Z Energy is calling on Bay of Plenty charities and community groups to get in quick and apply to its Good in the Hood programme, for the potential to receive a share of the $60,000 Z has allocated towards Bay of Plenty community donations this year.

The Bay of Plenty’s share comes from $1 million Z is donating across New Zealand.

As part of Good in the Hood, each of Z’s 12 service stations across the Bay of Plenty will give away a total of $5,000. From the applications, each Z service station chooses four community groups to participate, with $4000 distributed amongst those groups based on community voting.

Customers who shop in store are provided an orange token to pop in one of four boxes, voting for their favourite local group. The money is split between the four groups based on the number of votes each receives.

A further $1000 for each service station is earmarked to support community events and initiatives throughout the year.

“It’s been a challenging year, and smaller organisations and charities are playing a really important role in our local communities. We look forward to working with our local community groups to do what they do best, making an impact with local people,” say Bay of Plenty Z Energy retailers Dave and Lynette Gillies.

“I’m proud this comes on top of the $140,000 Z has already donated to regions hit by this year’s cyclone and floods,” says Dave.

This year, Z will reach a significant $10 million milestone in contributions to community groups, helping hundreds throughout Aotearoa since 2011. This has largely been achieved through Z’s annual Good in the Hood programme.

Z GM Customer, Andy Baird says that Good in the Hood empowers Kiwis to engage with initiatives in their communities and choose where additional support goes in their town.

“The spirit of Good in the Hood is to share Z’s community support with the people living in those communities – to give people a choice about where the money goes,” he says.

Extra focus will this year be given to regions hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle, bolstering its community support provided earlier in the year.

“We’ve already given more than $140,000 to cyclone- and flood-affected communities so far this year, with $70,000 going to the Northland/Auckland flooding, $50,000 to small community groups affected by Cyclone Gabrielle around the Northland, Tairāwhiti Gisborne, and Hawke’s Bay regions, plus donations to the Red Cross and Bike for Blokes," says Andy.

“It’s immensely satisfying to be able to confirm another million dollars in support across the country, including providing additional funding for Z stations in some of the harder-hit communities.” 

Andy encourages community groups to apply for the 2023 round of Good in the Hood funding as soon as possible, with applications closing 31st July before the in-store voting period commences in September 2023.

“Z and its retailers care deeply about our communities, and for us Good in the Hood is a reinforcement of our pledge that Z is for New Zealand. Focusing on smaller community groups gives us the opportunity to support groups which may find it more difficult to access funds compared to larger charities or groups who have existing relationships with donors.”

“For anyone who has considered making an application for funding in the past, now is the time to get your application in.”

Good in the Hood was initially created in response to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and Z ran several similar community giving programmes before Good in the Hood officially commenced in 2013.

“We looked at ways to best support the Christchurch community in the wake of the disaster and decided to leverage the knowledge of our local retailers and their communities to ensure funds were going where they were needed,” says Andy.

The $10 million milestone represents Z’s long-term commitment to helping Kiwi’s and what matters most to them.

Eligibility criteria:

-Applications must meet all the following criteria:

-The group or project must be active in the local area around a specific Z service station; and

-The group or project must demonstrate they are providing support or help to people who need it or the environment; and

-The request must be for a specific project or to fulfil a specific need.

-The person submitting the application must be from the neighbourhood group or project on whose behalf they apply for funding.

Applications from the following groups and projects won't be eligible:

-groups or projects which don't actively help people who need it or the environment

-nationwide organisations which don't have a branch in the neighbourhood around the station they're applying for funding from

-applications for the promotion or benefit of one individual

-commercial ventures

-completed or retrospective projects

-local or central government activities or projects

-festivals, shows or events.