How Sovereign Sunshine Works
Sovereign Sunshine welcomes applications from all registered New Zealand-based children’s charities. Visitors can browse the charity profiles by region and or by charity type, vote for a shortlisted charity, and donate money and time to their favourite charities.
How charities get shortlisted for the monthly vote
Each year, Sovereign Sunshine will rotate through nine different groupings of New Zealand-based children’s charities (according to charity type). Check the Calendar for 2010 to see which month each category is featured.
Each month, Sovereign’s staff selects a shortlist of six charities from the month’s category. These shortlisted charities will all receive a donation from Sovereign Sunshine, as Sovereign makes donations totalling up to $15,000 every month, including money fundraised by our staff.
The shortlist is displayed on the homepage each month, so everyone can see how the voting is progressing. Visitors to the site need to register before they can vote. The voting totals are important, as the final proportion of the votes received by the six charities will determine the percentage of $10,000 they will receive, plus determine the monthly winning charity. The winning charity receives an additional donation, made up of staff fundraising and a dollar-for-dollar matching by Sovereign, up to $2,500.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How many children’s charities will be shortlisted each month for the online vote?
A. Six charities will be shortlisted each month.
Q. What is the selection criteria used by Sovereign?
A. Please see Charity Selection Criteria.
Q. If a charity is shortlisted, is it eligible to be shortlisted again?
A. We would like to help as many children’s charities as possible, therefore, each charity can be shortlisted only once in a calendar year (January – December). All shortlisted charities will be given donations every month, so Sovereign Sunshine will give donations to 72 charities every year.
Q. Who can vote for the shortlisted charities?
A. Anyone with a valid email address can register for Sovereign Sunshine, and therefore, be eligible to vote. One vote, per month, per person, is permitted.
Q. How is the winning charity decided?
A. The shortlisted charity which receives the most votes at midday on the last working day of the month is declared the winner. All five other shortlisted charities will also share a proportion of $10,000, determined by the percentage of the vote they received. The winning charity will also receive an additional donation – the funds raised by Sovereign staff and matched by Sovereign (up to $2,500) on Sunshine Day. Sunshine Day is held on the second Wednesday of the month.
Q. How will I remember to vote each month?
A. As a registered user, you will receive an email each month to remind you to vote. You can simply click through to the site from the email to register your monthly vote.
Q. What happens if I’m looking for a charity on the Sunshine site and it is not listed?
A. We have a diverse range of charities listed on the Sunshine site and this will continue to grow as more charities become aware of the initiative. Sovereign accepts applications from all registered New Zealand based children’s charities.
Q. What happens if I experience a technical problem on the website?
A. Please email us with your technical difficulty sovereignsunshine@sovereign.co.nz and we will resolve it as soon as possible.
