Good in the Hood has evolved and improved since launching in 2011.

To grow young minds and help children succeed, sometimes you need to let them get their hands dirty. That’s something Michelle Turner has seen first-hand while working for the charity Oke, which provides gardens for schools to use as outdoor classrooms. “So many kids who don’t do well in a traditional classroom thrive when you get them outside in the garden,” Michelle says.

Being part of Z Energy’s Good in the Hood campaign is a fantastic opportunity for Oke, she says. The funds help provide schools with supplies such as garden mix, tools, fruit trees and vegetable seedlings, as well as teaching assistance from an Oke School Mate. “We’re a really small charity so fundraisers like Good in the Hood help us a lot. It’s also really fun,” says Michelle.

Z’s Good in the Hood programme began in 2011 as a way to give back to the Christchurch community after the earthquakes. In 2013, it launched nationwide, and since then Z has donated more than $10 million through the initiative.

Its support has been shared between grassroots community groups and local branches of nationwide organisations across New Zealand, including Tōtara Hospice, Howick-Botany Neighbourhood Support, Warriors Community Foundation, Mana Inc, Meat the Need and Sk8 it 4ward.

Abbie Bull, Z’s Head of Sustainability and Community, says over the years the initiative has evolved to better align with community needs. “It’s all about striving to make the greatest social impact,” she says. “We’ve continued to review and improve the programme to support those communities across our Z station network who really need it.”

Good in the Hood sees Z share $1 million annually with community groups across the country, with each Z service station selecting four local groups to receive a share of the funds. Customers who shop in-store during the month-long voting period then get to have a say in how the money is shared between the local groups at each site, by using an orange token to vote for their favourite organisation.

It’s a hyper-local model that has won support from Z’s staff, customers and the involved community groups. For Z Retailers Wayne and Mel Kennerley, the real magic of Good in the Hood lies in its deeply localised approach.

“Our team really enjoys getting to showcase the local groups. So many of them are regular customers and lots of the groups know our staff by name, which I think it makes the connections stronger,” says Mel.

Abbie says a key driver for the programme’s evolution over the past decade has been to make it easier for local groups to apply for, and receive, funding.

“We commissioned the Ākina Foundation to help us develop a social impact model in 2021 which led us to make our application process more straightforward. We also did an internal review in 2022 of which groups are applying for funding and which causes are being supported, which led us to question what groups might face disproportionate barriers to accessing funding.”

Another focus during the last few years has been to better represent the communities that Z serves. The internal review highlighted that less Māori groups and communities were applying for the funding, and advice from charity sector experts suggested that the application process and mass marketing may be less effective in reaching Māori.

To address this, Z worked with charity founder Dave Letele of BBM (Brown Buttabean Motivation) as a programme advocate to help build national awareness of the Good in The Hood funding opportunities with Māori groups and communities.

“Dave has successfully engaged with Māori and Pasifika communities through his own charitable mahi, so it was great to have him on board. We worked with Dave as a community ambassador to raise the profile of the programme and to communicate our aims in a more authentic way that encourages a broader range of groups to apply for the funding.”

The approach is working, with Abbie estimating the number of Māori groups applying for funding has tripled over the past couple of years. “Our ultimate goal is to have at least 17% of Māori-led or kaupapa Māori-led groups supported by Good in the Hood.”

One such kaupapa Māori-led project is South Auckland’s Kai Ika, which repurposes fish parts that would otherwise be thrown away to minimise waste. Since its establishment in September 2016, more than 400,000kg of discarded fish parts have been collected and redistributed to the community, as both a food source and nutrient for the environment.

In 2023, Z launched its regional boost initiative as part of Good in the Hood programme, after discussions at Z about how to best support the most in-need communities across the Z station network. “After referring to the index of deprivation as a guide, we decided to provide a funding boost to community groups across Kaikohe, Kaitaia and Kawerau, with $40,000 being shared with some incredible organisations, like Kaikohe Foodbank.”

Abbie says, looking to the future, the team is focused on continuing to support grassroots Kiwi communities. “I think Good in the Hood has really gone from strength to strength. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the programme continues to evolve in the coming years and to remain relevant for what matters most in our communities.”

More information about Good in the Hood is available on Z’s website.