Stuff turned the news about a natural disaster into NZ$4.5 million in relief funds

By Jason Fallow

Stuff Group

Auckland, New Zealand

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In February 2023, Aotearoa New Zealand was hit by Cyclone Gabrielle. Eleven people were killed, hundreds of thousands lost power, and communities, homes, livelihoods, and infrastructure were destroyed.

As New Zealand’s home of breaking news, Stuff was on the ground, on the road, and in the air to cover the disaster and keep Kiwis safe with live updates. As the cyclone hit, we had more than 1.6 million visitors and 10.8 million pageviews on our platform — and we quickly realised our coverage’s immense impact.

Two brothers reunite in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo by Chris Skelton/Stuff
Two brothers reunite in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo by Chris Skelton/Stuff

Rallying our audience as a force for good

We had an opportunity to harness the interest our coverage generated from people nationwide as a force for good. Our readers told us they wanted to help, and authorities told us the best way to do that was with money — donated goods don’t always match on-the-ground needs.

So we launched the Stuff Cyclone Gabrielle Community Relief Fund on February 16, kicking in a NZ$10,000 donation to get the ball rolling. Within 24 hours we had built a live fundraising tracker and launched the campaign via news articles, our social channels, and the wider Stuff Group network.

We challenged businesses to contribute, calling on them to match or better Stuff’s NZ$10,000 donation. Companies that did so received a shoutout on Stuff.

From NZ$100,000 to NZ$4.5 million

Our initial goal of raising NZ$100,000 was quickly surpassed: just 12 hours after launch, we hit NZ$1 million. After 10 days, we had raised $4.5 million from 35,000 donors. That’s the impact of quality journalism.

Such was the positive response that days after launch our closest competitor in the market set up a similar campaign.

We wanted to ensure the funds we raised went to those most affected and pledged to distribute donations between the Red Cross and Mayoral Relief Funds in areas where a local state of emergency had been declared. This included Northland, Auckland, Tairawhiti, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, and Hawke’s Bay.

Mayoral Relief Funds help local communities support families, community organisations, and marae (Māori meeting houses) after an emergency. The money goes toward things like septic tanks, debris removal, emergency hardship payments, fences, footpaths and other basic needs.

Kiwis are grateful for the opportunity to help

The feedback from our audience was overwhelmingly positive, with many grateful for the opportunity to help those impacted by the cyclone:

“I am so appreciative that you have created a platform to make it easier for people to get help to those in need after this dreadful event. I have donated personally, will donate as a business owner, and I am sharing the link.”

The Mayor of Gisborne, one of the worst-hit areas, said she was blown away by the generous donation to her community from the fund:

“We have been through such a tough time, and we are humbled by this great gift. Thank you to every person in New Zealand, and in the world, who have donated.”

Banner photo by Photo by Christel Yardley/Stuff.

About Jason Fallow

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