Sunrise workplace giving is an easy way for companies to help their employees give back to our local community with regular donations through their payroll system.
It is simple for both employer and employee.
Companies aren't required to contribute any money up front.
All a company needs to do is
- Enable staff to donate through the payroll system (we can help set this up)
- Include workplace giving information in induction packs for new staff
- Give us the opportunity to talk to your staff about workplace giving. We keep presentations short and can do them in small groups to minimise the impact on our business. There is no obligation on your employees to participate.
Not only is workplace giving an easy way for people to donate a little often, it also has the added bonus of an immediate tax benefit.
Employees receive an immediate tax credit for their donations, instead of having to retain their receipts and wait until the end of the year to claim a rebate.
For every dollar donated they receive a third back as a tax credit in the same pay period. If you donate $7.50, the government pays $2.50 of that meaning only $5 is deducted from your pay packet.
Workplace giving is a very powerful way for our community to support itself and build a strong legacy for the future.
Download and print the workplace giving factsheet
If workplace giving isn't available where you work, please contact us and we can help you set that up. Or you could set up regular payments with an automatic payment through your bank.
Superstars of workplace giving donate $36,566
Henry Lamont, Laura Biddle, Marnie Evans, Violet Crawford and Billy Babbington are among the superstars at Turanga Health that donate to our community every week through Sunrise Workplace Giving.
Turanga Health joined Sunrise’s workplace giving scheme in 2015, offering their staff the opportunity to donate to Sunrise every pay day through their payroll system.
In the first seven years that workplace giving has been in place Turanga Health has become the superstar of workplace giving. During that time 22 people have given, from as little as $5 per week, and the total amount donated was a whopping $36,566.
Billy Babbington and Laura Biddle were among the first to join workplace giving, they have been donating every week since July 2015. Billy says “it’s great being part of workplace giving. I don’t miss the money I donate every week and I really enjoy giving to a cause that is helping our community.”
Laura agrees that it’s been easy to do and says “it’s important to me that Sunrise is a local charity and my donations are going to help build a more prosperous Tairāwhiti for my mokopuna.”
Violet Crawford, Marnie Evans and Henry Lamont started donating last year and have requested their donations go into the Vanessa Lowndes Fund at Sunrise.
Vanessa Lowndes Centre builds confidence and prepares people with mental, physical or intellectual disabilities, for employment.
Vanessa Lowndes Turanga Trust has promised to match, dollar for dollar, all donations to the Vanessa Lowndes Fund at Sunrise.
Violet believes strong support from the top is the reason workplace giving has been so successful at Turanga Health. She says “there is good leadership at Turanga Health. It is awesome what the whole team does for whanau, we are very blessed.”
Sunrise workplace giving is not only an easy way to give back to the community, it also has an immediate tax benefit. For every dollar donated, the government pays one third, which is a win-win situation for both the donor and Sunrise.
Violet has chosen to donate $7.50 a week, of which the government pays $2.50, meaning her pay packet is down just $5.00, and as Violet says “that’s only a cup of coffee a week”.
Henry Lamont says “the Sunrise form was in the induction pack when I started, from there it was easy to sign up. My daughter has a disability, so naturally the Vanessa Lowndes Fund resonates with me.”
Marnie Evans had heard of Sunrise before joining Turanga Health, but says this was the first opportunity for her give a little bit each week through workplace giving.
“The Vanessa Lowndes Centre has a special place in my heart, so I’ve asked that my donations go to their fund. The fact that Turanga Health is doubling my donation just topped it off for me”.
Workplace giving a breeze for Coates
The team at Coates Associates collectively donated over $11,000 in their first three years of Sunrise Foundation Workplace Giving.
Coates partners Robyn Tomlinson and Mitchell McFarlane championed workplace giving for their staff and set it up through their payroll system so anyone working there can automatically donate to Sunrise every pay day.
They have given to a wide variety of causes, including the Sunrise General Fund, Cancer Society Gisborne East Coast, Disability, Gisborne SPCA, Gisborne Women’s Refuge, Swim for Life Tairawhiti, Tairawhiti Community Law Centre and Wainui Surf Lifesaving Club funds.
People give what they can, some as little as $5, or a cup of coffee a week.
Corrina Henry has been giving to the Cancer Society Gisborne East Coast fund as she has friends and family affected by cancer. She says it’s nice to know her contributions are going towards helping those affected by cancer in our local community.
She added that it was quite neat seeing how much she’s donated in such a short time. “Robyn and Mitchell really backed workplace giving and I think that was what gave a lot of us a good push to come onboard and start donating too. Once you start it’s easy and I don’t miss the little bit I’m giving every payday.”
Carnie Nelson does the payroll at Coates and says “it was a breeze to set up. From a payroll admin point of view there’s not much to do. Once a team member has signed up I add them to the direct credit schedule and payroll, it’s seamless.”
