on Feb 26, 19

How Kiwibank put the heart back into giving for Christmas

Kiwibank is all about Kiwis making Kiwis better off. So giving the gift of giving back was ‘right on the money’ for them at Christmas.

Kiwibank has almost 2,500 staff across New Zealand and has typically recognised them at Christmas-time with traditional (and practical) gifts, like keep cups and refillable drink bottles.

Staff have told the bank they prefer any gifts to be sustainable and to be good for NZ. And Kiwibank’s senior leaders like it that way too.

So for Christmas Kiwibank surprised staff with the most sustainable and ‘good’ gift they could find — the gift of giving to others.

Kiwibank gave every staff member a Good Gift Card from The Good Registry, which they could use to make donations to their favourite charities via The Good Registry website.

Kiwibank’s Erin Quigley says the gift was a huge hit. 

“When we think about our values at Kiwibank, it felt so right. It was important for us to transition into doing something that was more about how our people could benefit the people of New Zealand because that’s what we do as a business.

“Our people have been telling us they wanted things that were more sustainable and gave more benefit out there in the community. I don’t think this was what they expected, but I think it blew their expectations.”

Kiwibank has been working consciously to align its values and its actions across every part of the business, so Erin says it felt right to give its people the opportunity to give back instead of giving them gifts.

And the results were phenomenal. 

Erin says many staff said it was the best gift they’d ever received (“and not even just the best corporate gift”). They loved choosing their charities to support, and it created lots of new connections and conversations.

“People really enjoyed being able to choose where the money was going. And it was awesome because people were sitting down in the cafe and talking with people they had never met before and sharing where their money was going. We are all about connection and it was cool to see it bring our people together and have those discussions.

“Everyone had their own causes they’ve supported in the past and they were delighted to be able to give to the charities that they love. There are also charities people hadn’t heard of before - so people were reading about the work those charities do, and then making sure the charities they gave to felt right for them and that they were helping people that might not get a lot of support already.”

The Good Registry has more than 60 partner charities and Erin says it was enlightening to see the range of charities that Kiwibank’s people gave to, and to hear personal stories about why they chose those charities. 

She says giving Good Gift Cards was “100 per cent, the right thing to do”. 

“It’s so good to be giving something where the money stays in the country and makes a real impact for New Zealand, and something that all people can resonate with, as opposed to trying to find a gift that fits all.”

If you'd like to give a Good Gift Card to someone you care about, you can buy them here. Or for big orders for a business, conference or special event, please contact us by emailing [email protected] and we'll help to make it extra simple for you. 

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