"I find that the Rotorua community is very, very supportive of our charity, and I've never been disappointed," she said.
"I feel as though the work I do within charity certainly shows me the absolute very best of the community that we live in."
Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (Finz) chief executive James Austin said public donations had dipped in recent years.
"It is harder to get - people are working harder at raising funds than they were before."
People were more cautious with their money, focusing more on saving and justifying any discretionary spending, Mr Austin said. "Everyone's being a little more careful, they're paying off debt and they are questioning all those letters they're getting in the mail asking them to give to everything from child cancer, Canteen ... you name it.
"At the same time, charities are doing more, there are more fundraising activities going on, there are more street appeals going on."
Charities were working harder to maintain funding and those that relied on a sole income source had struggled to survive during the economic downturn, he said.
Those that survived had high credibility, good marketing teams and more than one income stream.
Online giving had also seen a huge boom, which older charities with "dreadful" websites needed to adapt to, Mr Austin said.
"Some people don't want to give out cheques, they just want to do things online."
New Zealand's philanthropic culture has also changed. "The public have realised nowadays the Government's run out of money. Not just in our country, but everywhere in the world."
Mr Austin said New Zealand was one of the world's most generous countries, however we tended to give more time than money and needed to give more through bequests.
New Zealand had an ageing population but even retired, mortgage-free people were often reluctant to leave money to charity in their wills, he said.
More than $100 million was bequeathed to charities last year.
The three biggest bequest recipients were the Salvation Army, the Royal NZ Foundation of the Blind and St John, which received $8.34 million, $7.21 million and $6.99 million respectively.