GirlGuiding NZ is expecting its income to reduce by $1.8m (36%) as a result of COVID-19. However, through changes made
to the way the organisation operates it is expected that the overall financial impact of COVID-19 will be a loss of
$500,000. Part of the operational change is to temporarily replace its face-to-face group meeting model with Virtual
Group Guiding; this occurred when COVID-19 Alert Level 2 was announced and will continue for at least the next term of
Guiding.
Although faced with a significant loss of income, GirlGuiding NZ considers this a worthwhile investment in community and
the future generation of female leaders in New Zealand. It has balanced the financial costs with the importance of
ensuring our members feel supported at this time and has made the bold decision to waive all group Guiding membership
fees for the next 10 weeks of Guiding (28 April – 3 July). Its digital Explore platform, launched in January, will be
free for the rest of 2020. This offer is available to current members, and to girls who wish to join, despite the
financial impact to the organisation of $510,000.
“We care about our Guiding family and our wider community and, right now, more girls and families than ever need what
Guiding offers - connection, routine, normalcy and friendship” said Chief Executive Susan Coleman. “We want as many
girls as possible to continue experiencing and benefitting from this, despite any possible financial distress their
families are experiencing, and because we know that more girls than ever need that support and those opportunities, this
offer is also open to new members.
“This decision will impact GirlGuiding NZ heavily in a financial sense, so we’re both asking our membership to support
us with a donation, if they can, and we’ll be contacting funding and corporate partners and other supporters to ask if,
they can help us whilst we support our community” Coleman says. Anyone who wishes to support GirlGuiding NZ continue to
its work supporting girls and their families can do so at www.girlguidingnz.org.nz
Virtual Group Guiding offers a girl-led opportunity for girls to engage, interact, learn and challenge themselves, in a
virtual group setting. Conversion to the Virtual Group Guiding model, using meeting options like Zoom or Google
hangouts; closed Facebook groups or even email groups, has been taken up enthusiastically by GirlGuiding NZ’s
membership, with adult unit leaders sharing their meeting highlights on closed Facebook pages.
Explore, which has always designed to be delivered via digital means, launched in January with its Pippins programme
(five – six-year-old) and on April 20, an option for Brownies (seven – ten-year olds) will come online. Explore offers a
girl-led experience on a custom-built and completely secure platform. The programme is centred around real-world
activities and each girl is supported by a dedicated Leader who helps guide her to achieve badges, at her own pace.
There are also opportunities for her to connect with other girl members through Guiding events.
GirlGuiding NZ has supplemented these options with challenges delivered three-times weekly (open to its members as well
as to the public using the hashtag #youbetheguide). A free ‘holiday programme’ (for the guiding-term holiday of 14 April
– 27 April) is also available for download.
To support GirlGuiding NZ, to volunteer to help deliver with Virtual GroupGuidingNZ or Explore, or to find out more
about free Guiding options, visit www.girlguidingnz.org.nz