Russell is one of the most generous towns in New Zealand, says Oxfam.
The Bay of Islands town came third in the charity's annual "Generosity List", behind Upper Moutere and Takaka in the Tasman district. Other Northland towns to make the top 20 were Kaiwaka (15) and Waipu (20).
The list does not really rank generosity as such, but the amount of money spent relative to population on Oxfam's Unwrapped Gifts programme.
The scheme allows people to order a gift - anything from goats to farm implements - which Oxfam gives to a community in the developing world. The buyer gets a gift card to send to the recipient detailing the gift donated on their behalf.
During the past eight years, the scheme has raised $4.3 million in New Zealand. The gifts are designed not as hand-outs but as ways of helping people raise themselves out of poverty.
Although Aucklanders donated the biggest total, $950,000, Oxfam fundraising manager Becky Calder said Russell ranked higher in the list because of its small population and high per capita giving. Russell has just 720 inhabitants.
It's not the first time Russellites' generosity has been noted. In March 2011, townsfolk raised just under $47,000 in one evening for the Christchurch earthquake appeal.