We all have questions. Hopefully we have answered all of yours below!
If not feel free to get in touch with us on 0800 FAMINE (326 463).

FAQs

The World Vision 40 Hour Famine is New Zealand’s largest youth fundraising event. Every year since 1975, hundreds of thousands of young Kiwis have taken a stand through a 40 Hour Challenge to raise money and bring hope to thousands of children living in poverty in more than 40 countries. Traditionally, the 40 Hour Challenge meant going without food for 40 hours. However, over the years, people have become creative, finding fun new challenges such as giving up their phone, YouTube or Netflix for 40 hours. Or how about living out of a backpack, doing 40 good deeds, or taking a 40-hour vow of silence – whatever your idea is, just go for it! 
 
So far, more than 3 million New Zealanders have participated and over $80 million has been raised – helping to transform thousands of lives both here in New Zealand, and around the world. We’d love for you to join us. 

When you sign up for the World Vision 40 Hour Famine you commit to doing a challenge or go without something for a length of time (often 40 hours) and ask people to sponsor you. Traditionally, the 40 Hour Challenge meant going without food for 40 hours but there are so many options. Choose from 20 to 40 Hour Challenges, your imagination is the only limit – whatever idea you have to raise money this year, go for it. From giving up food or your phone, to living out of a backpack, or running a bake sale, no idea is a bad idea. 

If you are part of a team/school/church taking part in the 40 Hour Famine: 

Collect a Sponsorship Book from your Famine Organiser or, if you are not in a team, you can order your Sponsorship Book here. Once you’ve set your 40 Hour Challenge and your fundraising goal, we recommend activating a personal online fundraising page – it’s the easiest way to raise awareness and collect donations. You can also set yourself a goal online and in the Sponsorship Book to let everyone know how much you are hoping to raise. 

If you are taking part in the 40 Hour Famine as an individual: 

Activate a personal online fundraising profile to collect donations online – it’s the easiest way to raise awareness and collect donations. If you would rather collect the donations in cash face to face, order a Sponsorship Book here. You can also set yourself a goal online and in the Sponsorship Book to let everyone know how much you are hoping to raise. 

For everyone: 

Then start fundraising. Let your family and friends know that you are doing the 40 Hour Famine challenge and ask them to sponsor you. The funds you raise go towards supporting World Vision’s work to help the world’s most vulnerable children. 

Now, do the 40 Hour Challenge. This year, the 40 Hour Famine will be taking place from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th June 2019 but if those dates don’t suit you, pick ones that do. As long as all your donation money is banked by the 5th July 2019, it’s really up to you. 

And finally, collect your sponsorship money (if your sponsors haven’t donated to you online) and give the money to your Famine Organiser by 5th July 2019. Then give yourself a pat on the back and know that you’ve done an amazing job to help support the children of South Sudan.  

For more information, watch our video.

Going without food is just one way of participating in the 40 Hour Famine; there are heaps of other 40 Hour Famine Challenges.  
 
If you do choose to the 40 Hour ‘No-Food’ Famine, use the below as a guide only. Your parents should ultimately decide what best suits you, as everyone is different.   
 
High School or 14+ years - maximum 40 hours (8pm Fri – 12pm Sun) 
Intermediate School or 11 - 13 years - maximum 20 hours (8pm Fri - 4pm Sat) 
Primary School or 8 - 10 years - maximum 20 hours - only miss one meal (6pm Fri - 2pm Sat) 
Under 8 years - choose a different challenge, e.g., no furniture, no-TV, or the no-talking challenge 
 
We recommend you drink plenty of water or fruit juice to keep hydrated. We also suggest eating a glucose product from time to time for energy.  
 
Important: If participants are unwell, diabetic, on medication, elderly, pregnant, breast-feeding, playing sports, or have any other food or dietary requirements/concerns, please choose a different 40 Hour Famine challenge – you can be creative, or there are plenty of alternative challenges to choose from. Check out our resources for plenty of ideas. 
There are plenty of ways to get fundraising in a team or on your own. 
 
