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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/

01/10/2026

Did you know NZ's for-purpose sector is about the same size as financial and insurance services?

A new report from JBWere and the University of Waikato puts the sector's contribution at $25.8 billion, or 5.7% of GDP once volunteering is counted. That's ahead of agriculture, forestry and fishing.

Behind that number are 231,000 paid workers and more than 930,000 volunteers. Non-profits aren't a side note to the economy. They're operating at the scale of a major industry.

30/09/2026

If a business asks its customers to donate at the checkout, should it match what they give?
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Round-ups, token boxes and add-ons at the till are becoming more common across Aotearoa. They're an easy way for people to give. But it also means the money is coming from customers, while the business is the one whose name sits next to the cause.
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Some businesses already do this. A $1 donation becomes $2. The customer chooses to give, the business backs them, and hundreds of small everyday transactions can turn into something much bigger.
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So is matching the fairer approach? Or is giving customers the option to donate enough on its own?
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And where should that money go? The local sports club down the road, a national charity, or whichever cause customers choose?

25/09/2026

Some good news for Dunedin to end the week!
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Ace Websites is offering five free website builds to Dunedin businesses.
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It's their way of giving back to the community that's supported them, and we think it's a pretty cool idea.
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Giving back doesn't always have to mean a donation. Sometimes it's just using your skills to help someone else.
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Love seeing local businesses support each other.

See more of what they're offering:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19HfhXWNn9/

24/09/2026

When we think about business giving, the big names usually come to mind first. But some of the most consistent giving in Aotearoa comes from much smaller businesses: the café that supports the school fundraiser or the local operator who donates to a community cause.
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Early figures we've gathered from Otago businesses suggest some are donating up to 1.2% of their revenue, while among New Zealand's largest businesses, around 0.1% sits at the top end. The dollar amounts may be smaller, but proportionally, local businesses are giving a lot.
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Much of this giving is grounded in relationships, because communities back the businesses that back them, and it often goes unrecognised.