New research on giving

Eleanor Cater
Executive Director
CFNZ
25 February 2020

The long-awaited NZ Support Report by JBWere and Philanthropy New Zealand is out this week and it includes some really interesting research on giving trends across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Some research points of note include: structured philanthropy is an area of growing interest and bequests are becoming more significant (we certainly see this in our work). Corporate giving is an opportunity not so well developed (again, we see increasing opportunities for corporates to exhibit real social responsibility). Welfare and social services are increasingly being supported and strong growth is expected to education and environmental causes.

And Community Foundations get a good plug as ‘one to watch’, a significant opportunity for the future, which makes a lot of sense as we can respond well to the changing trends of philanthropy and meeting people’s needs and aspirations for their community.

Though internationally our model has been around for over 100 years, here in NZ we are a young movement of place-based philanthropy and we are really delighted to be of note on New Zealand’s funding map so early in our lifetime.

Our core strategy is around harnessing the generosity of a region through invested endowment building, and bequests are a key part of that strategy. This strategy obviously takes enormous integrity, an unwavering belief in the model … and significant time.

Today with over $130m in funds under management the combined total for our collective anticipated gifts is already estimated to be over $350m. These are amazing results for a young movement, it bears out NZ’s reputation as one of the most generous nations on earth and it makes us reflect on what a powerhouse of community funding local Community Foundations will become in the years to come.

At this point I think it’s important to note that Community Foundations are only the safeguarders of community funds. The real heroes here are the generous people, organisations and businesses across Aotearoa New Zealand. Every day in our work we see extraordinary acts of personal generosity in communities, from people leaving a significant portion of their estate to targeted workplace giving or personal giving circles, increasingly New Zealanders are signing up to be a part of local community transformation.

This report unravels some of the emerging giving trends we are seeing and we thank our key supporter Philanthropy NZ who, alongside JBWere, have conducted this research to help inform and guide decisions for the future.

Ngā mihi maioha, enjoy the read, and consider the possibilities!

Read the report here