Z’s Good in the Hood distributes $1 million to local community groups across Aotearoa, with customers having a say in how funding is shared among participating groups, from Napier kaumātua to Wellington food hubs.
In the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, Napier was in crisis.
More than 70,000 people were without power, health services, drinking water and cellphone connectivity. Damaged homes and disrupted communities left many residents displaced, isolated and vulnerable – particularly the elderly.
The MokoBoys recognised the need and stepped up. The rangatahi-led community group began in Maraenui as a way to support the elderly through the aftermath, but as the region recovered, the MokoBoys continued.
Today, they provide a free service for local kaumātua and whānau who are elderly, disabled or experiencing financial hardship, helping with everything from lawn-mowing and gardening to house cleaning, tech support or just stopping by for a kōrero.
Beyond day-to-day operations, the group also helps rangatahi develop work readiness, confidence, leadership skills and first-aid qualifications, while fostering a strong sense of community pride.
The MokoBoys are one of many community groups to receive funding this year through the Z Energy (Z) Good in the Hood programme, an annual initiative where Z service stations give $5000 to four local community groups chosen by their community.
The premise is simple: each Z service station gives back $5000 across four local community groups, chosen by the site team from a pool of applicants. The initiatives vary widely, from volunteer-based emergency services to food banks.
How the money is allocated, however, is up to Z customers. With any purchase, whether it’s fuel or a coffee, the shopper receives an orange token to vote for their preferred group. The number of votes then determines each group’s share of the money.
“Our site teams have been part of their communities for years. They see customers come and go, and through that, they form really strong connections with the locals,” says Z’s general manager of corporate affairs, Haley Mortimer.
“The rationale is that it helps connect our customers with local groups, enabling them to make a difference in their communities. Your vote genuinely matters: dropping that token only takes a few seconds, but collectively, all those tokens help direct support to hundreds of organisations doing amazing work.”
The initiative itself was born following the Canterbury earthquakes. Like many local businesses, Z wanted to help.
“Sitting in our head office in Wellington, we realised it wasn’t our place to dictate where funding actually went,” Mortimer explains.
“Ultimately, these groups on the ground are best placed to know the needs of their communities. That’s the genesis of the programme: putting the power back in the hands of Kiwi.”
For non-government-funded services like the MokoBoys, this community support plays an important role in helping them continue their work. Funding from Good in the Hood will go towards gear and maintenance, so they can provide a reliable service to more kaumātua in need.
Kiwi Community Assistance (KCA), a distribution hub in Wellington, is another group to benefit from the initiative this year. KCA supplies crucial goods, such as non-perishable food, warm clothing and household products, to a range of frontline agencies including schools, soup kitchens and respite facilities.
Like the MokoBoys, KCA survives on community support, from the work of volunteers to donations by local businesses.
“We aim to help those in need, and we try to make sure usable goods don’t go to landfill by distributing them where they will be valued,” explains KCA chairman and co-founder, Phil Davies.
“KCA has a pool of highly dedicated volunteers that come from across Wellington to help out. We will use the Good in the Hood funding to provide fuel vouchers to the volunteers, to offset some of the costs involved in keeping the service going.”
The MokoBoys and KCA are just two examples of the hundreds of on-the-ground groups providing critical mahi throughout Aotearoa.
Each year, Z reviews the impact of the programme to ensure support is going where it’s most needed, while allowing different causes and services to benefit.
“That was a really important learning from about three years ago, when we were looking at the funding spread and the groups it was going to,” Mortimer explains.
“We worked behind the scenes to make sure Māori-led or kaupapa Māori-led organisations, for example, were aware of the programme, knew how to apply, and had the support to get their applications in. Funding to Māori-led groups has [now] more than doubled since 2022.
“Context continues to change. Community needs change. It’s about us ensuring the programme does as well.”
Ultimately, Good in the Hood is about more than funding. It’s about bringing awareness to the everyday Kiwi doing incredible work, as well as building relationships, strengthening community connections, and allowing people to support the causes they care about.
“Good in the Hood is a great example that ‘Z is for Aotearoa’ isn’t just a slogan for us. It’s one of the ways we bring that commitment to life.”