Arron Perriam
Executive Director
Community Foundations of NZ
13 September 2022
It is understood generosity is a product of both nature and nurture, so researchers are now teasing apart just how much of a role genetics play.
Whilst they do this, I’ll put it out there that Kiwis are a mighty generous bunch, featuring regularly in the top handful of countries for generosity on the World Giving Index, donating circa $4 billion dollars to charitable causes in 2021, and volunteering their time to make a difference.
The brilliant thing about ‘GeneRosity’ is it's entirely up to the individual to express their generosity in the form, financial or focused manner which they themselves determine.
Increasingly we’re seeing people give in different ways. Whether it's responding to a shaken bucket street side or gifting digital currency, it seems the possibilities are endless for expressing one’s generosity towards others.
With the rapid growth of Community Foundations across Aotearoa New Zealand we’re seeing more and more people choosing to give strategically, or more thoughtfully if you like. Labeled by some as ‘a new way of giving’, Community Foundations provide a trusted vehicle for Kiwis to make their generosity go further - in fact further than further, your generosity goes on forever benefiting the cause you care about most.
The fact that already Kiwis have thoughtfully entrusted $750 million of their generosity into the safe hands of Community Foundations proves the DNA of geneRosity in New Zealand is alive and well, and maturing like us all.
Dame Fran Wilde, Chair of Nikau Foundation (the Wellington region's community foundation) writes how donors are now thinking more strategically: "They are thinking about the future and want to make sure that they are maximising the impact of their philanthropic dollar..."
Read moreWith the cost-of-living crisis, the ongoing impacts of the global Covid pandemic and with increased natural disasters around the country in recent years, more New Zealanders are not only looking to support locally they are also leaving bequests in their wills to benefit their community...
Read moreMiriama Kamo writes about thoughtful giving that will have the most impact for Aotearoa....
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