KEY POINTS:
Charities are facing a "double-whammy" as the recession and planned new poker machine rules hit donations.
Twenty charities spoken to by the Weekend Herald said either donations were down, sponsors were withdrawing or campaigns and projects were at risk.
Movember raised less than half last year's total, with
$700,000 counted so far compared with $2.1 million in 2007.
Heart Kids New Zealand is seriously worried about its annual camp in January, with $40,000 of the $60,000 cost still to be raised.
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter has lost three sponsors in recent months as big companies tighten their belts, and Surf Live Saving says lives are at risk due to a $4 million hole in its budget.
Some organisations might not survive the downturn, said Kidney Kids national manager Paul Norfolk.
"There are a lot of charities that will disappear. I'm confident we'll make it but it's much more difficult to get money out of people."
Vital to the survival of New Zealand's 16,769 registered charities is income from the community trusts and foundations which get their revenue from gaming machines.
Charities are taking a double hit, with less money from donations and planned changes to gaming machines expected to siphon off further income.
The Government will next year introduce "harm minimisation" measures including a system that interrupts play every 30 minutes so players are forced to take a break.
Dave Fraser, chief financial officer of the Lion Foundation, said that at a cost of $3500 for each of New Zealand's 20,025 poker machines, it would cost his organisation alone up to $7 million.
It also means $70 million less going into the coffers of charities and community groups around the country.
Marketing and sponsorship manager for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter John Hooper said the
"she'll be right" attitude had allowed the trust to sustain operations through to about September despite the loss of sponsors.
"Now it's getting tricky."
Donations were coming in at a rate of about 30c for every dollar needed.
Heart Children New Zealand national fundraising manager Iyanthi Wijayanayake , said about 60 children aged 8 to 12 were registered to attend a specially equipped camp in January.
The camp is held every year for young heart patients who usually would never get the opportunity to go to camp like others their age.
"People are still very generous and we are so grateful for that, but we are finding the amounts are a lot smaller than they used to be. When people's income is affected, it really affects us badly."
The non-profit charity Grandparents Raising Grandchildren is also feeling the pinch. National convener Diane Vivian said that in recent years the charity had been given about 160 food parcels a year to help struggling families but this year there were none available. The business which donated the baskets was no longer in a position to help.
"I feel gutted, absolutely gutted for the families."