What drives generosity and what gets in the way?

Eleanor Cater
CEO
2 March 2026

Community foundations work with many generous Kiwis who want to do something significant for their communities. It's our honor and privilege to work with individuals who care about their communities, working to understand what makes them tick, what they care about and how they might choose to shape their giving to create a better world.

One thing is for sure: every giver is different. No motivations are the same.

So, we are curious. Are there any key drivers that encourage Kiwis to give? What causes do we care about? Do we like structured or more spontaneous forms of giving? What barriers get in the way? What do we really think of words like philanthropy, generosity, donation, koha?

Kiwis are known to be very generous, we are consistently high on the World Giving Index (for many years in the ’Top 10’), but in recent years this has been slipping. We are currently at 17^th (behind Australia at 8^th). Does this tell a very Kiwi tale or is there something else going on? Do different demographics – cultures, ages, geographical locations - have different views around giving and generosity? Do people give differently when faced with the challenges of the world? Are there strategies that could encourage Kiwis to discover more purposeful and fulfilling giving pathways?

Your invitation

From today, Monday March 2nd, we're inviting people across the country to take part in the Giving in Aotearoa NZ survey, to help build a clearer picture of how Kiwis give their time, money, support and manaakitanga within our communities.

Have your say. Tell us what you think and perhaps, through this process, we can gain insights and spark conversations which help to purposefully shape the future of a truly Kiwi culture of giving.

Complete the survey here >>