In 2025, Wellington Hospitals Foundation marks twenty years of supporting the region’s public health services. Over the past two decades, the Foundation has played a key role in delivering life changing medical equipment, supporting transformative projects like the new regional children’s hospital, funded innovations in training and care, and provided smaller but meaningful comforts for patients and families in difficult moments.

The Foundation is now launching a new brand identity and refreshed digital presence. Ackama are proud to partner with the Foundation to design and develop a new website that supports their evolving needs, both now and into the future.

The site is part of a wider shift toward more accessible, connected and sustainable ways of operating the Foundation. Built on a modern Drupal CMS platform, the new website was developed to reflect the Foundation’s mission, support content management by a small internal team, and strengthen their ability to engage with donors, volunteers and partners.

But the website is only one part of a much bigger story.

WHF is the official charity for the region’s public hospitals, and exists to support healthcare across Wellington Regional, Kenepuru and Hutt Hospitals, as well as Te Wao Nui Child Health Service, Kapiti Health Centre and related health services. It has raised more than $160 million to date and partners with individuals, organisations and hospital teams to meet needs that are not fully covered by public funding.

“Healthcare would still be funded if we didn’t exist, but it wouldn’t be the same,” says CEO Guy Ryan. “Our donors make sure that care in our hospitals is not only exceptional, but also compassionate, comfortable and has the human touch.”

The Foundation supports everything from specialist equipment and technology to volunteer-led services, family spaces and care packs for people unexpectedly admitted to hospital. It is involved in both landmark projects and behind the scenes efforts that make a real difference.

“Part of our role as a Foundation is to be ambitious about what great health care could actually look like for our community, in a way that’s equitable.”

The previous site was an older WordPress build that had become difficult to manage and limited in what it could support. “It’s an old WordPress site, kind of held together with Band-Aids.” With over 50,000 people expected to visit the site each year, it had become clear that an update was necessary.

“That website is the front-facing portal. We expect more than 50,000 people a year, and that’s their first experience of us. Those 50,000 people have the potential to engage or not, and so getting it right is really important.” CEO Guy Ryan

The Foundation needed a digital platform that would help people understand why support is needed, how they could get involved, and what impact their support could have. It also needed to be practical for staff to update and maintain, while aligning with the new brand.

Ackama’s role was to turn the Foundation’s brand concepts into a fully functioning, accessible website. We selected DrupalCMS to provide a future-proofed platform that could support evolving needs. The team worked to ensure the new platform supported WHF’s existing content, while introducing improvements to usability, mobile responsiveness, and accessibility compliance.

The new site gives the Foundation a stable platform that integrates with other systems, reduces the manual workload of updates, and provides a clear path for people to connect with WHF’s work. That includes opportunities to donate, explore volunteering options, or read about the impact of recent projects.

“The website serves as the front-facing aspect of that. One of its key functions is to clearly communicate the growing need for volunteers, why we rely on their support and to showcase the variety of volunteer opportunities available. With over 590 active volunteers across the three hospitals, the demand for support is increasing and we want prospective volunteers to understand how they can make a real difference”

Guy noted that working with Ackama was a positive experience. “I just think the team at Ackama have been amazing and the project management has been top notch.” He also appreciated being able to contribute to the design process.

“Being able to play around with that and get a sense for how that could look and feel and building that into the project, I think, is really important.”

While digital tools are important, Wellington Hospital Foundation remains centred on people in the communities they serve. Those who walk through the doors of hospitals every day, as patients, families or staff.

The Foundation is supported by a generous community of individuals, families, organisations and partners. This collective support helps provide services, equipment and experiences that complement the care delivered by our public hospitals.

While essential healthcare is publicly funded, the system is under pressure. The Foundation contributes to projects and services that help make great care even better, adding comfort, dignity and connection for patients, families and hospital staff.

Guy Ryan explains that the Foundation thrives only because of its relationship with the wider community.

“The only reason that we exist and can do the work that we do is thanks to the amazing community that sits around us.”

The Foundation is aiming to build “the most loved charity brand for Wellington,” while staying focused on the lasting impact of its work. This vision builds on an incredible legacy of community generosity and meaningful contributions to the region’s healthcare. Part of that ambition involves making better use of systems and tools that free up time for relationship building and fundraising.

“My challenge as Chief Executive is coming in with a mandate to take the organisation into the future. Technology has to be part of that, and this includes the need to make investments to free the team up to focus on the work that matters – that’s about people, care, relationships, community building and fundraising.”

For Ackama, contributing to this new chapter meant building a platform that could support WHF’s long term goals and a great opportunity to partner with the WHF team to pragmatically support a client achieving critical work. The new Drupal site was designed to be sustainable, adaptable and easier to manage by a small internal team.

It is one part of a broader effort to allow the Foundation to remain visible in the right ways, at the right times, and continue to do the work that matters most.