Give where you live
Give where you live
Capacity Building through promoting philanthropy
Is your not for profit organization asking the right
questions ?
Helen Webster, Otago Community Trust Trustee and Owner of Topflight.
I am in my third year as a Trustee
of the Otago Community Trust. The coming year will be
one of the most challenging in our history given the very fragile state
of the global economy. As a group the Trustees are determined to protect the real value of the Trust
for future generations whilst continuing to provide positive balanced support
for the people of Otago today.
At the forefront of my mind is “How
as a Trust can we do more with less?” It occurs to me that we can all encourage
others to join us in growing a strong and vibrant community. We can promote the
“Give where you live” Philosophy by encouraging
and educating more individuals and businesses as to how they can give their
time, expertise and or money to empower their local community. Individuals live such busy lives these days they don’t always have time to donate but are
often in a position to make a financial donation.
We all know of some wonderful
examples, both small and large, where
business is teaming up with community to ensure some stunning projects and
festivals – my congratulations and thanks go out to those folk.
Some small examples from a personal
perspective
- “Payroll giving” is a
good way of embracing people. A small
regular contribution can make a very big difference one year of an
organization. A $40 donation per month (which is what our family contributes to
Main Street Youth in North Otago) amounts to an annual donation of $480. This multiplied by say 20 other families
giving the same amount suddenly amounts to $9,600 in one year - very real
support for an organization that is doing some great work with North Otago
young people. When our own children have long ago left home it gives me much
pleasure to meet and at times work with some of these great young people whose
leaders are helping create a more thoughtful, helpful and safer community. I can
share their story with pride.
- Our own business is a
birdseed and small animals feeds company called “Topflite”. We grow birdseed in North Otago. Topflite
sponsors Cage Bird Clubs shows which are managed and run by volunteers up and down the country. This promotes activity and encourages this
hobby in local communities whilst providing families with a unique show to
visit. We love mixing and mingling with
people who love to breed and care for birds.
At the same time we can gain much by learning what ingredients make for
a happy healthy bird. As a result we now
know that 96% of winning birds are fed Topflite seed. A great story for our business to share with
our customers. This is a real win/win
for clubs and our business.
- The National Bank Young
Farmer of the Year competition National Final was very recently held in
Dunedin. The National Bank working with
the Young Farmers organization. This is an excellent example of a Corporate
assisting capacity building in the Rural Community. The outcome is the building
of confidence in many young men and women who will go on to be leaders in our
communities. The National Bank can rightly
feel very proud.
- McKenzie Craik Limited
Chartered Accountants in Oamaru assist the Oamaru Community Garden Trust by
donating their Boardroom free of charge as a meeting place while providing
financial and professional services and access to the resources of their office.
. This is a fine example of a local
business adding capacity to a Not for Profit organization. Another great story to share.
There are many opportunities for appropriate
business/community organization teamwork. I think with some
education and encouragement we could convince more businesses to take a closer
look at their donations budget and ask themselves:
- Is their donations /sponsorship
budget making an impact ?
- Is the business getting
satisfaction?
- Does the business have a
great story to share with their customers?
Philanthropy was a defining feature of all of the seven
business people inducted into the Fairfax Media New Zealand Business Hall of
Fame last year. A growing number of
awards and honors are putting philanthropy right up there in recognizing the
value of people’s contribution to our
country. There is a growing trend towards this – it shows we as
New Zealanders are – growing up a bit
- a maturing of our culture that is more
accepting of success and the complex value intrinsic in giving and supporting
our communities.
By
us all continuing to ask the right questions of ourselves and others and creating a heightened awareness of how
people can “Give where they live” I believe as a community we can do more with
less.
