New Zealand Philanthropists Raise $3.65M in One Night

When Avie Skye stood before 250 wealthy donors in Auckland last month, she had one goal: make sure other kids don't die from cancers she survived.

The 14-year-old told guests at the Starship Foundation's Star Gala how advanced cellular therapy saved her life after aggressive leukemia struck three years ago. Her family was hiking one day, rushed to the hospital the next.

After grueling treatment in New Zealand and the US, including a stem cell donation from her older brother, it was cutting-edge cell and gene therapy that finally worked. But that treatment isn't available to New Zealand children yet.

So the Bensch family returned to New Zealand with a challenge. They donated over $1 million to kickstart a cellular therapy program, then asked others to help finish what they started.

The response was overwhelming. Guests at tables costing $15,000 each raised $3.65 million in one night.

Billionaires Graeme and Robyn Hart, along with Gretchen and Duncan Hawkesby, spent the evening topping up any fundraising goals that fell short. Their combined donation totaled nearly $1 million.

Zuru founders Nick Mowbray and Jaimee Lupton couldn't attend but sent $240,000 for a cryopreservation program. The service lets children with cancer preserve reproductive tissue before chemotherapy, giving them hope for families later in life.

The Ripple Effect

This isn't isolated generosity. New Zealand's philanthropists are reshaping how giving works, moving from cake stalls to strategic, accountable donations that solve specific problems.

Mowbray and Lupton support over 150 fundraisers yearly, but their deepest passion is fertility treatment. After losing a daughter at 24 weeks and facing their own conception struggles, they pledged $10 million over five years to fund IVF treatments through Gingernut's Angels.

Nearly $2 million in grants has already resulted in live births and pregnancies. Lupton recently received a video of the first Gingernut baby taking her first steps.

The new approach focuses on personal connection and measurable impact. Donors want to know exactly how their money helps, and they're willing to provide professional support to make charities run better.

At recent fundraisers, wealthy guests bid enthusiastically for hospital beds and sports equipment instead of spa weekends or vacation getaways. They're investing in causes that have touched both their heads and their hearts.

Thanks to one brave teenager and a room full of generous New Zealanders, children fighting cancer will soon have access to the same life-saving treatments that gave Avie Skye her future back.