From the heart
With “giving” as their ethos, these three organisations bring joy
to everyone they work with, from customers to colleagues.
Words Karl Puschmann
We all know the old saying that it’s better to give than receive. But it’s not just a theory, it’s actually been scientifically proven. Giving activates the pleasure part of your brain and releases chemicals that make you feel better. It’s also been proven that being given something makes a person more likely to become a giver themselves. It’s a powerful circle of good vibes.
It’s also an idea these three local companies have taken to heart. They were all started – and operate – with that idea front and centre. Whether that’s by inspiring you to gift a future memory, donate to charity, directly support a community, or even just treat yourself to something nice, they all make a difference in people’s lives through the philosophy of giving.
Life-changing chocolate
Glenn Yeatman is the managing director of Solomon’s Gold, a local chocolate brand that supports a whole community.
As far as helping others go, eating chocolate has to be one of the easiest – and most delicious – ways of doing so. But that’s what choosing a block of Solomon’s Gold over other chocolate does.
Since 2006 the local chocolatiers have had a factory in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. Today, they support over 60 cacao bean growers and their families.
“We do have a presence there. We've been there a long time,” Glenn Yeatman says. “We don't just put the factory at the wharf, load the cacao and ship it out. We get involved with the people in the plantations, we’ve built roads, heaps of stuff.”
Their focus on community is a point of pride for the artisan chocolate makers and makes a real difference in the quality of their bars, which they make with only organic ingredients.
“We could actually take you to the Solomon Islands and show you where the bean was grown,” he says. “That’s the difference between us and others. We know what the trees look like, we know the topography, everything. And that's the difference. It's not just a commodity, it's a story.”
This, he says, allows them to know the exact origin of their beans which allows them to get specific types from specific areas for their various types. As well as bean quality, Glenn says there’s also another upside.
“If you know what the origin has been, you know that you've treated the people well, and paid a good price.”
Giving memories
James Fitzgerald is one of the founders of Chuffed, a business that allows people to gift experiences.
James Fitzgerald describes the founding of Chuffed as “an act of desperation” born out of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
“When you have your back against the wall, you think differently to how you normally would when you're sitting in a comfortable, ‘everything's cruising along nicely’ position,” he says. “It seemed like a good idea, so we gave it a crack to see if it worked.”
The idea was great. Chuffed allows people to gift experiences rather than material objects. The company caters for personal occasions like birthdays, Christmas and weddings as well as businesses wanting to gift their staff or clients something more meaningful than the standard bottle of wine.
“Handing something over and receiving a box is actually a really important part of gift-giving as part of the showing of love or appreciation. The handing over is the gift-giving moment. There's so much value tied up,” he explains. “We have created physical gifts. People receive a box, open it up and it reveals that they've been given an experience. We tried to stick with what traditionally is the awesome thing about giving gifts, but make it so the gift is actually a real-life experience.”
Receivers have a range of experience options to choose from. Everything from adventurous escapes, relaxing getaways, thrill-seeking activities or wining and dining. Each package offers over 80 local experiences to select from.
This is a big part of Chuffed that James is, well, chuffed about. Connecting their local partners with people they otherwise may not have reached.
“A lot of them are small family businesses. What we've been able to do through gift giving, is connect people that might have otherwise received a bread board or a bottle of champagne with the small Kiwi businesses around the country,” he explains. “Suddenly, these small family businesses and in Raglan, Tauranga, Taupō or wherever have Aucklanders turning up on the doors to do their experience. Chuffed’s had a real meaningful effect on their businesses and their families.”
“We get a real thrill when the invoices come in from the partners and the whole cycle of the gift has happened,” he smiles.
It sounds like Chuffed may be the only company out there that actually enjoys paying out money.
“Yeah,” he laughs. “It is a good feeling because you know it’s been working. It’s great!”
Paying it forward
Rohan McClosky is a founder of GoGenerosity, a service that helps people help businesses help the less fortunate.
The concept of “pay it forward” took off in the year 2000 with the release of Helen Hunt’s box-office smash romantic drama of the same name. The idea is that instead of returning a favour, you do something nice first: Ergo, paying it forward.
This is also the basic concept behind GoGenerosity. It allows people to “pay forward” a small amount on top of their bill. This then pays for the business to do good in its community. Everything from supplying meals right through to haircuts and charity donations. It’s an easy way for people to make a difference and support both their favourite businesses and those less fortunate than themselves.
During the Level 3 lockdown, Rohan’s restaurants were struggling and he saw that his community here in Tauranga was as well. He wanted to do something.
“I partnered with my customers to initiate a pay-it-forward model, which meant that they simply made a donation and we guaranteed that we turned 100 percent of that donation into food from our local restaurants,” he explains. “Then we partnered with a charity who would come and collect the food and feed people in the community who were in need.”
His customers loved the idea and he saw there was an opportunity to expand from his own restaurants and into the wider business community.
"Kiwis are a generous bunch of people and I think GoGenerosity has proven that's true."
“It was such a great way in terms of the consumer, having the transparency of where their money was going. It was a really big, important thing for us that the money was going into the business, and
the business was then creating its product from that money. It wasn't being sent off somewhere where we didn't know what the outcome was.”
This is the biggest point of difference for GoGenerosity. Just this year they’ve already raised over $250,000 and positively impacted the lives of over 25,000 here in the Bay. And with over 65 businesses on board, everything from cafés, restaurants to utilities and petrol stations, it’s easy to pay it forward whenever you see the little green GG sticker.
“Kiwis are a generous bunch of people and I think GoGenerosity has proven that's true,” he smiles. “People want to be involved, especially when they can see where their impacts are being had.”