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23/10/2026

Friday good news from Omakau!
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The new Omakau Community Hub is taking shape, bringing together spaces for sport, events, meetings and more.
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It’s been a real community effort, with the Council, charitable trusts, contractors and local groups all playing a part in making it happen.
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Even the insulation will have a local connection, with much of the wool being donated by community members.
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It’s good to see so many people contributing to something that will bring their community together for years to come.

22/10/2026

Some businesses are finding ways to make giving part of their everyday work.
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The Good Oil has donated $1 from every pink bottle sold to Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, Pāmu has contributed $25,000 worth of support through Meet the Need, and Asahi Beverages has had staff out planting native trees alongside Conservation Volunteers New Zealand.
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These are quite different approaches, but they all show how businesses can use what they already have, whether that’s their products, resources or people, to contribute to something beyond their day-to-day operations.
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We’ve noticed this same range of giving while looking at how New Zealand businesses give back for the Generosity Index, from donations to products, services and staff time.

21/10/2026

Good Bi***es Baking has just won both categories at the 2026 NZ Volunteering Awards.
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Its volunteers bake at home for people going through a tough time. In the last year, they delivered 38,593 boxes of treats to more than 630 organisations, including hospices, refuges and grief support services.
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That work comes from 3,581 active volunteers across 32 chapters, from the Bay of Islands to Invercargill. The head office team is the equivalent of just three full-time staff.
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Part of what makes it work is how easy they make it to take part. Volunteers choose when they bake or deliver, the induction is simple and online, and a no-questions-asked fund supports anyone who needs help to get involved. People who don’t bake can still help as drivers or committee members, and 44% of volunteers have stayed on the roster for more than two years.
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Volunteer Manager Sara Mitchell also won Leader in Volunteer Engagement.
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Congratulations to everyone involved, and to the runners-up, IHC’s Volunteer Friendship Programme and Cathy Knowsley from Orange Sky Aotearoa.

16/10/2026

Good news to end the week on!
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GiveOUT Day has wrapped up, and Rainbow communities across Aotearoa have raised a record $112,362. Twenty-seven organisations around the country took part.
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The money goes straight to those organisations, to things like supporting Rainbow rangatahi, creating safe and welcoming spaces, running community programmes and preserving Rainbow history.
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Part of what made it special was matched giving. Businesses and sponsors, including Kiwibank, L’Oréal Groupe, Z Energy and Lion, helped fund a pool of more than $65,000, so donations could go twice as far while the match funding lasted. A $5 gift became $10.
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Congratulations to everyone involved. Happy Friday!

15/10/2026

Fundraising can be a good excuse to get people together.
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There are plenty of ways businesses can get their teams involved in supporting a cause, from organising a workplace sports day or sponsored challenge to hosting a quiz or team fundraiser.
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A few New Zealand examples:
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⠀⠀ - The Long Run, a team relay raising funds for the Child Cancer Foundation ⠀⠀
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⠀⠀ - MyMarathon, where workmates walk or run together to raise money for the Heart Foundation.
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⠀⠀ -⠀Red Nose Day, which gives workplaces ideas for fundraising activities, from dress-up days to team challenges.
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These activities give colleagues something to work towards together while raising money for causes that matter.

14/10/2026

Fewer New Zealanders are donating, but total giving is still growing.
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JBWere’s Outlook for Giving 2026 found that the share of Kiwis who donate fell from 68% in 2018 to 58% in 2024.
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Total giving is forecast to grow by around 3% this year. But once inflation is accounted for, giving in 2025 was roughly back where it was in 2018.
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So while the total amount given is holding up, a smaller share of people are contributing.
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What would it take to get more New Zealanders giving?
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Read the report: https://www.jbwere.co.nz/news-and-insights/outlook-for-giving-2026

08/10/2026

93% of arts projects on Boosted have hit their fundraising target this year!
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Boosted, the crowdfunding platform run by the Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi, has now helped Kiwis give almost $17 million to local artists since 2013, across more than 146,000 donations.
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One recent highlight: Objectspace’s 50/50 campaign for makers blew past its $80k goal, raising over $92k from 223 donors.
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See what’s being Boosted right now: thearts.co.nz/boosted

08/10/2026

Giving can change more than the person receiving it.
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We often talk about the impact of volunteering on the communities being helped. But a recent Newsroom article from VSA | Volunteer Service Abroad got us thinking about what happens to the volunteers too.
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Research involving more than 100 current and former international volunteers found many came home with a stronger understanding of different cultures, new skills and a greater involvement in their own communities.
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Some went on to support refugees, get involved in community advocacy or speak up more on issues close to home.
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The impact doesn’t necessarily stop when the volunteering does. Some of what people learn overseas comes back with them.
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Read the full article here: https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/10/01/what-international-volunteering-brings-back-to-new-zealand/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawUz7KBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mAWJyaWQRMXc5MHY0akdZZU5GWEg5ajRzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe5BIZeLD52H_UmTn-lqfomgYUb6rVJ9euubWRHAM95BL-nCg7sqkxo9VK17I_aem_8PmvvTW4Vek8RmV0wYk4vg =1791053887

International volunteering can build skills, cultural understanding and connections that New Zealanders bring home to workplaces and communities.

07/10/2026

What if money isn't the biggest thing stopping businesses from giving?
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A new report from the Charities Aid Foundation found that only 27% of UK businesses support charities in any way.
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But among businesses that don't give, just 18% said budget was the main reason, while 57% said they hadn't considered giving or didn't see the benefit.
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At the same time, 68% of private sector employees said they'd like their employer to give to charity, and 68% said they'd like to be asked which charities their employer should support.
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We don't have the same data for New Zealand, but it raises a question worth asking here too. Is the biggest barrier to business giving actually money, or is it making giving something the business thinks about in the first place?
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Budgets absolutely matter, but giving can take plenty of forms, like offering your services to a local group, donating products, or giving your staff time to help out. And a good first step might be the one employees are already asking for, which is simply asking your team which causes matter to them.

02/10/2026

In Hawke's Bay, there's a supermarket where you only pay what you can afford.
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Nourished for Nil runs social supermarkets in Napier and Hastings, where families facing food insecurity can shop for groceries in a supermarket setting. More than 5,400 people have already shopped at the Napier store.
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This week, local New World, Pak'nSave, Four Square and Gilmours owner-operators committed $160,000 in annual funding to support the charity's food rescue, food banks and social supermarkets.
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Supermarkets backing a supermarket. We love to see it!

Read more: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/local-supermarket-owner-operators-back-nourished-for-nil-with-160000-for-a-food-secure-hawkes-bay/AHWX667DKBHWDAAZ2VY3GEGIJY/