Corporate Giving :: Acorn Foundation

Corporate Giving

The business of doing good

More and more businesses are taking an interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and choosing to give back to the communities in which they work. 

Research consistently shows that CSR not only enhances brand reputation but also demonstrates corporate values, which is increasingly important to employees as the younger generations select their preferred employer. 

The Acorn Foundation (the Western Bay of Plenty’s regional Community Foundation) works with companies large and small across our region to facilitate their charitable giving. With our knowledge of local charities and community groups, and our various Corporate Giving options, you can be sure that your giving will have maximum impact in the region we all love.

If you're interested in learning more about Corporate Giving with Acorn, check out our brochure, or contact us. 

Corporate giving brochure

Our current
Corporate Funds

Currently, 13 local organisations have set up a Corporate Fund with the Acorn Foundation
and are making a huge impact on the communities in which they operate.

Click to read the story of each below.

KPMG Tauranga

KPMG New Zealand are working together to inspire confidence and empower change that has a positive and lasting impact on our communities. Fuelling the prosperity of New Zealand – improving the health, wealth and wellbeing for all New Zealanders – is a common purpose that is fundamental to who they are and what they stand for as an organisation.

A commitment to our communities is at the heart of KPMG’s values and culture, and central to their purpose.

In 2019, KPMG Tauranga established a corporate fund with the Acorn Foundation. The fund will be added to on an annual basis and in addition, they invited employees to contribute through workplace giving - where staff can nominate an amount to contribute each month, and the tax rebate is applied from their payroll so staff don’t need to keep receipts or apply for tax refunds each year. Donations are matched by KPMG up to an agreed level.

A Giving Committee was established to work together with Acorn to choose recipients of the KPMG distributions. In their most recent distribution in 2023, the committee decided to donate just under $5,000 to two local Tauranga charities.

KPMG Tauranga’s Office Managing Partner, Glenn Keaney, says, “Personally I have had a long association with Acorn, serving as a Trustee from 2011 to 2019, with four years as Chair. I understand first-hand how much good Acorn is contributing to the community, so when the opportunity arose to be an early adopter of Acorn’s Workplace Giving programme, we signed up. The benefit is that over time we can help make a real difference to our community and the youth involved in these initiatives, which, in the longer term, supports our purpose of fuelling New Zealand’s prosperity. The programme also helps us create a culture of philanthropy and adds to the team spirit in our Tauranga office. We hope that as the programme continues, more of our team will see the value it brings and join in.”

NumberWorks'nWords

NumberWorks’nWords Tauranga set up a corporate fund in mid-2019 in an effort to partner with Acorn in their efforts to reduce inequity in Tauranga.

For over 20 years, NumberWorks’nWords tuition centre has been helping students in Tauranga get ahead in Maths and English, improving educational outcomes and, therefore, long-term opportunities for their students. They currently have over 300 students attending weekly at their busy centre on Eleventh Avenue.

However, local franchise owner, Leanne Rhodes-Robinson, is aware that this option is not available to all, as the cost of providing this individualised service is out of the reach of many Tauranga families.

“We have parents who can comfortably fit tuition into their budget, and others who make many sacrifices to afford the weekly payments for their children’s after-school lessons, giving up spending on other things to provide for their children’s future. But we know, we see only these two types of families through our doors, and out in the Tauranga community are those struggling to afford even the most basic of needs – housing, clothing and food. Our involvement with Acorn we see as channelling back some of the profit we make from successfully providing an excellent tuition service, to community organisations making a difference to those families who won’t come through our doors."

NumberWorks’nWords tries to be community-minded through providing free term tuition vouchers to schools to use in fund-raising or for disadvantaged students, sponsoring PTA and school events, various children’s special needs projects/events, sponsoring the recent Parenting Show at Baycourt, and their long-standing involvement in providing free tuition to the ‘Homes of Hope’ children who want to attend (for over 10 years).

In 2019, NumberWorks’nWords started a fund through Acorn as a way of giving to communities and families they are perhaps out of touch with, and, through Acorn’s proven record of investment, in the long-run, making their giving go a lot further.

“We plan to have 25% of our donation to be passed on to the community annually, to organisations making a difference to disadvantaged Bay of Plenty children, and 75% used to build an Endowment Fund for giving the returns to these organisations in perpetuity. I love the fact that Acorn has some of the most skilled people in Tauranga working to invest those funds wisely to generate long-term returns, and invest those returns wisely in proven community organisations that provide accountability to Acorn for the money received,” says Leanne.

“I have long admired the work of Acorn, and have loosely kept informed of their work in the community. It is exciting to now become involved, putting our money in their direction instead of just our admiration.”

“There is a highly developed sense of community in this region, and Acorn is a vehicle by which members of the community can contribute.”

– Glenn Keaney, Partner, KPMG Tauranga

“Giving back through Acorn is our way of saying thank you to the Bay of Plenty for all the support this city has shown our business across the last 30 years. Continuing support for the Bay of Plenty community is our responsibility and our future.”

– Mike Farmer, Group Managing Director, Farmer Autovillage

Request a speaker

The Acorn team are available to present to your group, organisation or employees.

“At Oriens, we have a strong philosophy of giving back to the community. Establishing the corporate giving scheme is another way of being able to give back. Acorn is well connected and with their guidance, Oriens can regularly help to make a difference.”

– James Beale, Oriens Capital