As a nonprofit social enterprise, Simplicity has always donated 15% of our fees to the Simplicity Foundation, which distributes the funds to NZ charities and causes that need it most.

The majority of the funds go to charities delivering long-term programmes and services in education, youth development, homelessness and environmental conservation. However, in the past the Foundation has also responded in times of immediate need and crisis, such as the Kaikōura earthquake and Christchurch mosque attack.

Last month, the Foundation donated $300,000 to the relief efforts following the devastation caused by the flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle.

After the Auckland flooding in late January, we donated $100,000 to two of our trusted charity partners in Auckland. This funding was split evenly between Auckland City Mission and Visionwest who we knew were supporting the two hardest-hit areas, West and South Auckland.

In speaking to both organisations they explained that their immediate emergency response had been mobilised to provide food and essential supplies to the most in need in their communities and we were confident they had the local connections and capacity to have an immediate impact. 

A further $200,000 was donated to the relief efforts, after the devastating effects of Cyclone Gabrielle. Again we wanted to distribute our support as soon as possible and direct into the community and decided to support our existing charity food partners in some of the most impacted areas. We knew that access to food was a key and essential supply chain and felt confident that all these organisations had the infrastructure and local reach, despite the challenging circumstances to maximise the immediate reach of our contribution. We made the following specific donations:

• $50,000 Northland Food Rescue (Whangarei) Food Rescue Northland
  
• $50,000 Gizzy Kai Rescue (Gisborne) Home | Gizzy Kai Rescue
  
• $75,000 Nourished for Nil (Hastings/Napier) Food Rescue Mission | New Zealand | Nourished for Nil
  
• $25,000 The Food Basket CHB (Central Hawkes Bay) Food Rescue | The Food Basket CHB | Waipukurau

The donations have been very gratefully received.

"I was again humbled by the awhi shared and shown through Simplicity's generous financial support to our community. Our volunteer whānau are sharing a common experience of shock, sadness and pride as we are able to help victims with food support each day. We switched straight into response mode at The Food Basket....and your grant has cleared the way to make an enduring and immediate difference." Mel, The Food Basket CHB

"That is AMAZING and will go a long way to help our disaster efforts. We are hard out working to make food relief parcels, receive donations that are coming our way all day, coordinating field deliveries, checking in with other groups in the area who might need food, supplying churches who are sheltering homeless RSC workers, conducting pickups of food...the list is endless. THANK YOU Simplicity, it means the world to us."  Christina, Nourished for Nil