Trustmark

Welcome to Trustmark

Trustmark® is an independent booking and site-access management organisation for face-to-face fundraising activity at participating supermarkets and other private retail locations across New Zealand.

Trustmark exists to make community fundraising activity possible in busy public environments without degrading customer experience, staff workload, or host-site risk.

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Why Trustmark Exists

Across New Zealand, supermarkets and other essential-service retailers have increasingly restricted or banned paid fundraising activity at their entrances and forecourts.

This has not happened because paid fundraising is unimportant, unethical or unwanted.  

It has happened because no effective system existed to manage density, behaviour, and cumulative community impact at the point of public contact.

As a result:

• respectful fundraisers are treated the same as pushy or coercive ones

• site staff are forced into ad-hoc judgement and conflict  

• complaints accumulate without consistent enforcement mechanisms  

• blanket restrictions or bans become the only workable response

• important charities lose access to high-impact community fundraising

Face-to-face fundraising depends on access to sites — yet historically no organisation has formally governed fundraising on their behalf.

Trustmark exists to fill that gap.

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What Trustmark Does

Trustmark acts as an independent intermediary between:

• charities, agencies, organisers, or other parties requesting fundraising access

• host sites (who carry customer experience and reputational risk)  

• the public (who experience interactions directly)  

Trustmark manages:

• who is authorised to fundraise  

• when and where fundraising occurs  

• under what conditions  

• and whether access continues over time  

This is achieved through:

• centralised booking and authorisation  

• live verification at site level  

• independent observation data from ordinary customers  

• pattern-based regulation tied to experienced public impact  

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Who Trustmark Is For

Sites  

• Trustmark enables supermarkets and other private sites to safely facilitate important community fundraising while removing front-door management and conflict from store staff.

Fundraising Organisers, Charities & Agencies  

• Trustmark provides an official, streamlined booking system for accessing private sites.  

• Low-risk community fundraising is supported simply.  

• Higher-impact or higher-density fundraising is authorised under proportionate professional standards.

The Public  

• Trustmark exists to ensure fundraising interactions remain respectful, non-coercive, and trust-preserving.

Observers  

• Trustmark uses real community experience data to understand how fundraising is actually experienced over time, supporting continuous quality governance.

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How Trustmark Is Funded

Trustmark is funded by participating host sites, not by charities or fundraising operators.

This independence allows Trustmark to:

• prioritise customer experience over utilisation  

• suspend or restrict access where necessary  

• run sites empty if standards are not met  

• apply consistent governance without favouritism  

This alignment with site interests is what makes the model credible.

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Trustmark in Practice

At a Trustmark-managed site:

• fundraising activity is booked and authorised through Trustmark  

• authorisation can and must be verified instantly by site staff  

• complaints and incidents are directed to Trustmark  

• conduct is monitored over time where risk warrants it  

For simple community fundraising, this creates clarity and consistency.  

For higher-impact professional fundraising, this creates accountability and sustainability.

For site staff, this removes ad-hoc enforcement and uncertainty.  

For the public, this preserves comfort and trust.  

At Trustmark-managed Sites:

• Customers experience safer, more respectful interactions.  

• Sites regain confidence in allowing professional paid professional fundraising activity.  

• Site staff are no longer arbiters of conduct.  

• Fundraising organisers know exactly how to obtain and maintain access.  

• Professional fundraisers are rewarded for good practice.  

• Poor conduct cannot hide in ambiguity.  

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Learn More

Trustmark® – Trusted Fundraising Access.