerate its role in driving human rights, climate justice, equality, diversity, transparency and much more, in the face of the incumbent wisdom that businesses exist just to maximise shareholder wealth. Learn more about their current work here.
The Aera Foundation’s genesis was to incubate an initiative with transformative positive potential for society that could also generate long-term financial benefit. Bridging the transition to sustainable future is the largest investment imperative and opportunity of our lifetime. The Aera venture capital fund 'Aera VC' is a symbol of this hope and belief.
The foundation is a key stakeholder in Aera VC, an early-stage venture fund investing in climate solutions for radical progress towards a sustainable planet and transformational technologies to advance humanity. Learn more about our groundbreaking portfolio around the world here.
Aera Foundation is a foundation partner co-creating 'Paererewā in collaboration with STILL, an organisation based in Aotearoa New Zealand and focused on creating and supporting projects that help people think in future-facing, multigenerational terms.
With a vision for 1,000 markers for reflection to last 1,000 years, Paererewā has been established to create thresholds between the everyday and something deeper - places to sit or rest that encourage us to reflect and think longer-term.
The fellowship will explore the deepest questions of humankind and theology and how they interact with our growing understanding of the universe and astronomical phenomena. The initiative is currently in development with one of the oldest universities in the world and is expected to be unveiled in 2023.
Fellowships will be awarded to provide sustained long-term funding for an individual or teams of scientists, philosophers and theologians pushing the boundaries of conventional wisdom and accepted orthodoxy. A constellation of grants will be awarded to coincide with recurring periodic astronomical events throughout the coming centuries.
The Aera Foundation was created by Derek and Maya Handley in 2014 as a charitable studio to catalyse efforts for the wellbeing of people and our planet.
As a believer that philanthropy and for-profit pursuits all have a role to play in creating a better future, we do this using both our registered charity the Aera Foundation and incorporated charitable company Aera Limited. The foundation uses an array of methods across the spectrum to achieve our goals including grants and fellowships, advocacy campaigns and coalitions and venture capital investments in new projects.
Maya is a baker and creator of Florets bakery in Grey Lynn, Auckland. Derek is an entrepreneur with a varied background which you can read more about here. Our 9 year old son Finn has now joined us on this journey and become a part of how we develop going forward.
The word aera comes from the Latin root of the English word "era" - and reflects our desire to embark on initiatives both in response to issues "of our time" as well as those that are timeless. Our logo reflects the world under protection as well as an upward aspiration of growth and renewal.
Aera is registered as charitable trust CC50290 with the New Zealand Charities Commission.
For enquiries please contact holly@aera.nz
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The Aera Foundation was created by Derek and Maya Handley in 2014 as a charitable studio to catalyse efforts for the wellbeing of people and our planet.
As a believer that philanthropy and for-profit pursuits all have a role to play in creating a better future, we do this using both our registered charity the Aera Foundation and incorporated charitable company Aera Limited. The foundation uses an array of methods across the spectrum to achieve our goals including grants and fellowships, advocacy campaigns and coalitions and venture capital investments in new projects.
Maya is a baker and creator of Florets bakery in Grey Lynn, Auckland. Derek is an entrepreneur with a varied background which you can read more about here. Our 9 year old son Finn has now joined us on this journey and become a part of how we develop going forward.
The word aera comes from the Latin root of the English word "era" - and reflects our desire to embark on initiatives both in response to issues "of our time" as well as those that are timeless. Our logo reflects the world under protection as well as an upward aspiration of growth and renewal.
