Kiwi community website neighbourly.co.nz has signed up its sixth corporate sponsor by way of a partnership with ANZ.

Alongside Spark, BP, The Warehouse, AMI and Contact, ANZ will contribute to the day-to-day running and ongoing development of the Neighbourly platform. The partnership with ANZ completes the Neighbourly family of corporate partners.

Since launching in June 2014, the site has grown to a membership of over 125,000 households across 1,700 suburbs - with more than 10,000 new members joining every month.

ANZ will sponsor posts made under the events category on the Neighbourly website,

Astrud Burgess, ANZ head of marketing, says the partnership with Neighbourly complements ANZ's ongoing support of grassroots New Zealand, and ‘further cements the company's investment in stronger, better-connected Kiwi communities'.

“Neighbourly presents a great opportunity for ANZ to engage with local communities and will boost our ability to raise awareness of our seminars on home buying “Property unlocked” as well as engaging local communities in our fund raising activities for the Cancer Society," she says.

Casey Eden, Neighbourly cofounder, says ANZ is the ‘epitome' of a big business lending a hand in the local community.

“The ANZ New Zealand Staff Foundation is proof that ANZ is committed to the local community,” says Eden. “Since 2000, the ANZ New Zealand Staff Foundation has donated more than $3 million in community grants to more than 530 charities and community projects around the country, equipping average New Zealanders with the means to reach their goals - and their neighbourhoods. This wider community support sits perfectly with Neighbourly's goals.

Eden adds, “ANZ is also a big advocate of small business, which works well with Neighbourly's next big project - the launch of a local business platform.

The new platform will be rolled out next month, and will offer local business the opportunity to advertise and target their services and special offers to people who live nearby, Eden explains.

“We're great believers at Neighbourly that if local businesses are strong, the communities around them are too,” Eden says. “Our business platform will enable builders and plumbers to find new customers, cafes and restaurants to share new menus and weekly specials, and retail outlets like bookshops and clothing stores to boost their local profile.

Eden says ANZ is joining an ‘outstanding' stable of fellow corporate partners, each committed to the community space. “Bringing these partners together has been a fantastic process and we now have a team of six credible and experienced businesses who are in great company and right behind Neighbourly,” he adds.