Carnie gives to the Disability Fund as her family has had firsthand experience of the difficulties of living with a disability. She says she only supports local charities and what appeals to her about Sunrise is only one percent of donations can be used to cover administration costs.
“It bothers me that many charities use a large percentage of donations to cover marketing and salaries. A huge attraction of Sunrise is that 99 percent of donations go back to our community and all the funds stay local.”
Glenda Stokes, Sunrise Executive Officer, says the team at Coates are proving that giving a little bit often is easy and really does make a difference.
“Every payday the team at Coates are giving small drops of generosity that will eventually form a flood of impact in our community.”
Workplace giving donors drive establishment of fund for local SPCA
Animal lover Tracey Lloyd donates to the Gisborne SPCA Endowment Fund every week through workplace giving. Tracey is pictured here with Glenda and canine friends Molly and “Benny 3 Legs” who is an SPCA rescue dog.
A special interest endowment fund requires a $5000 establishment donation. Because there was a fair bit of interest from donors wishing to give to our local SPCA through Sunrise workplace giving we approached two donors we knew had an affinity to SPCA and asked if they would like to help establish a fund for them.
The two donors, who wish to remain anonymous, were thrilled to hear there was potential for regular giving to SPCA in Gisborne and didn’t hesitate to help seed the fund.
There are now people giving every pay day to the Gisborne SPCA Fund and it is growing steadily into what we believe will become a significant fund for animal welfare in Tairāwhiti-Gisborne.
SPCA is a beloved charity, many people feel passionate about animals and their care. As more people kept telling us they would like to help build a fund for our local SPCA it made us determined to work with donors and get a fund set up.
Tracey Lloyd is giving regularly to the Gisborne SPCA Endowment Fund through workplace giving. An animal lover that has always had pets, Tracey says she’s used SPCA often when she’s found animals she couldn't look after herself.
“I’ve always supported SPCA. I think people can look after themselves, but animals can’t, that’s where SPCA does such a great job.”
Tracey has been donating every week since workplace giving was introduced to The Gisborne Herald Group. Every pay day she gives $5, the price of a cup of coffee, which is automatically deducted from her wages and sent to Sunrise. She says, “I don’t even notice my donations going out and I don’t miss the money, as it’s not a lot each time.”
Tracey likes that she’s helping to build capital in the fund and it’s our local SPCA that will benefit from her donations.
”It’s a big thing to me that it stays in town, that’s what I like about it. You can donate directly to SPCA but not really be sure where that money is going. At least I know my donations are going to be used here.”
Gisborne Herald Group joins workplace giving
Gisborne Herald Group is the latest organisation to join the Sunrise Workplace Giving programme.
Catherine Chrisp, Gisborne Herald Group Company Accountant, says she was impressed with workplace giving as it makes it easy to give and donating $5 week is achievable for many people.
The Gisborne Herald Group, which includes Te Rau Press and Office Product Depot, are well known as philanthropic supporters of a wide range of causes across our community. Catherine says they are offering workplace giving to their staff because Sunrise is a local charity and all the funds stay in the Gisborne District. “These days you can’t always be sure the donation you give a charity isn’t going to disappear. Either out of the region, or wasted on overheads and admin costs. Sunrise doesn’t use any of the funds donated to pay for running costs and grants are only given to local charities and organisations. This was very appealing to us.”
The Eastland Community Trust, J N Williams Memorial Trust and Clark Charitable Trust have sponsored the running cost of Sunrise for the first five years. Glenda Stokes, Sunrise Executive Officer, says this support has allowed Sunrise to concentrate on growing funds and supporting those in need in our community. “It has also given donors the confidence that 100% of their donation will help make a difference to our community.”
She added “Sunrise workplace giving is a powerful way for our community to build a strong legacy for the future. If just one percent of the Gisborne district’s population donated $5 a week that would equate to over $170,000 per year. If those people gave for ten years, their donations (including income retained to protect the donations from inflation) would grow to over $2 million – all for the price of a cup of coffee.
Catherine added that Sunrise’s endowment model (all donations are invested, protected and grown in line with inflation) is reassuring as the funds will be there for future generations to benefit from. The surplus investment income is distributed to charities and organisations in the Gisborne District. She believes the Sunrise granting process, where applicants apply for funding for specific projects and are obligated to report back how the funds were spent, ensures there is transparency and eliminates wastage. “Workplace giving is sustainable giving with clear outcomes and accountability.”
Staff at the Gisborne Herald, Te Rau Print and Office Product Depot can now donate to The Sunrise Foundation automatically through payroll and will not only get to see their donations working in our community, they will also enjoy an immediate tax benefit. If someone chooses to donate $7.50 a week, the government pays $2.50 of that (PAYE), meaning only $5 is deducted from their pay packet.
Tracey Lloyd and Catherine Chrisp (Gisborne Herald) with Kerry and Glenda, Sunrise
