The Challenge
In 2021, New Zealand based charity Sweet Louise partnered with Fundraising Every Day (FED) to help meet the growing demand for their vital services for New Zealanders living with incurable breast cancer.
Dedicated to providing practical support for New Zealanders living with incurable breast cancer, demand for their services was continuing to grow. Sweet Louise recognised the need to expand their support capacity to reach more Kiwis living with stage 4 breast cancer. But as a small team with limited internal resources, some additional support was necessary to pinpoint the best focus and achieve the rapid cash injection needed to fuel an ambitious future.
At the time, Sweet Louise’s small but dedicated front line team of Support Coordinators were going above and beyond to meet the needs of hundreds of women across the country. With demand growing steadily, it became clear that additional resources were needed to continue delivering their high standard of personalised compassionate care.
How We Tackled It
To ensure the continued delivery of their core services and meet the growing demand, it was clear that Sweet Louise would benefit from an immediate boost in funding to help strengthen the capacity of their front-line team.
As a starting point, FED recommended a Giving Day as a quick-win fundraising activity which could be easily added to Sweet Louise’s existing fundraising calendar, to help expand the team of vital Support Coordinators.
With full-service support from FED, not only could the campaign be turned around quickly, but it had the bonus of helping to uncover and appeal to Sweet Louise’s major donors through pre-secured matched funding. What’s more, for an organisation like Sweet Louise who are working so closely with the community, a Giving Day presented the perfect opportunity to rally both supporters, staff, family and friends alike–for a very sweet 24 hours.
The Result
Sweet Louise’s inaugural Giving Day in 2021, held on 30 May 2021 in honour of Louise Perkins, who inspired Sweet Louise, raised over $220,000 – helping them to immediately secure a new Support Coordinator for the Auckland area. In recent years to Sweet Louise’s delight, subsequent Giving Days have delivered consistent income and have become a highlight in the Sweet Louise fundraising programme.
Thanks to the strong internal leadership, deep commitment from the Sweet Louise team, and a collaborative partnership with FED, Giving Days are now successfully delivered in-house – a reflection of growing confidence, capability, and shared success. This transition marked an exciting milestone for Sweet Louise, reflecting the growing capacity of their in-house fundraising team.
By taking the lead on Giving Day delivery, Sweet Louise not only increased net income and reduced campaign costs, but also created space for FED to continue adding value by supporting the growth of another key initiative – the Walk 50K This May peer-to-peer event. Since 2023, this campaign has evolved into a standout success within Sweet Louise’s fundraising programme.
By rallying the wonderful extended community involved with Sweet Louise, the event has more than doubled its Gross income from over $315,000 (2023) to $750,000 (2025), in part by maximising stewardship and matching opportunities with high value donors, and by utilising incentive gifts with participants to maximise their individual fundraising efforts.
With FED’s continued support and the dedication of the Sweet Louise team, the campaign has evolved into a flagship event, inspiring thousands across Aotearoa to walk in solidarity with those facing incurable breast cancer.
By identifying strategic growth opportunities and investing in what’s working, Sweet Louise has significantly increased their fundraising revenue year on year.
Over the past four years, Sweet Louise has raised their total revenue by around 1 million dollars ($1,153,348 in 2020/21 to $1,952,470 in 2023/24).
Giving Day Creative Examples
Walk 50K This May Peer-2-Peer Event Creative Examples
