The goal was to gather a total of 2021 rolls within the span of one month. The pastor says his church was glad to help out and found humour in reflecting on the events of the past year. Already, he notes, they have reached over half of their goal. Read more

Established seven years ago, Pushpay is now one of the world's fastest-growing SAS (software-as-a-service) companies.

It has gone on to develop a suite of social media-style engagement tools. These include donor tools, finance tools and a custom community app.

"It's not about raising money any more but actually enabling communities," says independent chairman Bruce Gordon.

He says when they added a recurring giving option, their customers' income jumped another 3 or 4 per cent.

This has a positive impact on local communities, where the churches are raising money for social programmes such as those to tackle homelessness.

At the company's last quarterly update, Pushpay's customer base included 55 of the US's 100 largest churches and had generated $3b of giving payments.

"So, that's flowing straight to communities. It's very powerful for senior management to stand up with the team and say hey, your hard work has meant US$3b - and that will go close to US$5b this year - flowed straight to communities," said Gordon.

"It's very powerful to be able say so-and-so in California has just opened a foodbank and service because the extra 10 per cent revenue generated by implementing Pushpay. It's super cool."

The company is New Zealand-owned but does most of its business in the United States.

Gordon was speaking at the Icehouse fifth anniversary celebration dinner in Napier on 7 December.

Icehouse is a Hawke's Bay-based national start-up incubator and funder.

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• pressreader.com
• Image:.nzherald.co.nz

Nations Church senior pastor Peter Tate says this was far more effective than selling cheese rolls or chocolate

He said while some members of his congregation did not like them, there was nothing against fireworks in the Bible. Continue reading

Bake for Bibles is a new fundraising initiative recently launched by Bible Society New Zealand where volunteers bake Noah's Ark animal cookies, ice them and sell them to friends and family.

Sophie says, "I think it's a really fun and accessible way to get the kids involved in a baking project.

"The animal theme is very relatable and Noah's Ark is a familiar and popular story, whether you've grown up in a household of faith or not.

"So you can invite the neighbours' kids in to help bake the cookies and tell the Noah's Ark story and talk about what's going to happen to the money being raised."

Sophie also believes Bake for Bibles is a great inter-generational activity for grandparents, aunts, uncles and Godparents.

She thinks they may have more patience than parents when icing gets sloshed around the kitchen by little children. "Instead they will just enjoy the moment and the connection."

This year every cookie sold at two dollars each provides the paper to print one Bible in China.

Click here to register to take part.

Participants are given a free Bake for Bibles pack which contains cookie cutters, a Noah's Ark presentation box, cookie packets, a booklet (including the recipe), a poster and a colouring-in sheet.

Talking about the fundraising aspect of Bake for Bibles, Sophie says, "Selling baking for money is a time-honoured tradition in the Western World - from bake-sales to cake-stalls."

A Christian since primary school, Sophie likes the idea of getting the Bible to people who need it. "I feel the Bible is almost a symbol of freedom.

"And the freedom to know God and explore faith isn't something that's accessible to everyone in the world."

Supplied: Bible Society New Zealand

Jack Berne and his classmates at Sydney's St John the Baptist Primary School raised the money through 'A Fiver For A Farmer' campaign on GoFundMe.

The campaign, which was launched in July, urged people to spare at least $5 to support struggling farming communities.

Jack's original goal was to raise $200,000.

However, he received overwhelming support, collecting his first million in a little over a month.

The fundraising campaign has not just gained nationwide support but also caught the attention of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Turnbull personally thanked Jack and told him about his sheep and cattle farm.

Jack responded by asking Turnbull for better outcomes for farmers and asked him if he regarded the drought as a national disaster.

In summing up Turnbull's response to his question Jack commented: "He had a pretty good reason to say no - he said the relief legislation was more designed for disasters like floods and fires."

Undeterred, Jack made a personal plea to Turnbull to do more to help drought-stricken farmers in rural New South Wales.

Jack, a Year 4 student, says he was inspired to take action after learning about the drought in class.

"We have been learning about the drought and the farmers, and I heard that there are kids that are skipping school to help out on their farms. Kids that are our age!' Jack wrote on his GoFundMe page.

"If we can raise some money, I think we can all feel better about helping our mates on the farms.

"We believe in community, we believe in having each other's back, and we believe in the Aussie spirit. We believe that together we can make a huge difference to support the farmers," he wrote.

All proceeds Jack and his classmates collected will be divided between Rural Aid and Drought Angels.

Source

• Crux Now
• Daily Mail
• Image: Daily Telegraph

He was once a heavy metal musican about to hit the big time when he put a rifle to his head and contemplated pulling the trigger.

But after "a radical encounter with Jesus," he put down the gun and picked up a bible instead.

He laughs as he recounts the day in his early 20s when he had long hair and eyes black with eyeliner.

That was decades ago and, while his life has changed, Eldred still hasn't put down his guitar.

Last Saturday Eldred performed with his band Good As Gold and cooked up some of his favourite recipes at The Ragin' Cajun Louisiana Hoedown in Featherston's Anzac Hall.

