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To celebrate the landmark tenth edition of their annual Good Deeds competition, Rabobank is upping the stakes and giving away a massive $100,000 to improve rural community halls, clubrooms, schools and marae throughout New Zealand.
Entries for the 2026 edition of the competition are now being sought from rural community groups across Aotearoa and can be made via the Rabobank website.
Entries close at 11.59am on March 31, 2026.
This year’s competition will see ten rural community groups selected as winners, with each receiving $10,000 to upgrade their local community hub.
From the ten winners, one lucky prize winner will be selected, who will also receive a day’s labour support from the teams at Rabobank and The Country radio show.
The Good Deeds competition has been running annually since 2017 in conjunction with The Country radio show to support and celebrate the incredible efforts of rural communities to enhance their local areas.
Recent winners have included Colyton School near Fielding, Te Mata Tennis Club near Raglan, and Beaconsfield School near Timaru.
Announcing the opening of competition entries, Rabobank New Zealand chief executive Todd Charteris said this year’s Good Deeds competition had been merged with the Rabo Community Hub competition, which ran for the first time last year and provided funding for rural community groups to upgrade their local community hub.
“The Community Hub competition was initiated by our Client Council network after they identified the critical role that rural community halls, clubrooms and marae play in providing a suitable location for local rural communities to come together,” he said.
Charteris said that last year’s inaugural competition was hugely successful, attracting more than 500 entries from across the country, so given the similar focus of the two events, organisers decided to merge them into the Rabobank Good Deeds Community Hub competition.
“With $100,000 on offer and The Country helping with the promotion, we’re expecting plenty of interest and another bumper crop of entries," he said.
“The prize money for this competition will be drawn from the Rabo Community Fund – a fund set up in 2021 and backed by an annual contribution from the Rabobank Group – and ultimately the goal is to help build the vibrancy and resilience of rural New Zealand.”
Charteris said the competition prize money could be used for any work that improves the interior or exterior (including grounds) of the nominated hall, clubrooms or marae.
“For example, the funds could go towards installing new carpet, double glazing for the windows, repainting or a new roof.
“Essentially, the prize money can be used for any improvements that enhance the premises and make it a more appealing place for the local community to spend time.”
Charteris said that, as part of the competition entry form, entrants needed to detail how the building was currently used, what they would do with the funds and labour, and how the proposed improvements would help increase the facility’s usage.
Charteris said the winning hubs would be chosen by members of Rabobank’s four regional client councils (two Councils in the North Island and two in the South Island), with at least two winners selected from each region.
“Our client councillors have close connections to the rural communities across their respective regions, and they’re well-placed to decide our competition winners,” he said.
“They’ll certainly have their work cut out for them selecting the top entries, and once they’ve made their picks, the competition winners will then be announced live on The Country radio show during April.”