Generosity Generator

What is Generosity Generator?

The Funding Network NZ (TFN NZ) was a national charity focused on strengthening the capacity of small Kiwi grassroots charities, and inspiring generosity. We first partnered with TFN NZ for their #HelpFromHome online fundraising event during 2020 and 2021, when in-person fundraising for charities wasn’t a viable option due to pandemic restrictions.

In early 2022, TFN NZ piloted the Generosity Generator, an online fundraising training programme co-facilitated by Tim Pare and Anusha Bhana (co-leads of TFN NZ). Generosity Generator was born out of a need for a comprehensive training programme tailored for small charities, that would both teach the skills needed to run a successful crowdfunding campaign, and provide an opportunity to raise vital funds for their work. We partnered with TFN NZ to deliver the Generosity Generator.

The pilot programme launched in February 2022, and taught the essentials of how to create, promote and run a successful crowdfunding campaign. These skills were then put to practice with a 12 day campaign on Givealittle.
The programme consisted of a welcome session, 4 live online training sessions, 6 weeks for charities to prepare their campaign, followed by the campaign itself. TFN NZ and Givealittle walked alongside charities as they prepared and provided professional resources and templates, 1:1 advice and comprehensive support.

For participating charities, Generosity Generator was a worthwhile investment in supporting them to diversify their funding streams and grow their giving community. As a training programme it embedded best practice online fundraising knowledge through practical application, to help small charities build a solid foundation for a more financially sustainable future.

Generosity Generator wins at the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (FINZ) Awards August 2022!

The Events
GG#1: February - April 2022
GG#2: August - September 2022
GG#3: March - May 2023
GG#4: Sept - Nov 2023

The Impact
4 Generosity Generator intakes & national online crowdfunding events
123 small Kiwi charities
$895,164 raised (includes match funding & post-event donations)
The GG pilot programme won the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (FINZ) Excellence in Innovation award in August 2022.
Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand (ICWNZ) won the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (FINZ) Fundraising Newcomer of the Year in August 2022.

TFN NZ Closure & legacy project
Due to limited funding and capacity, TFN NZ made the decision to close as a charity on 31st March 2024.
You can check out the TFN NZ impact story here: https://tfn-nz.shorthandstories.com/the-funding-network-nz/

In their time working with small Kiwi charities, they learned a lot about the challenges small charities face, the limitations they have in terms of fundraising and the compromises they sometimes have to make to ensure that their cause remains the top priority. They also listened to feedback from their event and training programme alumni on what would be the most effective and useful way to support them going forward.

With all that in mind, in 2024 Anusha (former co-facilitator of GG) will be developing a free, self-paced online course based on the successful Generosity Generator programme, in partnership with Givealittle. The course will be a masterclass in the essentials of online fundraising taught through expert-led video tutorials, short quizzes and ready to use resources for download. A release date is yet to be announced.

If you would like to be notified about the release of the course, please contact Michaela at Michaela@givealittle.co.nz.