Many people choose alternative 40 Hour Challenges, like giving up technology, talking, electricity or even furniture! Others hold their own fundraising event, wash cars, or do an activity that lasts 40 hours, like walking, running, or playing a sport. Be as creative as you like and do it in a team or on your own; the main thing is that you get involved! 
The official 40 Hour Famine starts at 8pm on Friday 7th June and ends midday Sunday 9th June 2019. If you’re unable to complete your challenge this weekend then choose a time that works for you! You’ll still make such a big impact just by being a part of it and fundraising. 

Firstly, find out if your school or church are participating in this year’s 40 Hour Famine. If they are, speak to your Famine Organiser and they will give you a Sponsorship Book. You can scan the QR code on the front of the book to activate an online fundraising profile. 

If you are taking part as an individual, the easiest way to fundraise is to activate an online fundraising profile at famine.org.nz and select ’40 Hour Famine 2019’. You can then personalise your page, your fundraising goal as well as email friends and family and share on social media.  

If you would rather collect the donations in cash face to face, order your Sponsorship Book here. When you get your Sponsorship Book, scan the QR on the front of the book to activate your online fundraising profile and connect your online profile to your Sponsorship Book. Don’t have a QR reader? No worries, enter the URL under the QR code on the front of your Sponsorship Book to take you to the sign up page.  

Download the World Vision NZ app from App Store or Google Play to fundraise on your phone. It only takes a few minutes and all you need is your own email address.  

Easy! Fill in our form and we will have the books sent out to you in 5-7 working days (please allow a couple extra days for rural deliveries). Any issues you can call the team on 0800 FAMINE (326 463).
Joining a team is a great way to fundraise! 

You can join a team easily when you create your fundraising page.

If you already have a fundraising page, login to MyWorldVision and follow these steps: 
1.    Select ‘My fundraising”. This will display all fundraising pages you have.
2.    Select which fundraising page you want to connect with your team.
3.    Under the team section select ‘search’
4.    Type in the name of the team you want to join. 
5.    Join your team!

If you don’t already have a fundraising profile. Scan the QR code or enter the URL on the front of your Sponsorship Book and connect with your school, church or team. 

It's really easy! Go to famine.org.nz and click ‘I am an organiser’ or  head here to sign your team up. Type in the name of your school, church or team. If you have taken part in the 40 Hour Famine before, your school, church or team name should appear as you start typing. If not, click on ‘Create a new team’. Type the name of your team, select ’40 Hour Famine 2019’ and then personalise your team page with your goal and details about your campaign. You can invite fundraisers to join the team and share on social media. 

Now encourage your participants to create an online fundraising profile and connect with your school, church or team. They can scan the QR code on their Sponsorship Book or go to famine.org.nz and click ‘I am a fundraiser’ to activate their profile and connect with their team. 

Head to the Apple Store or Google Play and search for World Vision NZ to download our app to manage your team on your phone. 

Login into your MyWorldVision and select ‘My fundraising’. Here you will find all of the teams that you manage. Select which team you want to see the members of. This will open a new page which lists all of your teams information as well as each member of your team and how much money they have raised.  

Scan the QR on the front of your Sponsorship Book to connect with your school, church or group, and follow the instructions to activate your online fundraising profile.  

Don’t have a QR reader? No worries, enter the URL under the QR code on the front of your Sponsorship Book to take you to the sign up page. Download the World Vision NZ app from App Store or Google Play to fundraise on your phone. It only takes a few minutes and all you need is your own email address.  

Download a QR reader from the Apple AppStore or GooglePlay and scan the QR code.  

Alternatively, type in the unique URL underneath the QR code on the front of the Sponsorship Book, this will take you to a webpage where you can connect with your school, church or team and activate your online fundraising profile. 

You can still use a Sponsorship Book however online fundraising is the easiest way to raise funds and it helps us to keep our costs down! Scan the QR code on the front of your Sponsorship Book to connect with your school or church and activate your online fundraising profile. Don’t forget to head to the Apple Store or Google Play and download the World Vision NZ app to fundraise from your phone.  
If you sign up for an online fundraising page and are under 18 years old, we'll ask for your parent/guardian's email so we can let them know you've signed up. If you're the organiser of a school or church team, we encourage you to use your standard parental/guardian consent process. We have a parental consent form that you could ask your parents to sign (optional), it also contains some information for your parents about how the 40 Hour Famine works. 
We encourage all 40 Hour Famine participants to create an online fundraising page. Once you have a fundraising page you can link up with your mates, church group or sports team, and send requests to friends and family to ask for their support. It’s a really great way to share your 40 Hour Famine Challenge and fundraising goal with friends and family all around the country. 

