About us

hum is a not-for-profit social enterprise building civic infrastructure for a wellbeing economy. We're a distributed team but our core team is based in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Where we began

The project started as a government-funded research project to explore how Māori values of localism and collectivism could combine with modern technology to reimagine the community grant system.

We were guided by the belief that mana motuhake (self-determination) and whanaungatanga (connection) are not just cultural principles. They are powerful design principles for funding systems. That belief still shapes everything we build.

Our Principles / Values

• Radical transparency - Every treasury flow, proposal, and decision is visible to the community by default - and, if they choose, to funders and even the general public.
• Devolved power - Capital allocation power belongs to the community groups closest to the outcomes - not the institutions funding them, and not individuals.
• Equal voice - We’re building democratic systems for community groups: one member, one vote, regardless of background, status, or contribution.
• Continuous value and data flow - We’re moving away from competitive, time-gated funding rounds to funding that flows like water through a tap, with real-time feedback loops that let the flow rate be changed at any time.
• Low threshold to participate - No legal entity, no grant-writing skills, no gatekeepers between communities and resources. We’re building systems to support some of society’s most disadvantaged and marginalised communities.
• Relational before technological - We’re building software tools to support community life rather than replacing the human work of trust and decision-making.
• Trust as infrastructure - Accountability is built into the process, not bolted on through extractive reporting.

Key milestones

Six years from a bold idea to communities governing real resources on three continents.

1. 2020

   We started with an idea: decentralisation technology could be used for social good.

2. Late 2020

   Accepted into the Creative HQ Government Accelerator programme. Creative HQ →

3. Early 2021

   White paper released. Read the white paper →

4. Late 2021

   Canon Coin trial — "finally, a use for blockchain to get excited about". BusinessDesk →

5. 2022

   Tāne Ora trial starts — community-led funding for men’s health. The Tāne Ora story →

6. Late 2022

   Aya Miyaguchi, Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation, supports The Rātā Rangatahi Fund. The Rātā story →

7. 2023–2025

   20 International pilots run across three countries.

8. Late 2024

   Selected for the SOCAP Fellowship programme. SOCAP Fellowship →

9. 2025

   Tāne Ora trial expanded to three more men’s health groups.

10. Feb 2026

    Major platform redevelopment — phase 1 complete.

11. Mar 2026

    Community Currency and Savings Pools modules released.

12. May 2026

    Spanish version complete.

13. Jul 2026

    Security audit and GDPR compliance completed.