The Telecom Foundation Celebrates Successful Two Years

The Telecom Foundation Celebrates Successful Two Years

71% of Telecom staff participating in philanthropic programmes

Generosity is alive at the Telecom Foundation as the organisation celebrates its second birthday and the impressive involvement of its workforce in philanthropic programmes, showing it is a leading corporate foundation.

Telecom and the Telecom Foundation are proud that 71% of their workforce has participated in the charitable initiatives on offer from volunteering in the local community through to giving a portion of their pay to a charity of their choice.

Key milestones since launch in July 2011 include:

·         71% participation by Telecom workforce in one or more of the Telecom Foundation’s philanthropic programmes

·         $1.5 million dollars donated through Telecom’s payroll giving and matching programme with over 30% staff participation

·         3,764 volunteer days taken in the community and a 55% uptake across the Telecom workforce

·         Turned Givealittle into a zero fees fundraising platform, with the Foundation absorbing the admin fees – meaning 100% of donations go to the chosen cause

·         Donations to Givealittle have exceeded $1.5 million since Nov 2012, versus $2.3 million since Givealittle launched (four years prior to being acquired by the Telecom Foundation)

·         Givealittle recorded its most successful month ever this June 2013 with a record breaking $420,261 going to causes on the site (the June 2012 result was $51,382)

The Foundation has experienced a steady increase in uptake of their charitable programmes despite the workforce facing change.

Chair of the Telecom Foundation, Sir Bob Harvey is elated with the generosity of the Telecom workforce:

“We are so proud of the generous Telecom people who have embraced payroll giving and volunteering so warmly and in doing so, they have contributed to many worthy causes and organisations across the country. The Telecom Foundation is the shining star for Telecom people, I’m so pleased it’s here for them at the right time and clearly shows the commitment of Telecom to New Zealand and its communities” says Sir Bob.

The Foundation is the umbrella for all of Telecom’s charitable initiatives with a particular focus on creating a better future for Kiwi Kids and encouraging generosity; in two short years the organisation has become the proud owners of Givealittle.co.nz, developed a renowned payroll giving programme, successfully introduced a companywide volunteering programme and formed a partnership with the Manaiakalani Education Trust.

Givealitte showing strong growth

The Telecom Foundation acquired online fundraising website Givealittle in November 2012 and turned it into New Zealand’s only zero fees fundraising platform, ensuring 100% of all money raised reaches the cause. Since the acquisition, Givealittle has experienced significant growth.

“We are thrilled to see Givealittle going from strength to strength and truly believe the zero fees promise is highly valued and important to Kiwi’s fundraising, who wouldn’t want 100% of the money to go directly to the cause?” says Sir Bob.

Givealittle has also worked with various charitable organisations to implement custom built websites that incorporate the zero fees fundraising proposition. Most recently Givealittle and the Telecom Foundation worked together with Lifewise on the Big Sleep Out event to fundraise and create awareness around homelessness.

Sir Bob says: “We see huge opportunity to grow the contribution that Givealittle can make to charitable cause bottom lines through our zero fees approach and its custom app services. Powering the recent fundraising for Lifewise and the Big Sleep Out is a great example of this.”

Payroll giving programme contributes over $1.5M

Over 30% of Telecom’s workforce has participated in the Telecom Foundation’s payroll giving and matching programme since the Foundation launched two years ago with over $1.5 million dollars donated to charities and schools within New Zealand.

Telecom set aside $1 million at launch to support the organisations that employees donate to through payroll giving and matches dollar for dollar employee’s donations up to $1,000 for charitable organisations and $1,000 for schools per employee. The Telecom Foundation operates a universal payroll giving programme – which means employees can choose to donate to the organisation they want to, whether that's their child's school or a donation to their favourite charity.

Sir Bob says: “We are delighted that our payroll giving programme offers our people the choice to support organisations that are close to their hearts and it’s fantastic to see a wide variety of charities, schools and community groups benefiting from the donations”.

Over half of Telecom workforce involved with volunteering

The Telecom Foundation’s volunteering programme has been hugely popular with 3,764 volunteer days taken in the community and a 55% uptake across the Telecom workforce.

At Telecom, employees are encouraged to volunteer for a cause or organisation they are passionate about, whether it’s planting trees for an environmental organisation, helping an elderly neighbour with the gardening, answering phones or lending their brain to a local charity.

Manaiakalani Partnership supports Kiwi kids digital literacy

One of the core values of the Telecom Foundation is creating a better future for Kiwi kids and the Foundation announced its partnership with the Manaiakalani Education Trust in March this year. Through the partnership, the Telecom Foundation is supporting a cluster of 11 low-decile schools showing strong improvements in learning outcomes and student engagement through digital learning.

High profile board

The Telecom Foundation board comprises of three internal trustees including one staff member voted by Telecom employees and four external trustees; Sir Bob Harvey, University of Canterbury lecturer Dr Bronwyn Hayward, former Children’s Commissioner Dr John Angus and Mayor of Porirua City, Nick Leggett.

ENDS

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