If you’d like to door knock in your neighbourhood, then we’d recommend a parent or guardian joins you. 
The easiest way is to set up an online fundraising page or head to the App Store or Google Play and download the World Vision NZ app. Share your fundraising link with all  your friends and family (you could even ask them to send the link on to their friends and family, or people they know would also love to support you). 

Alternatively use a 40 Hour Famine Sponsorship book which you can get from your group organiser. If you’re not part of a team, you can order a Sponsorship book here.

We know it’s not always easy to ask for money, even when it’s for a great cause! Check out famine.org.nz for loads of fundraising ideas and tips.

Post an update to your online fundraising page is a great way to tell your supporters more about what you are fundraising for, updates on your progress and why you are supporting the children of South Sudan.  

  1. Sign into MyWorldVision and select ‘My fundraising’ and the page you want to share. 

  1. Select the orange button ‘post an update’ 

  1. Write what you want to post, and you can add picture to liven it up! 

  1. Select the orange button ‘post’ and your update will go up on your page straight away.  

The money raised this year will be used to support World Vision’s programming in Northern Uganda to bring South Sudanese children and their families, life-saving essentials like nutritious food and clean water, as well as, a place to live, education and hope for a better future.

Learn more about how we are impacting the children of South Sudan.
Thousands of young lives have been affected by conflict, drought and famine in South Sudan. Children just like us have had to flee for their lives across the border to Uganda, becoming refugees. 
  • One million South Sudanese refugees who have fled to Uganda need food assistance, clean water, health care and education.
  • 61 per cent of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda are children. Hundreds have been separated from their parents. World Vision is helping to identify, protect and find caring guardians for these extremely vulnerable children.

Learn more about how we are impacting the children of South Sudan.
It is easy to donate online through their fundraising page. If you are not sure of the link, you can search for them here and follow the steps to donate with your credit card. We will email you a tax receipt for all donations of $5 or more.

If your sponsors have donated directly to you online by credit card their donation will appear immediately on your fundraising page. If you can’t see a recent donation, try refreshing your page after 10 minutes.  
 
If you’re not participating as part of a team:  

  • Any cash or cheque donations need to be banked using the 40 Hour Famine Deposit Slip included with your Sponsorship Book. 

  • Alternatively, you can transfer the funds directly into the World Vision 40 Hour Famine account: 06-0101-0323407-02. Don’t forget to include your unique reference number (Sponsorship Book number) or name so we can track your funds and add it to your online fundraising total. These donations will appear approximately 3-4 days after banking.  

If you're part of a school/church/team: 

  • If you've collected any cash or cheque donations, give them to your 40 Hour Famine organiser, along with your Sponsorship Book and they will bank the money for you along with the rest of your team’s. This will show up on your team’s fundraising total! 

  • If you bank your own funds don’t forget to include your unique reference number (found on the front of the Deposit Book) or name so we can track your funds and add it to your online fundraising total. You will need to be linked to your team’s online fundraising page if you want your fundraising to be added to their total. 

Thank you for taking on the role of group organiser. Our work wouldn’t be possible without your hard work and dedication!  
 
There are two easy options for banking your group's fundraising:  

  1. ​Transfer all funds raised directly into the World Vision 40 Hour Famine account number: 06-0101-0323407-02. Don’t forget to include your unique reference number (this can be found on the front of your Deposit Book) or school/ church/ team name so we can track your fundraising.  

  1. Alternatively, use your 2019 40 Hour Famine Deposit Book to bank your team’s cash and cheque donations at any ANZ branch by 5th July 2019 (end of term 2). Please ensure the bank includes your unique reference number (this can be found on the front of your Deposit Book) so we can track your fundraising. If you've lost your 2019 40 Hour Famine Deposit book you can order another one by emailing your full name, team name and address to faminebooks@worldvision.org.nz 

All banked cash donations will appear on your online fundraising page once processed, approximately 3-4 days after banking.  
 