It was part of a fundraiser for the historic St Mark's Church.

It is the oldest Anglican church in the Wellington Diocese still in daily use.

Eldred moved to New Zealand with his wife Justine in 2003 to work as a youth pastor in Kapiti.

He was appointed to Greytown's St Luke's Church in 2009 and then to St Mark's in Carterton in May 2017.

His unique background gives him a somewhat unorthodox approach to his ministry.

He said he interpreted the bible in a way that related to the world as it is now.

"There's been a lot of parishioners who over the last few years have passed away and they were regular contributors.

"Part of my job was to come here and revitalise things, get some younger families and people involved, and try and build that core of support and resource back up."

Featherson, Greytown and Carterton are small rural towns in South Wairarapa.

Source

• times-age.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: times-age.co.nz

It's co-founder, Eliot Crowther, is about to depart the business with a stake worth just over $99 million.

Crowther says he is leaving the business for personal reasons to focus on his family.

In 2011 he started the company with Chris Heaslip as an outside-work-hours job.

The two New Zealanders who both come from Christian backgrounds a saw there was a gap in the market for a mobile app for charity payments.

Prior to co-founding Pushpay, Crowther was a leading sales executive at HRV, the home ventilation business.

He is a former New Zealand representative in cycling, holds a DipAppSc from AUT University.

He lives with his family in the USA.

Early on, Pushpay's focus shifted to the lucrative mobile church donations market, starting in New Zealand and then expanding into Australia, the US and Canada.

These days growth is coming from medium and large churches in North America.

Pushpay Holdings recently achieved the $100 million mark in annualized revenue, and the company itself is valued at $1.2 billion.

Heaslip, who is the chief executive sees an opportunity to generate US$1 billion of annual revenue in the future.

He said the company expects the number of deals it's closing and deal size to accelerate over the coming year.

Last week Pushpay Holdings went into a trading halt to prepare a bookbuild to let Crowther exist.

24.8 million shares were to be sold in a fully underwritten bookbuild ahead of his resignation, first as a director on June 21 then as an employee on July 31, Pushpay said in a statement.

The bookbuild was oversubscribed, with bids subject to scaling, and got offers from 19 institutional investors across New Zealand, Australia and the US, Pushpay said.

Source

• paymentweek.com
• newsroom.co.nz
• pushpay.com
• scoop.co.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• Image: capterra.com Screenshot

This story has been updated: Read

The St Thomas Marthoma Church of New Zealand has released $42,520 of the $102,764 donated earlier this year after three members of the Kochummen family became severely ill last year, the NZ Herald reports. Continue reading

"We have Samoan friends, and any food they touch is delicious, so I stopped when I saw the sign," said Linda McGowan of Des Moines, who was there for the first time last week.

The church's congregation has been holding the fundraising cookouts, which usually sell out by midafternoon, for the past three years or so, according to Tautualelei Tauaifaiga, the fellowship's capital campaign director.

He's the one who prepares the secret blend of spices used to rub the meats before they are grilled on a massive rotisserie.

Besides feeding the community, selling the meat allows the congregation to pay its mortgage without undue strain on individual members, who generally work hourly wage jobs, said lead Pastor Tu'ugasala Ulualetuiatua Fuga.

Krystle Tauai, who is among the two dozen or so church members who put on the fundraising dinner, said she looks forward to it every month.

"Island people like each other's company," she said. "We have a rich, happy culture, and we like to laugh, tell funny stories and eat."

Tauai is among the women who set up the canopies, tables, scales and register while a group of men run the handmade rotisserie that can cook up to 100 chickens at a time.

In the field and in the parking lot, children and teens ride bikes, play football and wrestle. Boys and girls brag about their Polynesian roots, how old they look and how substantial they are.

"We're big, we're strong, we're athletic and we're fluffy … you know, a little plump," said Aiden Mana Tupuola, 13, of Kent. "We're proud of our fluffiness. It makes us good at football."

"People from Samoa are funny, and we like to play rough" said his cousin Kaden Frost, 12.

Source

seattletimes.com

Image: seattletimes.com

The parish of St Francis Xavier in Marton will be hosting a choir from the village of Vaiusu near Apia.

Organiser Faio Iern, who conducts the choir at St Francis Xavier in Marton, said the choir from Vaiusu would also be singing in Mangere on Monday.

"They are here to raise funds to have a PA system in their church back in Samoa," he said.

Many of the choir members were relatives, he added.

"They will be staying with all of us here in this area. We are so looking forward to seeing them and hearing them sing because they are a very good choir."

"We hope we can fill the church because these people are very beautiful to listen to," Iern said.

The visitors will sing gospel and Samoan songs and be dressed in a traditional costume.

Have a listen to the choir

There is a large community of Samoan people in Marton.

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• Image: screeenshot youtube.com

That exceeded the target they had set themselves by $12,000.

Starlit HOPE was started by 13 year old Gabby Devine who died in May from bone cancer.

It is a charity designed to give cheer to children in hospital and their families.

Every year Francis Douglas leaders select a charity that they're going to raise money for throughout the year," head boy Louis Poole said.

