While there are so many worthwhile causes to support in New Zealand, many people also see the need internationally, and want to donate to charities based in other countries, but need inspiration or advice to do so. That’s why, in July, we hosted Beyond our Shores, an event in Auckland highlighting the many ways that donors can give to international causes, with a specific focus on locally-led grassroots causes and tax-effective giving from NZ.
Our Executive Director Cheryl Spain opened the event by sharing how The Gift Trust can support tax-effective giving by New Zealand donors to international charities. She then shared the story of Humans for Abundance (HFA), an organisation in Ecuador which is supported by our donor Jill Ford and her Feminista Fund. Jill has a mission to support projects in developing countries that empower, improve the lives of, and reduce inequality for women and girls. She has been a great advocate and supporter of HFA’s Children of the Forest School, which teaches local children in their indigenous language, and merges traditional knowledge with a progressive environmental education.
Cheryl was followed by Geneva Loftus from Move92, who told the fascinating story of how she became an advocate for international giving. Her many journeys and roles built a jigsaw of knowledge and caring that has led her organisation into so many intriguing places. One of the stories she told was of a $17,000 gift that transformed transformed the lives of so many people in Phaplu, Nepal, by building a bike track. The story reinforced her main theme, of how powerful a small gift can be when given directly to locally-led groups who know their community and their greatest needs.
Finally, Michelle Reddy from Pacific Feminist Fund embraced Pasifika storytelling or ‘tok stori’ by laying out the impact on the Pacific of nuclear testing, climate change and colonisation. She spoke about giving in the Pacific; how it is seen as sharing, and how the concept of ‘sharing for the greater good’ is a commonly used term in most Pacific languages.
And then her stories began. They were all inspirational and fascinating, filled with incredible women working and sharing together all over the Pacific. Everyone who attended had their favourite – mine being the ‘Cow Gals’, a Fijian group formally known as the Naitasiri Women in Dairy Cooperative. They take turns to visit each members’ farms where they regularly allocate a whole day of clearing and tilling the land.
Michelle ended her presentation with a challenge: as hard as it is right now to know how to give well, it is not a time for inaction. She encouraged donors to seek information on where the funds are needed, to ‘share for the greater good’, and she challenged us all to “hold the line”.