Make sure everyone knows the fundraising can’t make a difference if their donations are not returned. Please return your completed Sponsorship Books and Organiser Record Sheet to World Vision using the postage-paid sticker provided. Freepost Famine, World Vision New Zealand, Private Bag 92078, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142. 

Thank you for taking up the challenge and supporting the children of South Sudan; your fundraising will make a real difference.  
 
If you're part of a school/church/team: 

  • If your sponsors have donated online by credit card or internet banking - nice work, we've already got your funds. 

  • If you've collected any cash or cheque donations, give them to your 40 Hour Famine organiser, along with your Sponsorship Book and they will bank the money for you. 

  • If you're the 40 Hour Famine organiser, use your team’s 2019 40 Hour Famine Deposit Book or Deposit Slip to bank your team cash donations at any ANZ branch by 5th July 2019 (end of term 2). Please ensure the bank includes your team’s unique reference number so we can track your fundraising. 

  • If you've lost your team's 2019 40 Hour Famine Deposit book you can order another one by emailing your full name, team name and address to: faminebooks@worldvision.org.nz  

  • Alternatively, you can transfer the funds directly into the World Vision 40 Hour Famine account: 06-0101-0323407-02. Important: please include your unique reference number (found on the front of your Deposit Book) or school name so we can track your fundraising. 

  • Group organisers – using the postage-paid sticker provided, please send your completed Sponsorship Books and Organiser Record Sheet back as soon as possible to: Freepost Famine, World Vision New Zealand, Private Bag 92078, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142. 
      

If you're not part of a school/church/team: 

  • If your sponsors have donated online by credit card or internet banking - nice work, we've already got your funds. 

  • If you've collected any cash or cheque donations, deposit these at any ANZ branch by 5th July 2019 using the 40 Hour Famine Deposit Slip included with your Sponsorship Book.  

  • Alternatively, you can transfer the funds directly into the World Vision 40 Hour Famine account: 06-0101-0323407-02. Important: please include your unique reference number  
    (your Sponsorship Book number) or your full name when banking your funds so we can track your fundraising. 

  • Send your completed Sponsorship Book back to World Vision New Zealand as soon as possible using the postage-paid sticker provided. Freepost Famine, World Vision New Zealand, Private Bag 92078, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142. 

Be part of the journey and keep up to date with the latest news and videos as well as what’s happening around the country:

Facebook.com/40HourFamineNZ
Instagram.com/40HourFamineNZ
Youtube.com/WVNZ
 
Thank you for joining us and for being part of this online community. We think this is a great way to raise awareness and funds for the world’s most vulnerable children. We do have a couple of rules though for posting and sharing messages on your fundraising page! Please check out our guidelines here.  

In 2018, young Kiwis across the country joined a generation united and raised a massive $1.8 million for children of South Sudan in Uganda. Together we supported a key refugee response project which focused on 3 main areas:   

  • Providing a hot meal and a safe place to rest their head for newly arrived refugees before they are allocated a piece of land in the refugee settlement. 

  • The creation of child-friendly spaces. 

  • Allocation of trained World Vision case worker and foster parent for unaccompanied children. 

  • Provide families much-needed items like mosquito nets, solar lamps and water containers. 


Most importantly, these safe places are helping to give a generation of children hope for the future.
Learn more about how we are impacting the children of South Sudan.
Last year 82.7 per cent of donated dollars went to our work overseas, bringing lasting change to millions of people in need. The remaining 17.3 per cent enabled us to advocate for greater change and to leverage donations.  
If you want a breakdown of where World Vision New Zealand’s money goes, you can read our Annual Report.  
World Vision is an international aid organisation and works alongside refugee communities around the world. Depending on the situation and need, World Vision distribute food, blankets, hygiene kits, winterisation kits, as well as provide clean water, medical care, education and psychological support for refugees who are often in vulnerable situations and facing extreme hardship.