"This year we've chosen Starlit HOPE. Unfortunately a few weeks after we made our decision Gabby passed away.

"It's been pretty hard on the family and we're just willing to support them as much as we can and honour our commitments."

The Francis Douglas students recently presented the money to Gabby's parents Roland and Sarah.

Poole, explains Starlit Hope was the school's year-long fundraising project. "We thought this one was close to home and a lot of good deeds were being done from it."

The students held various in-house events, and a community fundraising dinner and auction, held on July 31, which raised $14,000.

"It was an awesome night," he said. "We had a big turn out of people and it was really good to see all the support they gave."

The school's fundraising record from previous years was $6000. "With the great support form the school and community we managed to get everyone behind it and raise $18,000, which is three times what we were expecting," he said.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: facebook

"We have organised a jump rope day for the whole school," explains Raine Peterson-Semenoff. Raine and the rest of his classmates in Room 8 at the school, have been working hard planning a fun filled "Jump Rope for Heart": Friday challenging students, and staff, to grab a rope and get jumping. Continue reading

He was posing in a headscarf and workshirt as the iconic World War Two pin-up Rosie the Riveter outside Wellington's St Gerard's monastery when a priest came out to watch the photoshoot.

"The priest came out from the church and stood next to the photographer, smiling. That was definitely very awkward, Eising said.

Eising has never done drag before, but got a great response from friends and family, he said. "I got told I looked pretty."

He is one of a number of New Zealand's top male roller derby players who have dabbed lipstick below their moustaches, pulled fishnet tights over tattooed hairy legs and given the camera a saucy pout - all in aid of raising money their fierce female counterparts. Read More

It is hoped that the church will help the territory become a pilgrimage site.

The relics of St Peter Chanel, who is the patron saint of Oceania, are preserved on the neighbouring island of Futuna.

The church cost an estimated four million US dollars to build and reports from Wallis and Futuna say there has been unease over the cost.

The Wallesian community in New Caledonia have made a significant contribution to the cost of the building.

It has been reported the fund raising has left many contributors in debt.

Look at photographs of the new church and of the dedication service

Image:

• Radio New Zealand International
• victorbrial.blog.fr
• Image: FaceBook

The concert featured performances from St Catherine's, St Mary's, St Patrick's Kilbirnie and St Patrick's Silverstream.

The rector of Chanel College, Fr Mika Tuimavave, came to Wellington to attend the concert.

The Concert was part of a Change for Change project initiated by Patrick's College Kilbirnie that aims to raise $NZ20,000 for Chanel College.

"The Change for Change concert was a huge success that showcased the amazing talents that each school has," said on one of the organisers Kalyb Masoe-Hewitt.

"We are very grateful for the support we have had from the performers, Countdown Kilbirnie, Vodafone Foundation, Pandoro Panetteria, families and friends. "

He said The concert raised more than a quarter of the total amount set for the Change for Change project.

Chanel College was built in 1963 by the Marist Fathers.

The school has a close connection with St Patrick's College Kilbirnie.

Its founding rector, Father Bernard Doherty, left from St Patrick's to establish the college in Samoa.

The two schools share the same colours, royal blue and white, and have the same motto, Sectare Fidem/Taofi Mau le Faaatutua/Cling Fast to the Faith.

Chanel College was once one of the best schools in Samoa, however, over the years the college has fallen into disrepair and is in desperate need of support.

A call for help was answered the St Patrick's College prefects who looked to further develop the relationship between the two schools and support their pacific brothers and sisters.

They are continuing with their fundraising efforts with car washes, mufti days and other fundraising events.

Anyone who would like to know more or support the school's efforts can contact Kalyb Masoe-Hewitt at St Patrick's College Kilbirnie email: changeforchange2014@gmail.com or call the school on (04) 939 3070

Source

• Supplied: Kalyb Masoe-Hewitt; Courtney Halliday
• Image: Supplied

He has now completed his eighth charity fundraising event by climbing up Wales' highest mountain, Mount Snowdon, all 3,560 feet of it , on his hands and knees while pushing a brussel sprout with his nose, according to his campaign page.

So far to date Stuart has raised £40,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support with his crazy challenges and organised events.

2006 - London Marathon

2007 - Flew around Britain in a flexwing microlight straight after his training.

2008 - Lands End to John O' Groats on a Penny Farthing

2009 - France to Coventry in a kayak.

2010 - Lived in a tiny box for one week suspended by a crane

2011 - 7 marathons in 7 days in a giant human hamster wheel

2012 - Suspended in the air by helium balloons for 7 days

2013 - Walked every single street in Coventry - 500 miles on a pair of stilts

2014 - Levitating in mid air for a week

Read more

The parishioners have fallen victim to loan sharks who promise easy borrowing but extremely high interest rates.

The Reverend Tavake Tupou, who heads an independent Tongan Methodist congregation in Auckland, told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat program the church leadership is partly responsible.

He said: "The leadership in this area should come from the churches.

"But unfortunately, traditionally the churches have been guilty of asking for money from people who they know realistically cannot afford to give any more."

Source

• Island Business
• Image: Pacific Scoop