POV: Create with Purpose.
At POV Creative Agency, giving back is not something we do at the end of the year when the accounts are settled. It is built into how the business operates from the very beginning. A portion of the income from every commercial project we take on is donated to community initiatives across New Zealand, supporting three causes that sit at the heart of what this agency stands for: youth, mental health, and peace.
We also work with non-profit and community organisations as a genuine part of our creative practice, offering the same quality of design, strategy, and production that we bring to every commercial engagement. We believe that good creative work should not be a privilege reserved for organisations with large budgets, and that a business with the skills to communicate powerfully has a responsibility to use those skills in service of the community it operates within.
Why Giving Back Matters to Us
POV Creative Agency was founded in Otepoti Dunedin, a city whose character has always been shaped by its community as much as its commerce. The University of Otago, the arts sector, the health institutions, the volunteer organisations, and the community trusts that serve the people of Otago and Southland, these are the institutions that make Dunedin what it is, and many of them are not-for-profit organisations doing essential work on limited resources. Growing up creatively in this environment gave our founder Best Apisit Uthakhamkong a clear understanding that creative skills are not just a commercial asset. They are a community resource, and they carry an obligation.
That understanding is built into the structure of POV. From the beginning, the agency has operated with a clear commitment: a portion of every dollar earned from commercial work goes back into the community. This is not a marketing position. It is a financial decision that is made before any project begins, and it does not depend on how good a year the agency has had. Every project contributes. Every client, whether they know it or not, is part of something larger than the work they commissioned.
Our giving is focused on three areas where we believe creative support and financial contribution can make a genuine difference.
Youth.
Young people are the generation that will carry the weight of the decisions being made in the world today. The climate, the economy, the social fabric of communities across New Zealand and the Pacific, all of these are being shaped now, and young people will live with the consequences long after those making the decisions have stepped back. We support organisations that give young people access to creative opportunities, education, mentorship, and safe community environments where they can develop the confidence and capability to shape their own futures. We are particularly committed to supporting youth from communities that have historically had less access to these resources, including Pacific youth and young people from low-income backgrounds across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Mental Health.
New Zealand carries a significant and underserved mental health burden, and the creative industry has its own complicated relationship with wellbeing that is rarely discussed honestly. Long hours, financial precarity, the pressure of constant creative output, and the isolation that often accompanies independent creative practice all take a real toll. We support organisations working to improve access to mental health resources across New Zealand, to reduce the stigma that prevents people from seeking help, and to build communities of genuine support for people who are struggling. We believe that a business that takes mental health seriously internally has a responsibility to support the broader ecosystem of mental health provision in the communities it operates within.
Peace.
The Peace Club is the clearest and most personal expression of our commitment to giving back. Founded in 2019 by POV creative director Best Apisit Uthakhamkong, The Peace Club is a Dunedin-based registered charitable trust that promotes inner peace, mindfulness, compassion, and diversity through community events, meditation and mindfulness sessions, art projects, music, and social justice advocacy.
The organisation operates primarily within and around the University of Otago, with connections extending into the wider Dunedin community and beyond. POV provides ongoing creative support for The Peace Club’s communications and campaigns, and contributes financially to its operations. For Best, The Peace Club is not a side project or a philanthropic exercise. It is a direct expression of the values that led him to found POV in the first place: the conviction that creativity, properly directed, can contribute to a more peaceful and compassionate world.
Beyond these three focus areas, POV also responds to specific community needs as they arise. When a community organisation contacts us with a project that is genuinely important but under-resourced, we do not simply decline because the budget does not meet a commercial threshold. We assess each enquiry on its own terms, considering the nature of the work, the impact it could have, and whether POV is the right creative partner for it. Some of the most meaningful projects in our portfolio began exactly that way.
Working with Non-Profit Organisations
Alongside our giving programme, we work with non-profit and community organisations as a core part of our creative practice. The Peace Club, the Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs Pacific, the Ethnic Communities Development Fund, and the Dhammachai International Research Institute are all organisations whose missions we believe in, and each of them has received the same quality of creative attention as any commercial client.
We offer reduced rates for non-profit organisations and pro bono support for projects that align closely with our community focus areas. We do not offer lower quality. The standard of the work is the same. What changes is the commercial arrangement, because we understand that the organisations doing the most important work are often the ones with the least capacity to pay market rates for professional creative services.
If you represent a non-profit, charitable trust, community organisation, or social enterprise with a creative project that needs a committed, capable partner, we would like to hear from you. Tell us about your organisation and what you are trying to achieve, and we will have an honest conversation about how we can help.
For all community and non-profit enquiries, reach us directly at give@pov.nz. This inbox is dedicated to community work and giving partnerships, and we aim to respond within two business days.