Turia Thrilled with Top-Ranking for Generous New Zealanders

Community and Voluntary Sector Minister, Tariana Turia, has given credit to the ‘overwhelming generosity’ of New Zealanders in announcing a top ranking for Aotearoa New Zealand in the World Giving Index 2010 report released today by the Charities Aid Foundation.

“In the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes it is great to be able to share some good news” said Mrs Turia.

“Indeed, the generous spirit of New Zealanders has truly come to the fore in Canterbury this week, but of course we also see it everyday on our marae and in our community organisations, schools, and neighbourhoods.

The World Giving Index 2010 is based on data gathered through the Gallup WorldView World Poll. It has declared New Zealand and Australia as the two most giving nations in the world.

“The report shows that New Zealanders are particularly generous when it comes to giving money and helping strangers, but also in terms of volunteering” said Mrs Turia.

“As a nation we must celebrate our generosity and make sure that our decisions and our actions bolster it even further.

"For this reason I will be launching a new quarterly generosity indicators for New Zealand at the 20th Anniversary of Volunteering Auckland next week".

“Being identified as a generous nation reminds us that we have the capacity and the resource within us all to head off some of the complex challenges that we face as a society today.

“Let us be proud of our capacity to be kind – and work even harder to make sure that same generosity of spirit and kindness is valued in our homes as much as it is on the streets and across our communities”.

· This report reinforces favourable findings in the 2008 The New Zealand Non-profit Sector in Comparative Perspective report