*NEW* Statement proves Prostate Cancer Foundation correct - click to read more

Prostate Cancer Foundation
shaves off MOvember

The Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand will not be involved with any further ‘Movember’ fund raising campaigns. For the last two years the Foundation has been the recipient of money raised in New Zealand by men being sponsored to grow a moustache during the month of November.

The Foundation says that demands by the Australian based ‘Movember’ fund raising organisation to be involved in approving how and when donations might be utilized in New Zealand were not acceptable.

“We had a number of discussions with Movember about this but were told that unless we spent the money in a time frame approved by them, and on projects approved by them, then we would not be the beneficiary of any further Movember campaigns in New Zealand,” said Prostate Cancer Foundation president, Barry Young

“We found such a demand untenable. We are a New Zealand registered charitable institution and as such are accountable to the people of New Zealand, and in particular to those who have donated money to us, whether it be through Movember or in some other way.

“Movember proved to be an absolutely brilliant way to raise both money and the profile of prostate cancer, and we thank everyone who participated because over two years they raised $3 million.

“But we feel there is an important principle at stake. The money was raised in New Zealand for New Zealanders and how and when it is used must be decided by the New Zealand charitable organisation to which it was donated; without having to seek the approval of an overseas fund raising agency.

“We told Movember we would happily continue to work with them so long as how and when the donations were used remained the business of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. They would not agree and we were subsequently told we would no longer be the beneficiary of their fund raising efforts in this country. We wish them well and again I thank all those who made donations to the Foundation.

“We will be using other means to continue our fund-raising efforts to support our work of education, advocacy and research on behalf of the men of New Zealand,” said Mr Young.

Within the next couple of weeks the Prostate Cancer Foundation will be announcing some major projects that will utilise donations made to the Foundation.

Statement proves Prostate Cancer Foundation correct

A statement issued by the Melbourne based Movember Foundation proves the contention of the Prostate Cancer Foundation that the Australian fund raising organisation wants control over how donations are spent in New Zealand says Prostate Cancer Foundation president Barry Young.

“They asked for submissions from New Zealand charitable organisations so that they could choose a project to support. By doing this they are taking control of decisions that should be made here in New Zealand and not by some offshore fund raising agency.

“This is what we were discussing with them when we were told we would no longer be the beneficiary of any money they raised in New Zealand. We had pointed out that the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand needed to be able to apply funds to a diverse range of projects: establishing and equipping branches throughout the country, creating and distributing educational material including DVD’s in a number of languages, supporting regional men’s health initiatives, lobbying government agencies for a better deal for men with prostate cancer and other men’s health issues and providing support for carefully selected research programmes.

“Granted this didn’t have the hoopla sought by Movember but it is the reality of responsibly utilising charitable funds in New Zealand. The Movember people knew all this but they told us they were concerned that donations would decline if there wasn’t a major project for them to promote.

“They told us that per capita New Zealand had raised even more money than Australia and they were worried that what went up quickly also tended to come down quickly. Whether this is true or not I don’t know, but I can see why they were worried because their earnings are directly related to the amount of money raised,” said Mr Young.

“We were also asked to sign-up to a list of so-called operating principles one of which said we should provide a written proposal of proposed programmes and associated budgets and ‘Movember will approve the proposed programs’.

“They also wanted to approve all communication and correspondence relating to these ‘programs’. These are the sort of things we were discussing with them when we received their email advising us we would not be partnering with them in 2008. No discussion, that’s it.

“We were also at this time helping iron out a serious mistake they had made in their original licensing agreement with us. We had pointed out to them that this mistake could potentially cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars. They asked us to sign a ‘Deed of Variation’ to help them and we agreed to do this,” said Mr Young.

“For Movember to suggest I disagree with their decision to include other beneficiaries is both wrong and shameful. They had done the same thing in Australia and we fully expected it here.

“They also wish us well in using the $3 million they raised for us over two years. Well the people of New Zealand donated $3 million but the total is well short of that after we paid all the fees and such-like to Movember,” said Mr Young.

For any further information please call Barry Young, (09) 523 1753,
email: nationaloffice@prostate.org.nz 11.6.08