Unique One NZ digital fundraiser supports dozens of charities.

A charity helping to transform the lives of young Kiwis is itself being helped by money donated through telecommunications operator One New Zealand’s One Good Kiwi programme.

Kiwi Christmas Books (KCB) is using their funding to donate new books to struggling schools in low socio-economic areas. It is one of over 100 charities working with rangatahi (young people) who have received One Good Kiwi funding from One NZ in the last two years.

KCB Chair, Connie Buchanan, says in most cases the schools would not have had the funds to provide books for the students themselves: “Every pair of hands along our Kiwi Christmas Books chain is powered by the same belief – books open up worlds, offer hope, teach thinking, encourage empathy and transform lives,” she says in the charity’s 2024 Impact Report.

Buchanan believes books are objects of resistance. “What are we resisting? Not an army smashing with boots at the door, but the things that seep more quietly into homes and limit the lives of so many of our kids. Poverty, mainly, but also the absence of parents taken by long hours at work, or addictions, or into prison.”

As part of their brand transformation from Vodafone NZ to One New Zealand, the Telco giant wanted to give back to Kiwi rangatahi in a sustainable, digital and fun way. One NZ launched One Good Kiwi (OGK) in September 2022, with a unique way of distributing money – each month it divvies up $100,000 - $1.2 million a year – among youth charities featured on the app.

The amount each charity receives is up to the New Zealand public; they choose where the money goes. Anyone can download the app and have their say, not just One NZ customers. Each month, visitors to the app get to swipe through the charities and flick where their 10 OGK tokens go – some call it ‘Tinder for giving’, according to One NZ’s brand lead, Jane King.

Since 2022, 3.7m tokens have been flicked to charities and each month an average of 32,000 visits are made to the website and app. In that time, there have been over 50,500 downloads of the app, and One New Zealand says it is forever growing and are encouraging as many people as possible to get involved, download the app and get giving.

As well as books, other One Good Kiwi donations to charities have gone to amazing benefits and services such as swimming lessons, music classes, road safety instruction, mental health services, creative art courses, warm clothing, even birthday cakes, and so much more. One Good Kiwi aim to support as many kaupapa as possible in their quest to fund rangatahi charities.

King says One NZ research shows Kiwi want to give more to charities but don’t have the money to do so. Through One Good Kiwi, she says they can have their say without needing to call on their own money: “We want to make giving fun, put it in the hands of Kiwi and let them go where their passion is. Or just distribute it evenly – the choice is theirs.”

The 100 charities currently receiving funding from One Good Kiwi have been able to do some incredible things:

• The Cake Detective – One Good Kiwi funding has paid for 914 birthday cakes for kids who would ordinarily go without one on their birthday.
• John Walker Find Your Field of Dreams Foundation – has provided 1640 free water safety sessions including instruction, transport, lane hire, entry fee and progress tracking.
• Nelson Centre of Musical Arts - the money has helped with operating costs so the centre can offer free beginner music classes and allowed it to keep fees down for its group lessons and youth orchestra.
• Nurturing Families - the funds have gone towards the purchase of second-hand bassinets, cots, prams and car seats. It has been able to help over 400 children with the One Good Kiwi money so far!
• Play It Strange – five young songwriters have had their songs recorded in a professional studio and put on Spotify.
• Road Safety Education Limited - 315 rangitahi have been able to complete the Road Safety Education’s RYDA programme for 16-to-18-year-olds for free!
• Young Enterprise Trust – funds have covered the cost for 19 students to participate in the Young Enterprise Scheme, Youth Inspire Empowerment through Technology, for a whole year. The trust also plans to allocate a significant portion of the funds to replace outdated laptops for young community members.

King says One Good Kiwi “spotlights and gives a platform to grass-roots charities, most of which don’t have many opportunities (due to cost and resources) to get national exposure”.

On the first of every month, One NZ drops $100,000 One Good Kiwi. “Each token represents a share of this money,” she says. “At the end of every month, we look at the number of tokens given to each charity and provide them with a share of the $100,000 relevant to the number of their tokens.”

Each charity is listed about two to three times a year with around 10 on the website and app every month. At a minimum, each charity walks away with $1000, regardless of how many tokens they get from the public or even if they have received no tokens or votes.

One charity has received over $100,000 during the two years One Good Kiwi has been operating, while others are up to $70,000-$80,000.

“The need for corporate funding is increasing and our approach ensures that each charity we represent receives sustainable, ongoing funding. It’s not just about being a corporation chucking a whole lot of cash and moving on to something else.

“One NZ is doubling down on helping the youth of New Zealand through both One Good Kiwi and Te Rourou One Aotearoa Foundation (formerly, Vodafone NZ Foundation).”

King says the charities benefit in other ways in the months they are featured: 43 per cent say it increases traffic to their website, 43 per cent experience an increase in social media, 55 per cent claim an increase in engagement and 18 per cent say they receive more donations.

For more information, download the One Good Kiwi app and get swiping or visit onegoodkiwi.one.nz