By Sir Graeme Dingle
When we founded the Graeme Dingle Foundation (originally called the Project K Trust) 30 years ago this December, the process of fundraising was markedly different than it is today. The early days were very much hand-to-mouth, with much of the initial work done on a voluntary basis to minimise costs. Then Farmers, through its owner Wayne Walden, became the first corporate partner. We also ran fundraising events, applied for grants, and got an unsecured bank loan and a free office from ANZ bank.
The story is told in a new book that I have written, The Promise of One Tree Hill, which reflects on the origins of the Foundation and all it has achieved: as of 2025 it has delivered child and youth development programmes to over 411,000 young people across New Zealand.
As the potential pool for funds has grown along with our track record, our ambition has grown too. While we prepare to cross the threshold into the Foundation’s fourth decade we are realising long-term financial plans that will allow our work to continue indefinitely. These plans centre on what we call the Forever Fund and the goal to build a $100 million endowment fund which will deliver programmes to children and young people in every New Zealand region in perpetuity.
The social and economic case for the Forever Fund, and indeed for all the volunteer and financial support we receive, is solid: according to Infometrics analysis, for every $1 invested in the Foundation, $10.50 in value is delivered back to the New Zealand economy.
Like many New Zealand charities or charitable foundations which work in areas of high need across the country, we rely heavily on community funding, volunteering, and donations, and raise funds through avenues including corporate partnerships, grant funding via organisations such as Perpetual Guardian, fundraising events, and Givealittle.
Arguably the most significant shift in the 30 years of the Foundation’s life, in terms of its role as a fundraising entity, is the democratisation of digital functions and platforms that make giving easy, transparent, and reportable. The time, money, and other finite resources charities and foundations need to spend on fundraising can be a great drain on what is available to deliver core services. Any tool that helps direct funds to charities in more automated, low-touch ways, with minimal work on the part of donors, is a huge benefit to the entire New Zealand charitable sector and those who rely on it.
Certainly, those who work in and govern the non-profit sector are mindful of the need to stretch every dollar as far as possible and demonstrate to donors that we are stewarding funds responsibly and maximising the amount of money going straight to the cause. New Zealanders are extremely generous by global standards[1] and those at the charitable coalface want Kiwis to know that their goodwill is well placed.
One way our Foundation is seeking to streamline this process, and utilise the advantages offered by digital systems, is through digital bequests. We have established a partnership with the online Wills provider Footprint to offer Will-makers a 75% discount on their Will (meaning they pay just $25 for a Will) as a thank you for considering a gift in their Will to the Foundation.
Gifting in Wills can make an enormous difference to charities because the donated funds from an individual tend to be much greater than the average donation made in real time in response to a campaign or call for funds.
A huge advantage for donors, beyond the knowledge that they have meaningfully supported a cause close to their hearts, is that leaving a legacy in their Will is a promise to be realised later: it does not have any impact on their day-to-day spending capacity or compromise their ability to offer other charitable support as they move through their lives.
Though it’s lesser-known than many other ways to give, it could be one of the most powerful ways to support a charity – and while it’s always been very common for New Zealanders to name charities and non-profits as beneficiaries in their Wills, this digital model of bequesting is even more current and useful for charities because it brings the whole process into a digital space where changes and updates can be made more easily and readily.
[1] World Giving Index: https://good2give.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-CAF-World-Giving-Index.pdf
In our view, offering a pathway to make a bequest aligns with the long-term thinking that has informed the creation of the Forever Fund. When charities and foundations are in a position to plan a decade or more in advance and make both the business and social case to potential donors, along with offering another benefit in the form of a free or heavily discounted Will, people start thinking beyond the spontaneous gold coin in the tin and cement their plans for long-term giving.
Click here to learn more about leaving a gift in your Will.
Sir Graeme Dingle is known as the father of outdoor pursuits in New Zealand and has achieved hundreds of mountaineering, rock climbing, and adventuring firsts around the globe. Sir Graeme has dedicated 55 years of his life to improving outcomes for Aotearoa New Zealand’s young people. Alongside his partner Jo-anne Wilkinson, Lady Dingle, Sir Graeme founded the Graeme Dingle Foundation, which has nearly 30,000 young people in its programmes each year. He is a principal fundraiser for the organisation.