Giving Tuesday bringing joy to the world

Eleanor Cater
Executive Officer, CFNZ
Giving Tuesday 3rd December 2019

There is no doubt that Kiwis are really good at giving. The World Giving Index assessment of global generosity released in October showed New Zealand was the only country to feature in the top ten most generous countries every year for the past decade, a statistic that I'm sure won't surprise many of us who live in the land of the long white cloud.

Today Giving Tuesday, a global day celebrating giving and generosity, is a time for us to say a heartfelt *thank you* to the Kiwis who are changing communities through their generosity.

A trend we see emerging is that more and more donors are wanting to see the results of their giving, casting a more strategic eye over their philanthropic decisions, a shift that is also being seen across the world: givers are caring more and more how money translates to impact, and becoming more results focused.

And giving with a strategic eye doesn’t only apply to individuals either, in our line of work we find that corporate giving is no different. Effective giving can provide real joy to the giver, whether they be an individual or for the staff of a multi-layered corporate structure that has the ability to give back with might and with purpose.

Research shows that corporates are also getting more mindful and more strategic with their giving and this Giving Tuesday we are really proud to be partnering with one particular initiative with our founding strategic partner, Craigs Investment Partners (Craigs).

Craigs have been a long-time supporter of community foundations across the country, and they have developed with us a really thoughtful giving programme which has 3 parts:

1) purposeful Christmas giving to causes in communities in lieu of corporate gifts

2) targeted workplace giving (where individual employee donations are matched 1:1 with Craigs donations), and

3) establishing their own national Craigs community fund which will be invested to do great work for the future

In reality givers of all kinds like to consider different options for their giving and Craigs have really embraced the thoughtful, strategic giving concept, embodying the shift we are seeing across New Zealand.

It’s hardly surprising. Giving with purpose is a far more fulfilling way to give. Effective giving brings great joy and corporate giving can be a real win/win, nurturing a purposeful team-building culture at the same time as helping to build strong communities across the country.

So this Giving Tuesday we say a heartfelt thank you Kiwis for your immense generosity, from small children fundraising for their favourite cause (like Eddie Writes in Wellington) through to Craigs Investment Partners contributing around $150k to communities this Christmas, so many are playing their part to thoughtfully and generously transform our country for the better - bringing joy to the world one thoughtful gift at a time through their local Community Foundation.

Aroha.