NEXT Foundation announces
new $150m commitment
to New Zealand
The NEXT Foundation has committed a new total of $150million that will be spent on New Zealand’s greatest natural asset – our environment.
7 March 2026
The new NEXT investment follows the success of its first $100million, spent over the last decade, and several individual projects before that.
NEXT Chair Chris Liddell says the previous projects that NEXT supported saw great progress in restoring large areas of the country, including Taranaki Mounga, Abel Tasman National Park, South Westland, Aoraki/Mt Cook, Predator Free Wellington, and Rotoroa Island.
“We want to take the learnings from the work we have been doing now for 25 years, and scale them to other parts of New Zealand. We will be investing the $150million over the next 10 years on the highest impact, transformational projects with a vision of inspiring a “nature-positive” New Zealand, where our iconic species and spaces flourish.” he says.
Rātā bloom : NEXT has supported projects that have seen huge biodiversity gains, such as Predator Free South Westland which displayed an impressive rātā bloom last summer.
Photo: Jose Blair
Andrew Grant Appointed NEXT CEO
One of New Zealand’s most accomplished business leaders, former McKinsey and Company senior partner and Global Board member, Andrew Grant, has been appointed NEXT CEO to lead this new phase.
“This is an incredible privilege for me, and I want to acknowledge the generosity of NEXT’s founders Neal and Annette Plowman for the opportunity, and their vision,” he says.
“Their generosity allows us through partnerships and hard work to be a global leader in some of the world’s biggest challenges – improving biodiversity, restoring our oceans, and creating nature-based solutions to climate change.”
“Aotearoa/New Zealand is like a a cathedral without a choir. We are going to focus on bringing back the birdsong and our wider biodiversity – to enrich the lives of our children and grandchildren, and future generations of all New Zealanders.”
NEXT committed to investing in the restoration of the Hauraki Gulf last year, and details of other new investments will be released over the next few months.