Starship Foundation reels in big dollars

By REBECCA WALSH health reporter

The Starship children's hospital opened its doors in November 1991. Just months later the Starship Foundation was born.

The idea, brainchild of marketing man and now Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey, was a simple one: to raise money to help sick children and their families - money that the Government could not provide.

Initial events included a telethon, and Auckland socialite and foundation member Rosie Horton hauled in some of her friends.

Well-known names such as actor Lucy Lawless, now a foundation member, turned up to celebrity balls and the money rolled in.

Since 1992 the foundation has raised close to $20 million for the hospital.

But now its national pulling power has been undermined - some say kneecapped - by the renaming of Starship.

It is part of a plan to merge the city's four hospitals and prod the foundation into taking a broader view - health chiefs want the money spent on community projects not just high-tech hospital equipment.

On Friday, the Herald revealed that the Auckland District Health Board had renamed Starship as Auckland City Hospital Children's Services.

After public outrage and Government warnings, the board had partly backed down by Monday afternoon, calling it Starship Children's Department of Auckland City Hospital.

The naming row has also revealed rifts about how the foundation money should be spent.

Board chairman Wayne Brown wants more to go on primary healthcare and less on flash machinery that the hospital is not necessarily fully funded to run.

He is also concerned that the foundation's celebrity fundraising style, focused on children, does nothing for the health of older people.

Board member John Retimana said this week that the name change was linked to the board's view that the foundation was focused too narrowly on the children's hospital.

"The campaign for children's wellness should be broadened."

Foundation spokesman Andrew Young said members did not just "dream up" projects.

"We raise funds for additional equipment and support services as directed by the hospital management and the Auckland District Health Board ...

"The board has directed where the money goes and has asked for all of the high-tech equipment."

Foundation members were happy to consider business proposals for community initiatives or projects but had not yet been asked to.

Ralph Norris, foundation member and chief executive of Air New Zealand, said he was surprised to read the criticisms of where the money had been spent, given that it had to be approved by the board.

Rows over naming did not enhance Starship's attractiveness to other organisations, he said.

So where has the money gone?

Mr Young said that because the foundation had limited funds it asked the board to rank items in priority.

Among the major items financed over the past 11 years were a CT scanner, bone marrow transplant unit and a neurosurgical theatre.

Tomorrow, a paediatric telemedicine video-conferencing network, which the foundation had raised $400,000 for and lined up Telecom sponsorship, will be launched.

The foundation is supported by five main corporate sponsors: ASB Bank, Mercury Energy, The Warehouse, Sky City and Stagecoach, each providing "six-figure" sponsorships.

It also receives community grants from organisations such as Lions, Rotary and the RSA.

Major events such as an appeal, Starship lottery and charity ball are held every year. There are envelope drops, sales of clip-on Starship bears, public donations and bequests.

Mr Young said the foundation was seen as raising funds for a national service. Any name change would make it "a lot less attractive to national sponsors and fundraising and community supporters throughout New Zealand".

The foundation had developed major pulling power in an environment where every charity dollar had to be fought for.

Dr Judy Motion, senior lecturer in marketing at Auckland University, believes Starship has been a "marketer's dream". "For donors it has a real appeal because of that notion of making a positive difference in kids' lives."

But some of those sponsors are now questioning how a name change could impact on their partnership with the foundation.

Barbara Chapman, head of marketing for the ASB, believed it would be more difficult to support children's health nationally if there was a narrower focus on Auckland.

"While we are pleased to see the name Starship retained, there will be some constraints on our ability to support fundraising activity given what looks like a tightening of the focus of the hospital to Auckland City," she said.

"We have had a long association with Starship Hospital through the Starship Foundation, and are proud of the way we have helped Starship to build such a strong brand with a national reach.

"Our branch network enables us to raise money from customers all over New Zealand through Starship Term Investments. We believe there will be a greater resistance to our efforts to generate any customer interest outside of Auckland, and even possibly in the wider Auckland community, if the focus of the hospital is exclusively on Auckland City."

Russell Turnbull, of Stagecoach NZ, said the company was unhappy about the lack of consultation over the name change, which was likely to diminish the value of the sponsorship deal to Stagecoach.

A bus decked out in Starship colours - the fares go to the foundation - might have to be repainted and the signage changed.

Mr Turnbull said the company would meet the foundation before making any decisions about changes to its sponsorship agreement.

Greg Muir, chief executive of The Warehouse, did not support the name change, but said if the firm thought it was the "right thing" to be involved with Starship, the name would not influence that decision.

Sky City spokeswoman Delwyn Lewer said it would continue to support Starship but strong brand recognition was vital for fundraising.