Charity can be a tough act

Raising money for a charitable cause is one of the toughest gigs I’ve ever had. Last week I watched with envy and fascination as two very different companies vied for our compassionate sweet-spot for very different causes.

Kiwibank supercharged our awareness of mental health issues while some old-fashioned Whittaker’s chocolate worked its magic for child welfare – both achieving a large dose of brand building and I’m sure a lot more brand loyalty.

For me, with my regional charity of choice – the Ka¯ piti Performing Arts Centre – I am deeply envious of charities that are smart and innovative enough to cut through the donation fatigue to get us to engage with their causes.

It feels like everyone is asking you for donations, on the phone at night on the street and in the mail. But, like many, I had no hesitation adopting the Kiwibank ‘‘I am hope’’ Facebook banner when it popped up on my personal account.

Kiwibank partnered with 2019 New Zealander of the year, Mike King, to support I Am Hope’s Gumboot Friday, which raises money to give kids free counselling.

I didn’t know at the time that by changing my profile I would be helping to push Kiwibank to invest up to $100,000 in the cause. But anything that helps try and address our growing mental health issues has my vote.

Late last year, I attended a funeral for a teenage boy who had taken his own life. It was an excruciating hour and a half witnessing mothers, fathers and teenagers tortured in their anguish at the indescribable loss and the fear that maybe they missed something that could have stopped this from happening. The grief was raw.

These days, it seems many people around me have been touched by suicide and mental ill-health issues either through friends, colleagues, children or parents. It feels like an epidemic.

So, Kiwibank reached into our hearts by focusing on an issue we not only care a hell of a lot about but are also grappling with what we can do about it. Meanwhile, Whittaker’s hit a literal sweet spot with its new fund-raising bars of ‘‘gender reveal’’ Coconut Ice Surprise – where buyers don’t know if they are getting a blue or pink block until they open it.

Whittaker’s will donate 20 cents a bar towards Plunket’s Raise a Bundle campaign, helping look after Kiwi kids in the first 1000 days of their life.

The colour of the bars caused a bit, well a lot, of a backlash. Blue for a boy and pink for a girl is a bit old fashioned in this gender non-binary world.

But the controversy simply resulted in more coverage and more people knowing about the new fund-raising chocolate. Who wins? Both Plunket and Whittaker’s.

So, while last week proved we can all be motivated to support charities and do the right thing, my heart goes out to the thousands of charities that can’t attract big corporate backing like our regional one.

I’m pretty sure Whittaker’s can make at least one more charity happy if they get back into the lab and start working out a rainbow coloured chocolate bar for Wellington’s Pride week in March, then I’m sure all this pink and blue nonsense will be forgiven.

Or maybe they’d like to raise the profile of my charity – the Ka¯ piti Performing Arts Centre – and design a throat enhancing chocolate that helps us all sing as well as Pink or Elton.

All for a good cause, of course.